An Encyclopedia of Fishing Flies

Anyone who has taken a class from a decent teacher will be able to make flies from the descriptions given here. -- Booklist A mind-boggling array of flies.... The volume brims with hard-won advice and entertaining anecdotes. -- Waterloo Record Fishing Flies is a complete guide that describes every conceivable type of freshwater and saltwater fly. It examines the entire range of fishing flies--more than 1,300 in all--many by some of the world's most famous fly-tiers. These flies have been selected not only for their worth as lures but for their contribution to the progress of fly-tying. This smaller paperback edition is more portable than the hardcover, making it easy for fly fishers to take it along on fishing trips. Every fly in the book can be tied using readily-obtained material. Specially taken color photographs show hundreds of fly styles and variations with as many as six flies per page. The author describes their history, including literary references and fishing folklore, points out special features and gives detailed tying instructions where needed. He recommends the most favorable conditions in which to use the fly and provides important information on how the flies correspond with the fishes' reproductive cycles. Fishing Flies covers: Introduction and the earliest flies Trout and grayling flies Streamers and bucktails Flies for salmon, sea trout and steelhead Flies for freshwater predators Saltwater flies. Useful tips, time-tested fishing advice, recommendations for environmental conditions and fishing style, historical images, entertaining anecdotes and an extensive bibliography round out this fascinating and complete resource.

About the Author :
Malcolm Greenhalgh is a fly-fisher, fly-tier and conservationist, and for more than two decades he has traveled the world on fly-fishing adventures. He is the author of about 15 books on fish and fly-fishing. Jason Smalley is a professional photographer, whose images appear in a wide range of magazines and journals, including Reader's Digest and Fly-Fishing and Fly-Tying magazine.

Review :
[Review of hardcover edition: ] Fishing Flies: A World Encyclopedia of Every Type of Fly presents a mind-boggling array of flies--more than 1,300--for use under almost every conceivable condition. Fly angler, fly tier and conservationist Malcolm Greenhalgh and photographer Jason Smiley provide an informative and handsome compendium of many of the world's artificial flies--covering dry and wet flies, nymphs and streamers for fresh and saltwater species. The volume brims with hard-won advice and entertaining anecdotes.--Robert Reid "Waterloo Region Record" (8/28/2010 12:00:00 AM) [Review of hardcover edition: ] Greenhalgh states he is not interested in showing us any fly-fishing flies that have not caught fish, and that alone should merit this book more attention than others that show us pretty flies with no track record... Although the work does not explain how to tie flies, anyone who has taken a class from a decent teacher will be able to make flies from the descriptions given here... Each chapter begins with the history of fishing for that particular type of fish. Within chapters, entries are organized into subsections and include "recipes" (uniform lists of parts) along with brief descriptions. Often there are three flies described and pictured on a page. Jason Smalley's illustrations are lovely color photos on white paper... Any library with a large population of fishermen among its users would want this work, as would most land-grant colleges with fisheries programs. The book is large and heavy because of the paper's quality but very reasonably priced.--Clay Williams "Booklist" (11/1/2010 12:00:00 AM)