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You will find 15 flies and 36 contributors in this book. You won’t read it to discover new flies. You’ll read it for pure pleasure.

A review of a nymphing book in French: Sight nymphing and trophy fish. To quote the author: "I prefer sight fishing ... It's more exciting and more effective!"

I’m tempted to call this a fly tying book with an attitude ... and I mean that in a good way

A new book from Barry Ord Clarke is a pretty safe bet on a good book, and this one is indeed good

The subtitle is "Competition-Inspired Strategies for Everyday Anglers", and that's exactly what you get

Any striper angler will want to spend a day fishing with the author after reading this book

Dutch Hans van Klinken is best known as the originator of the Klinkhåmer Special. This large and beautiful book tells its full story ... and much, much more

Fly tying really makes beautiful books! 12 saltwater flies that catch fish!

A capturing and sometimes touching novel about a young boy whose life is formed by farming, outdoors activities and fishing

South African Gordon Spuy’s second book is different from the first one - but then again somewhat similar, which is a good thing.

A really beautiful book about a very important Swedish river and - not least - a group of its most productive anglers and their flies.

Want to take stylish fly photos? This book will go through all the gear, accessories and methods that author Nick Thomas uses.

Joining author Ben Jailler on his fishing trips in the UK is bound to bring a smile on your face – and probably make you laugh out uncontrollably a few times

This is an extract from British Ben Jailler’s new book, Fish Camp Fail

Some books tend to go under the radar, but are still small gems of knowledge, history ... and fly patterns ... These books from 2016/17 have been hiding in my shelf for way too long.

Some tyers tie different flies. Scottish Nick Thomas, now Wales based, is one of them. And he wrote a book about it.

A beginner's book that I'd actually recommend to beginners! Great pattern selection, excellent photography and nicely coupled to online videos.

Art Lingren's book on Syd Glasso and his flies pays well deserved homage to a very influential salmon fly tyer

...as a fly tyer and flyfisher, that is. Other books influenced me as a person, but that’s a whole other story.

This is a book I have been looking forward to for a while. And it doesn’t disappoint.

An English flyfisher acquires a house in France - which just happens to have a chalk stream running its property

Simple is good. Not primitive… simple. And this is another fine book with simple fly patterns.

Why review a 30-year old book? Well, because it's a great book that deserves some attention.

Another massive work on classic salmon flies from UK writer Martin Lanigan-O'Keeffe, this time on the flies from the House of Hardy.

A book on UK style lake fishing for trout, written in a personal and entertaining - but still very informative - tone

Pike anglers have a new bible. This book essentially covers every conceivable aspect of pike fishing… and then some

When a great photographer, fly tyer and instructor writes a book, it’s likely to become a great book

A small book that debunks a lot of myths surrounding trout fishing – including the one that trout are cunning and intelligent hunters, able to trick anglers. They are not! Trout are stupid!

Impressing in both scope, size, page count and weight, this book presents 224 US fly tyers and their favorite patterns.

A wonderful little book with Belgian Geert Werbrouck's beautiful wet flies. Lots of pictures, lots of patterns, lots of tying and material tips.

It’s hard not to like a completely free e-book with detailed descriptions on how how to tie 12 (and then some) different variations of the Humpy. 80 pages of knowledge, tips and inspiration on a single pattern!

I didn’t know that I was interested in collecting fly fishing paraphernalia – until I read Steve Woit’s book

When an author asks you to provide content for a book, it's hard not to think "That's going to be one heck of a book!"

Beautiful photos, lots of detailed text and schoolbook step-by-step instructions on how to tie 24 fantastic looking steelhead flies

"I spent most of 1949 in utero, gradually gaining awareness that something truly good awaited once I left the waters of my beginnings." A review of Frederick Prince's book.

A massive book, solely on CDC-feathers, -flies and -tying techniques by Swiss CDC master Marc Petitjean.

