Fishing Flies: A World Encyclopedia of Every Type of Fly

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.