Essential Trout Flies: Step-by-step tying instructions for 31 indispensable pattern styles and their most useful variations

"Essential Trout Flies will help you assemble, in just two fly boxes, the flies you need to catch trout anywhere. That makes it essential reading in my book." --Rich Ostoff, professional fly tier and author of Fly-Fishing the Rocky Mountain Back-Country

How to tie the 31 most effective trout patterns and selected variations-more than 200 recipes in all

A core list of flies that will catch trout anywhere, in every season, this collection includes the most important patterns in a wide range of styles, from dry flies to streamers. The tying steps for each pattern are illustrated in step-by-step photos with detailed captions, followed by photos and recipes for the six most useful variations-217 patterns in all. Each chapter features a description of the insect the pattern imitates as well as expert information on how and when to fish the fly.

If fly-fishing were run like baseball, at the entrance to every river, stream, lake, and pond you'd find a vendor with a stack of Essential Trout Flies shouting, "You can't tell the flies without a scorecard." Since it's not, you'll just have to pick up a copy before your next outing on the water. Given that even seasoned sophisticates have trouble telling their pale morning sparkle duns from their cream sparkle duns without some reference, Essential Trout Flies is as essential as its title promises--both for fishing and for tying.

The author of numerous books on angling tactics and equipment, Dave Hughes has assembled a color-filled collection of what he calls the 31 pattern styles and the most useful variations that no fly-fanatic can do without. After a general section on fly-tying materials and techniques, he considers the flies themselves, separating them into three chapters: dries, nymphs, and wet flies and streamers. Then the fun starts. For each of his 31 basic patterns, he provides a history of the pattern and an entomological introduction, a photo of the fly followed by detailed instructions--via continuous text and an accompanying series of color photos--for tying it, pictures of six useful variations, and some notes on the best strategies for fishing them--e.g., when should you use a stimulator, a hopper, or a wulff?

For an experienced tyer, this is a terrifically handy and easy-to-use reference; with variations, the 31 patterns multiply to more than 200 proven trout flies. If you just like to fish, Essential Trout Flies is just as handy. It will help you identify flies, understand their entomological basis, sort them into easy-to-recognize categories, and select what you need to carry on-stream at different times of the year. Unfortunately, actually finding the fish is something you'll still have to do yourself. --Jeff Silverman