A fascinating "true crime" story that tells about the theft of skins from protected bird from a natural history museum in the UK with the purpose of using them for fly tying

With names that sounded fresh, in-your-face and downright sexy, the Optic Fly series entered the stage like a warm summer wind in the 1960’s cold war era.

A small book written by Danish Michael Jensen about Swedish ABU's renowned series of streamers from the 60's, known as the Optic Flies.

This book raises the bar for warm water fly rod lure making books. Elmer Meiler reviews Steve Schweitzer's book.

This book gives you the opportunity to make a connection with aquatic animals. You can watch these images over and over again. It is also full of information in the texts and pictures.

My heart beats for specialty books rather than general ones, and a large book solely on nymphing is definitely something that stirs my interest. Even a German language one.

This book is mainly on saltwater flies in spite of the title, and it doesn’t impress - or tell you how to design, develop or improve.

This article covers a handful of books that I would recommend to the new fly-angler and fly-tyer - the angler who is dipping his or her toes in the fly-fishing pond for the first time

A large and beautiful book about the concept of fly fishing covering the subject from many angles, lavishly illustrated with amazing photos.

This book is pretty exotic and definitely not for the average fly tyer. But if you are interested in classic salmon flies and their history, it's a book you must have on your shelves.

Bob Popovics can rightfully be called one of the most innovative fly tyers today. And he keeps on sharing new methods in his latest book.

This is a list of a few great books that are about fishing, but focuses on ambiance, adventure, philosophy, emotions, friendships - basically everything but catching that big one.

If you are into classic salmon flies - like the real classics - and like to divulge in their history and origin, this is a book for you.

A thorough work on a very specific subject: flies tied for grayling fishing. This popular fish has long been in need of a dedicated book, and this is the answer to the grayling fishers prayers: a very large number of patterns targeted at grayling. Nicely illustrated with plenty photos.

A short, enlightening and entertaining biography of the renowned Scottish salmon fly tyer Megan Boyd, a tyer who still inspires many salmon fly tyers and whose influence can still be found. Letters, anecdotes, photos and much more.

Wow! I just have to say wow! GT's are just... wow... and this book is like… wow!

I'm not a big fan of learning to cast from a book, but there's little doubt that this book can actually make you a better fly caster. And it features a remote controlled dry training shark!

This is a great book, and a really excellent intro to reading the water and matching the hatch for the angler who feels that both these disciplines are difficult. It clearly illustrates that they don't have to be.

Some fishing books teaches you stuff, some fascinate you, some entertain you. Some do all and more

A book that has Hans Weilenmann's CDC&Elk on the cover has to have something good inside. And this book has.

I brought home 4 lbs of beautiful wild steelhead the last time I was in the US. Not a fish of course, but a couple of impressing books.

Greg Senyo's book on modern salmon and steelhead flies is a tour de force in goudy and flashy materials composed into large flies

John Shewey has something going on with steelhead with several books on the subject already under his belt. Add to that some really excellent pattern and fly tying books like the new-classic Spey Flies & Dee Flies, and you get a picture of a man who loves steelhead and flies.

Sharon Wright is becoming a familiar name to those who follow developments in streamer fly tying. She has been a guest tyer at most of the major fly tying events in the Northeast USA, has authored several magazine articles on the subject, and now is releasing her first book "Tying Heritage Featherwing Streamers" on Stackpole Books.

Jay Zimmerman's book "The Best Carp Flies" made me want to tie up some new flies

When it comes to books, there's nothing I like more than focus. A book that has a well defined subject and covers in depth rather than broad has my vote already before I have opened it.
When I then open it and find well structured, thoroughly researched and beautifully presented content from cover to cover, I'm sold!
Such a book is Robert L. Smith's "The North Country Fly".

Brief and to-the-point are the words that come to mind after I have read this book

The contents of my fairly well stocked fishing book shelves bear witness to the fact that I love fly pattern books. My small book database says that I currently have 115 pattern books. To most non-fly-tying people these books might seem both very identical and quite boring.

