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Fly fishing and fly
tying books are a passion. Here you will find book reviews of books I have
read covering fly fishing for trout, smallmouth bass, muskellunge,
steelhead, and many other freshwater and saltwater species. You will also
find fly tying books covering the same areas. There are also books on
aquatic entomology, history of fly fishing and fly tying, hydrology, and
great prose having fly fishing as its main theme. There is far more to fly
fishing than casting a line, and there should be far more to a fly fishing
guide service web site than just costs and services offered.
Bass Flies
by Dick Stewart
The Countryman Press
Woodstock, VT 1989
48 pages, softbound
illustrated, color and B&W
suggested price $$12.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
Dick Stewart
is one of the best writers of fly tying instructional materials because he
clearly and concisely can transfer information. Additionally, Dick is one of
the most inquisitive and curious people I have had the privilege of
meeting. His small book on tying bass flies condenses this tying knowledge
on the subject into a clear, concise, 48 pages of useful information on the
subject. The book is especially useful for the beginner bass fly tier.
However, even seasoned tiers will find many helpful ideas and suggestions
within this slim volume. Within this book, you will find clear instructions
on spinning hair, stacking hair, making balsa poppers, and tying zonkers.
Also included are instructions on tying eel flies, mice, moths, leeches, and
many other critters eaten by bass. The author has also provided a sound
knowledge of tools, materials, and a glossary of terms to get the bass fly
tier jump started down the correct path. Add to this the extremely well done
illustrations and artwork of Larry Largay and you have one of the best tying
books for bass flies available today.
This book is a prime example of what a fly tying instruction
book should be. It is well thought out, well-written and edited, well
illustrated, and contains exactly the right amount of pertinent information
in an easy to use format for the bass fly tier.
Overall, one of the finest fly tying instruction manuals for
tying bass flies you will ever read. If you tie bass flies, or would like to
learn how, this is necessary addition to your library.
©
2000 Bruce E. Harang
Fishing
Journal – Angling Legacy
by you the owner
Frank Amato Publications
Portland, OR 2000
240 pages, hardbound
not illustrated
suggested price $19.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This is a
very nicely hardbound volume with place marker ribbon and gold embossing for
recording your lifetime of fishing days. The paper is heavyweight, glazed
white with clear crisp printing. Each page records a day on stream and
includes space for all of your field observations as well as recording your
catch or catch and release.
The nicest, and most carefully organized, fishing journal
this writer has seen. It will make the time used to write in it almost as
much fun as the events being recorded.
This book is definitely a great way for the fisherman to
keep his fishing memories fresh. The quality of the materials and binding of
the book guarantees that the memories will be protected for generations.
©
2000 Bruce E. Harang
Early Love and Brook Trout
by James Prosek
The Lyons Press
New York, NY 2000
143 pages, hardbound
illustrated, color
suggested price $24.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
James Prosek
is a young man with a lot of talent, as both an artist and a writer. This
lovely whimsical book about the author’s coming of age displays both of his
talents very well indeed.
This is a set of sketches, which revolve around the author’s
early fly-fishing, and discovery of girls. The are no fly-fishing
techniques, or secret fly patterns here. Instead, you have the opportunity
to look back into your own childhood-to-adulthood transition through the
eyes and experiences of the author. As you read the well-constructed prose,
you are not so much learning about the author’s life as you are reliving the
wonders of your own.
Interspersed throughout this small book are well done
reproductions of watercolors by the author. Each one reaffirms for you, the
author’s wonderfully developed eye for composition and color. These images
will also evoke warm memories of your own outdoor experiences. The image of
the moose hunt, for example, will remind everyone who has ever hunted with
friends, of the wonderful camaraderie of the hunting camp. The waterscape of
Langsee, Austria will remind you of the beauty of your favorite places. The
riverscape of “Taylor and a deer on the upper Connecticut” will evoke
memories of all of the wonderful events you have witnessed while
fly-fishing.