We don't often review books in German, but it has happened. And since we do have a large German audience - the second largest after the 'merikans - it's not totally out of the way to do so. Of course a lot of our readers will have no direct interest in a German book, but a lot of European readers will.

I recently reviewed Matt Supinski's book Steelhead Dreams and was thrilled with Supinski's enthusiastic writing and his way of approaching the subject, but not as keen on the physical layout of the book.
This title has the same great approach, some great writing and a really excellent way of analyzing the problems and providing solutions. And as an added bonus it has a really good structure and layout and some outstanding pictures.

A very thorough introduction to fishing for steelhead in the great lakes area in the US by renown steelhead guide Matt Supinski. Covering tactics, gear and flies as well as seasons and locations.

I recently reviewed the book "Flyfishing for Coarse Fish" by British Dominic Garnett, and noted in that review how untapped a resource these fish are. This book is the US counterpart of Garnett's book - and then some!

The introduction to this book starts with the following paragraph "I have written many articles about the Warm Vltava river over the past ten years with detailed descriptions of particular streams and pools. Such descriptions would take too much space in this book and have not been included. The aim of this description is to capture the state of the river and its fish population at the turn of the millennium. I hope to provide the next generation of fly fishermen with the information with which to compare the later changes.

I have fished quite a bit for coarse fish with a fly in my time. Bream, perch, roach - and pike of course. I even hooked some chub that willingly rose to a dry cast to rising trout. And it was all a lot of fun!

THE FUNK cloaks my heart,
Hazes my mind,
Chokes out fun,
Good friends and sunshine.

All for a fish
That will eat that f*king fly.

This book isn't brand new, but has been out for several years. My copy is even second edition. I had my eyes on the book ever since I saw it the first time just after I bought my first kayak, but only recently managed to get my hands on a copy.

The subtitle "Over 1,000 color photos of techniques and pattern styles" lured me into buying this book from 2001.
125 pages at 10 UK£ or about 16 US$ used made it a no-brainer.
And the subtitle is true enough - of course - because the book has an enormous number of photos, and even though haven't counted, there is probably one thousand or even more.

This is one of those books that has you in awe just handling it. Big, heavy, high quality printing on heavy stock paper. Large full spread photos and delicate and discrete text layout. A real coffee table book in the classical sense. It will impress and fascinate anyone who picks it up - even the non-angler.

Renown writer Tom Rosenbauer has teamed up with photographer Andy Anderson - or is it the other way round? Anderson's photos are clearly dominating the book and he is also credited first on the cover.

The book goes through the origin and history of the Boobies and covers a number of Booby fishing techniques

In the European pike fly fishing community Dutch Ad Swier is a well known profile, probably best known for his beautiful art, often depicting the toothy predator which this book is about, but also for his writing and engaging in the community, in shows and activities around fly-fishing for pike.
For this reason it's no surprise that he has managed to gather an impressing array of pike fly tyers and have had them submit pike fly patterns and stories for a book such as this.

The last time I reviewed a book (or several, actually) by Chris Santella, I wasn't impressed. And that's even saying it nicely.
On that background it made little sense to order another Santella title, but never the less that's what I did. I liked the concept of this book - and the cover (yes, I often buy books based on the cover!), and the price wasn't bad either. I paid less than 3 UK£ or 5 USD for a brand new copy of this 2013 title. The postage was actually more than the book!

Being an avid tube fly fan and having tied tube flies for almost as long as I have tied flies, I have wanted this book ever since it was published in 2006 where I saw it in a local flyshop. But it was expensive - and still is - and back then I didn't want to spend the money on books this expensive, but saved my money for less expensive books, fly-tying materials and fly gear.

These days I'm more of a spender when it comes to books. I have more money, and less need for materials and gear, so my book budget is bigger.

Almost every trout fisherman has heard of the Adams dry fly, it being ubiquitous on trout streams throughout the world. You know the old adage - when in doubt try an Adams. Some anglers tie their own flies and will understand the beauty of the mixed brown and grizzly hackle and will search through bins of hen necks looking for a specimen with just the right shaped feathers to use as wings. A majority of those fly tyers have probably read that the Adams was developed in Michigan by Len Halladay, but only a small percentage will know how it got its name or what sparked its creation.

If I were to commission a book on fly-tying from an author, the description of this book would be close to what I'd order. The subtitle says it all: Developing, Testing, & Improving Saltwater Fly Patterns.

This is the thinking fly-tyer's book.

The author covers the process of coming up with a new pattern and the process of tying and modifying existing patterns from considering the food items, observing them, coupling it to the eating behavior strategy of the predator, selecting materials and many other aspects of fly design and fly-tying.

Japanese author, angler and fly-tyer Ken Sawada is an odd character... not meant in any insulting way at all, but more like an expression of my admiration. Sawada has been around almost as long as I have been fly-fishing and fly-tying, and particularly his beautiful salmon flies have always been favorites of mine. Whenever his name comes up, there's always something interesting going on. He seems to be a person who does things in his own way, but still respects tradition and history.

This is not a big book by any measure - big as in pages, big as in format or big as in scope. Rather the opposite, actually. It's a small publication with a narrow subject.

A short detour on Prosek before I return to the books at hand.
Prosek is probably best known for these very books, but is an active and widely used and published writer and painter, whose work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic and New York Times. He became a household name in the fly fishing community when Abel started using him as an artist for a range of their fabulous painted reels.

If you're into tying spider flies, soft hackles and so called flymphs, this book will thrill you. It's a reprint of an old book, originally published 1885. The book is a true classic, and has been a huge inspiration and influence to many contemporary fly-tyers and anglers. Even though the original book entitled "Yorkshire Flies" was only published in 200 copies, it was to become a landmark book.

Don't let the 4/5 rating fool you. Sticking true to the GFF rating system, the book is good and useful for its intended purpose and just may be the ticket you need to retool your bad fly fishing habits.

Right out of the gate you get a sense this book isn't meant for the fly fisher who views fly fishing as a weekend recreation. Or for the streamer addict. Or for the dry fly purist. This book is for the serious-minded nymphing-oriented angler wishing to dissect, analyze and improve his or her technique.

The cover and title of a book serve two very important purposes. The first is obvious - to grab the attention of a potential buyer. The second - related to the first - is to set expectations. It should be a strong indicator what the reader will experience. Consider "Matching Major Eastern Hatches". The words that jump out at me are "major" and "eastern" - I am curious what the author considers a major hatch, and which watersheds are included in "eastern". Since most of my fishing is in the trout rivers of the Catskills, my attention is piqued.

I have been following Canadian Darren MacEachern's Streamers 365 project for a while, and I have covered it here on GFF before.
In short the concept has been to publish one new streamer pattern each day during 2012, which in itself is a major feat, but when each pattern is followed by a beautiful image of the fly and when the fly has been tied by one of a large number of contributors, the odyssey is no less than awesome.

To borrow from Jerry Maguire, you had me at 1700 patterns.

One thousand seven hundred patterns. Chew on that for awhile.

This book could have been printed with smeared blue ink on newsprint using a vintage 1970's mimeograph machine and it would be worth the cover price.

After two pages of introduction there 300 plus of patterns and photographs, those photographs taken by the author who has established his bona fides in such books as "Tying the Classic Salmon Fly", "Classic Salmon Fly Materials", and "Twenty Salmon Flies".

Ultimate is a strong word, and when it comes to fishing adventures having on hundred that all are ultimate might seem overstating it a bit, even though these one hundred places certainly rank up there and are almost certain to include a place or two on every angler's places-I-want-to-go list.