This volume is a wonderful window into each of our own small
books of outdoor memories. A touchstone which allows each of us to recall
those golden moments that cannot be shared; only remembered.
Overall, an excellent work, well edited, and well written
and illustrated. Well worth the cost of ownership.
©
2000 Bruce E. Harang
A Handbook of North Country Trout Flies
by Roger Fogg
Old Vicarage Publications
Congleton, Cheshire 1988
222 pages, hardbound
not illustrated
suggested price: about $21.00
reviewed
by Bruce E. Harang
Soft hackle
flies have enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in this country due in large
part to the books of Sylvester Nemes. But the flies themselves, and how to
fish them, date back to eighteenth century northern England, Scotland and
Wales. This book covers the history and lore of this very successful style
of fly as well as the flies themselves.
The book starts out with a history of the soft hackled fly,
or spider, and the methods developed to fish these flies successfully in
rivers. Next are described methods for using these flies in stillwaters. The
author then discusses the various styles of dressing soft hackled flies and
the materials needed to do so.
The second half of the book covers many of the old patterns,
including the correct materials, acceptable substitutes where necessary,
manner of tying and a bit of history of the pattern.
The method of indexing the patterns is most novel. Instead of listing
patterns alphabetically, the author groups the patterns by what soft hackle
feather is used for the hackle on the fly. Thus, patterns are arranged by
those tied with Woodcock feathers, with Grouse feathers, with Snipe
feathers, with Partridge feathers, with Waterhen, Coot, and Jackdaw
feathers, with Starling and Golden Plover feathers, and with poultry hackle.
The book is well written and well edited. The English is in
the style of England and not America however, so you will stumble a bit with
some of the word patterns. This is only a minor point and you will easily
overcome this as you progress through the book. The author also gives
excellent citations to other works. Both those he has quoted from and those
worth investigation by the reader. The only negative note is the lack of
color illustrations of the flies.
This book is not readily available in the U.S., but it is
available from Coch-Y-Bonddu Books who advertise in many U.S. fly fishing
magazines and can be reached on the web at
http://www.fishing.org/bonddu.
Overall, this is an important work that helps to preserve an
important part of fly fishing and fly tying history. It is done well and is
highly recommended as a basic part of every fly tyer’s library.
©
2000 Bruce E. Harang
 Creative
Flies
by Robert Williamson
Frank Amato Publications
Portland, OR 2002
38 pages, softbound
illustrated, color
suggested price, $15.00
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
Frank Amato Publications
has been publishing a number of fly tying manuals directed to specific
methods and techniques of fly tying. These small books have been extremely
well designed, printed, and illustrated. They provide step-by-step
instructions using excellent photographs and drawings to illustrate well
written and well edited text. This book covering the methods of
chain-stitching, weaving, air-filled, and foam bodies is another excellent
example of this genre.
Robert Williamson has
provided the fly tier with the necessary information to allow tying some
innovative and productive flies. Flies having extended cork underbodies
covered with woven skins. Dry fly extended bodies utilizing modern synthetic
tubing to form air-filled balloons. And methods of creating cased caddis
imitations using pre-made chain-stitched thread to create the colorful cases
of caddis pupae.
Split into four sections
the book provides clear, concise instruction on tying flies using the
Overhand Knot Weaving technique, the Chain-Stitching technique, the
Air-Filled Body technique, and the Foam Twister technique. Each section is
well written and presented with excellent photo reproductions, and drawings.
The layout allows the book to be laid open and have the pertinent text and
illustrations positioned so that page flipping is not required.
If you would like to learn
some new fly tying techniques that produce flies that draw comment from your
fly fishing buddies and also catch fish, this book will get you well on your
way. The cost is very reasonable for the amount of excellent information
included. The author has done an excellent job of bringing these techniques
to the fly tying fraternity. The resulting flies will obviously work on the
large brawling rivers of the West. But they will also work extremely well on
the freestone mountain pocket water of the east as well as the larger
rivers, lakes, and ponds of the Midwest.