The author, Henry Gibley, is an angler and photographer who has been fishing and shooting his way around the world, making a living from images, articles, commercial texts, TV shows and the sort of products that a professional angler/author can make money from.

No-nonsense fishing flies presented in a clear and appetizing fashion with really excellent pictures

Now this is not your average angling or fly-fishing book and definitely not a how-to or where-to book for the fly-fisher. But I still find it a very interesting book seen from an angling perspective because it deals both with the fishing culture and the fishing biology - and to a large extent also with fishing history and fishing politics.

This book was brought to my attention by GFF contributor Bob Kenly. I had noticed the movie by the same title (and based on the novel) because the web had been overflowing with trailers for it when it premiered in the beginning of 2012. I was honestly more annoyed by the trailers than intrigued, but when Bob recommended the book, I fired off an order.

I'm pretty delighted with this book.
Delighted with the fact that it's a book, which combines two of my main interests: fishing and photography.
Delighted that it features hundreds of really excellent pictures.
Delighted that it has a ton of great advice on shooting anglers, fish, fishing situations and landscapes.

Derek Grzelewski's book The Trout Diaries takes the reader on a relaxed, yet exciting trip through the seasons of a year in a fly-fisherman's life. It's not one particular year it seems, but more like a series of representative periods in a row of years.
The seasons are upside down compared to mine - literally. Spring is in October and autumn is in March and April, summer is winter... at least in this book. This is of course dictated by the fact that we're in the southern hemisphere and on the other side of the globe compared to where I am right now.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should admit now that Gary Borger was my first fly fishing hero. I started tying flies like most guys - with a purchased kit of seemingly random materials tossed together with a crappy cam operated vice and an instruction booklet that might as well have been written in a foreign language. Who else has ever put a hook in a vice, held a threaded bobbin in their hand, and thought "Now what?" I remember very clearly struggling to just get the thread started on the hook, to say nothing of the mystery of other tying procedures.

I know this book is about 10 years old, and to some it might seem strange that we review such an "old" book.

Well done, Mr. Hård!
You have made an overwhelming book!
For many reasons.

These books are in German, but since we have quite a few German visitors, I thought a review was in place anyway

One of the very first fly fishing books I ever purchased was Tom Rosenbauer's "Prospecting For Trout", which I found at the hardware store in Inlet, NY, deep in the Adirondacks. Those were the days when a $15 book purchase required a brief discussion with the missus, as we hadn't quite got on our feet yet and fishing books were still firmly in the luxury category. I still have that book - it is one of my favorites and a volume I pull off the shelf every year around this time as I start to look forward to the season.

I have said this before in connection with other books: I wish there were more books like this! When I say that, it's typically because we're talking something very exotic, something niche, something different, something admirable or something else that characterizes a book, which has been published in spite of economic motivation, market mechanisms or even common sense.
Such a book is Damien Welsh' book about the flies of Nova Scotia.

Is there any GFF readers who travel between the US an Europe, maybe even Scandinavia or ideally Denmark, who would be willing to bring books over now and then and mail them on to Martin in Denmark?

I have loved Kieth Fulsher's Thunder Creek streamers ever since I saw a Danish tyer tie one decades ago, so a whole book with Thunder Creeks by Fulsher himself. What can go wrong?

In the interests of full disclosure, let me state up front that the author of "A Fly Fishing Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park", Steve Schweitzer, is a partner/co-founder of this web site as well as a friend of mine. Neither of those facts influenced my review.

"Strike!"

This book is some years old and can be bought used for about 10 US dollars, which makes it a very good deal, because this is an excellent book.

As you probably already know I'm an avid proponent of buying used books, and because of this you often see reviews of books with a few years on their back.

This book by the renown AK Best isn't that old - less than 10 years in fact - even though the first release of the book dates back 10 years further than that. The book at hand is the second edition and the one you should acquire if you want to own the book. It's thoroughly updated and has been completely revised, not least with excellent color photos.

I have never been really fond of Chris Santella's book "Fifty places to Fly Fish Before You Die", which I bought several years ago. When I saw the second volume announced, I thought I'd get that anyway and make a review of both. Kind of "A Hundred Places to Flyfish Before You Die".

This book is one of the best fly-fishing books I have read in a long time. One of the best books, period. And even though I do write fly-fishing books and the title contains the word fly-fishing, it can hardly be called a fly-fishing book in the traditional sense. There is fly-fishing in it and the author James Prosek is well known in the fly-fishing community, but this book reaches far beyond fly-fishing. It reaches beyond fishing as a whole and into friendship, romance, traveling and much else.
To the die hard fly angler this might sound like a turn-off, but trust me, it isn't.

After this book was in my hands I found it very hard to put down, and for a while it sucked my attention away from the party and guests

This is one of those books that I wish I bumped into more often. I did actually bump into this one.

When I first took note of Mr. Winkler's book, it was on amazon.com, in a search for fly fishing books. I did a double-take as I didn't expect to see a book by an American TV sitcom icon on fly fishing. But in recollection, I did remember hearing something about the book coming out several months before its release.

Henry Winkler is best known via TV as Fonzie on the popular American 70's sitcom Happy Days.

This is a thoroughly updated new edition of Dick Brown's classic title with new patterns added, excellent photos, in-depth descriptions and flies tied by the originators.

This book is based on a collection of 133 Welsh flies, collected and documented by the author, and photographed by his son-in-law.

If you are into classical salmon flies, great writing and excellent fly photography you are looking at a very good reason to set yourself back £35.- or about $57.- US.

Another book from the hands of a GFF partner. This time on fly fishing one of the most beautiful places in the US west: Rocky Mountain National Park. It's written by GFF partner Steve Schweitzer who has hiked, fished and photographed extensively in the park during the last decade

The Masters on the Fly series of books by Wild River Press (see here , here, and here) are getting harder and harder to review.

See the article Unsinkable flies

Match fishing is not very popular in the US. There are a few events such as the Jackson Hole "One Fly" contest, but these are few and far between, and often the purpose of the event is to raise money for environmental purposes or some other similar good cause. The idea of fishing as a team sport - with winners and losers and national pride at stake - has not taken hold here in the United States outside of a few who have participated in international events.

It's often said that fly fishing is a universal language. I can confirm that. Fishing with people from most of the globe has taught me that people from all corners do get along great when fly fishing, and that there seems to be an inborn understanding and sympathy between fly fishers.

If you are into fly fishing saltwater and like to tie your own flies, this is a book worth considering.

Nice flies, nice pictures, nice book!
What can I say other than I think this is a very nice book?
Well, I might consider explaining why I think this is a nice book...

Looking at the beautiful computer drawn flies on the cover of this latest and largest volume by Chris Mann, you might be tempted to think that we're talking about a soup stone project, where Chris has boiled down his previous three titles on salmon flies into one.

But that is not the case.

This book does of course contain lots of flies, which have already been featured in the previous books, but it also has a lot of new patterns as well as a set of very well organized indexes to help you find what you are looking for.

"Muskie are a lot like northern pike except - you can actually catch northern pike!"
- Anonymous Canadian fishing guide

Wild River Press has set a standard with their Masters on the Fly series of books. Dec Hogan's A Passion for Steelhead and Rich Murphy's Fly Fishing for Striped Bass are the two species-specific books in the series. The latest addition to the group is a stalwart volume that is the first complete work ever composed and dedicated to the dogged pursuit of catching muskellunge on the fly.

Charlie Craven is no stranger to anyone who hangs out in the online fly tying bulletin boards, so the announcement of his new fly tying book was warmly received with a sense of keen anticipation. Most of us have seen his online tutorial and could not wait to get our hands on an honest-to-goodness solid flesh-and-blood book of his tying. With "Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tyingâ", he has given us a chance to follow along as he teaches beginners the fundamental skills required to tie quality trout flies.