Overall, this book
provides great value, great information that is presented in an extremely
useable manner.
©
2002 Bruce E. Harang
 Fishing
in Wild Places
by David Street
Gomer Press
London, England 1989
201 pages, hardbound
illustrated, B&W
suggested price, $20.00
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
On my current reading
list - review will be forthcoming very soon.
 Small
Stream Bass
by John Gifford
Countryman Press
Woodstock, VT 2002
216 pages, softbound
illustrated, B&W
suggested price, $16.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
On my current reading
list - review will be forthcoming very soon.
Lee Wulff
by Jack Samson
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 1995
238 pages, Hardbound
illustrated, Black & White
suggested price, $34.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
Lee Wulff was a
quintessential fly-fisherman. From earliest childhood growing up in Alaska,
Lee and the outdoors were two intertwined threads in the pattern of a long
and accomplished life.
Jack Samson has very clearly documented the fly-fishing life and
accomplishments of Lee Wulff. All the well-known fly-fishing highlights are
here. The invention of the American style fly-fishing vest, the idea of
"catch-and-release", the molded plastic bodied fly and many more. Also
documented are Lee's equally well known fly-fishing accomplishments, such as
hooking and landing an Atlantic Salmon on a very light bamboo trout rod.
The author then goes behind the public image and tells the story of Lee's
not so well known accomplishments. Events such as helping to found the
Federation of Fly Fishers, working to protect and preserve the Atlantic
Salmon, opening up sport fishing in Labrador, Canada, and constantly
teaching conservation and good stewardship to the world. The biography is
made complete in documenting Lee's life and relationship with the rest of
the world. This is truly a wonderful accounting of an outdoor giant's life.
It is the story of a true renaissance man.
Overall, this is a well-written and illustrated tribute to a
genuine American hero.
©
2002 Bruce E. Harang
Dry-Fly Patterns for the
New Millennium
by Poul Jorgensen, editor
Frank Amato Publications,
Inc.
Portland, OR, 2002
87 pages, limited hardbound, hardbound, softbound
illustrated, color
suggested price $60.00, $29.95, $19.95
reviewed by
Bruce E. Harang
Two
years ago the Catskill Fly fishing Center and Museum invited fly tiers the
world over to contribute flies to create a collection that would present a
snapshot of fly tying at the beginning of the 21st Century. The
result of that invitation is a collection of 1,886 flies from 792 fly tiers
from around the world. The 366 dry flies in this collection are presented in
this, the first volume dedicated to publishing the whole collection. It is
not a book showcasing famous fly tiers, though they are here. It is instead
a showcase of where fly tying stood on the eve of the new millennium. And as
such it is a unique and valuable resource for all fly tiers, and fly
fishermen. In one volume is the expansive range of dry fly design,
technique, theory, and materials. Every type of dry fly is here, from
classic Catskill quill bodies to outrageous foam creatures and everything
in-between. The ideas, like the fly tiers represented, span the globe. There
are flies from tiers in the United States, Canada, Spain, England, Scotland,
Australia, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, and South Africa to name just a few.
The
bottom line is that here is presented one of the most comprehensive and
unique collections of dry flies ever published. Each fly is shown in a
microphotograph and accompanied by the pattern recipe and notes on the tier,
tiers location and where given historical notes. No future fly tier or fly
fisherman will ever have to wonder how the wing was tied on a Kaufman
Stimulator, or what on earth a Double-Origami Daddy Long Legs was. It is all
here and so much more.
The
book overall is well put together and edited. There are a few glitches that
should not have happened however for a work of this sort. There is one fly
where the image and the recipe don’t match, a couple where the recipe is not
completely in sync with the image. And there are a number of images that are
not to the standard of quality that one should expect in a book of this type
today.
With
several versions of the book available from softbound at $19.95 to a special
edition hardbound with a fly tied by the editor Poul Jorgensen at $60.00
there is a version in everyone’s price range.
©
2002 Bruce E. Harang
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