It's hard to believe it's been over six years since Gary LaFontaine passed away from ALS. Among fly fishers and fly tyers, he was well known but I don't believe well understood. He looked at things differently from the average guy - and I don't think anyone would argue that such a viewpoint came through in his fly tying. Some of his flies - the Airhead, the Mohawk, the Double Wing - never gained widespread popularity like so many other more classic looking flies.

I think the subtitle says it all : "Over 200 Essential Patterns that Catch Fish Anywhere, Anytime". Allrighty then!

As first entry in the new "Fly Tyer" library of books, Dick Talleur gathers up new assortment of trout flies - a mix mash of classics and contemporary patterns, some well known some quite obscure. You'll find a classic Grannom wet fly and a Royal Wulff, as well as flies with names like "The $3 Dip".

You know - the internet is a wonderful thing. (As if you don't know that already). Several years ago I learned of Czech nymphs from an article by Oliver Edwards, so I started tying up a few and posted a tying procedure here on the site. Wouldn't you know that someone in the Czech Republic saw it and wanted to use it in one of his newsletters! Pavel and I exchanged a few notes, and he swapped an article for GFF for my tying procedure. Soon after, he sent over a wonderful book to review, and now I have another. The world has gotten to be a very small place.

The cover picture is from Laxa in Ađaldal on Iceland and does strike a note, which suits this book eloquently, being a journey in words and pictures to the world's best salmon waters. The book is a classical coffee table book, one of those books that you put out in the table to show that you are interested in fishing and nature. This is not meant in a derogative way, because the size and style of such books often make them pure seducers, which drag the reader into a dream world of distant beauty.

Now, we all know that winter is the season for building rods. Not that you can't build rods during the rest of the year, but since much fishing is closed during the winter, it makes sense to do your indoors chores in the dark part of the year. I my part of the world, that is right now.
Winter time is also an excellent time to watch DVD's. The longer the better almost. Watching DVD's can entertain and bring memories - and educate.
This DVD-set is a combination of the latter, educating part and the first, the rod building part.

Dick Brown's bonefishing book is a true classic, and one of the first ones that was recommended to me when I was taking on bonefish for the first time.

All it took was one quick skim through this book for me to come up with the
theme of my review.

"I'm not worthy!"

Really. I don't think I am. Wow.

I have been interested in woodworking since I was a kid. (Bear with me - this
will have some fly fishing relevance soon enough). My Dad made all sorts of
things for the house - side tables, shelves, cabinets - and I enjoyed my days
as his helper in the garage. Even as an adult, I will tape and watch woodworking
shows on the weekends and sit in the family room and dream of having my own
shop where I can make stuff like my Dad did. I'm at the point where I'm starting

This is the all-time classical volume on tube flies, and as the title implies it deals with all aspects of tube flies. If you are looking for a general introduction to tubes in book-form, this is the way to go.

There are sections on tools, tube materials, hooks and general tying techniques. A few patterns are illustrated in depth with step-by-step descriptions while the majority of patterns are presented in a number of chapters, which present different tube fly tyers and anglers and their individual patterns.

A steaming bowl of chili, Jets vs Patriots, and a great book on smallmouth fishing filled with pictures of anglers in short sleeves and lots of sunshine. These are my remedies today for a morning spent shoveling snow off the driveway. I'm hoping that Bob Clouser's latest book helps me forgot my aching back and sore hands for a little while.

What more can be said about a Steve Raymond book that hasn't already been said? Simply put, he is one of the finest authors who has ever laid pen to paper on the subject of fly fishing.

I was tying at a show in Roscoe, NY this past Spring when a gentleman approached my table to ask about tying Czech nymphs, referring the article I wrote a couple years ago . Unfortunately I did not have any materials for those flies on that day so I was unable to show him the methods in person, but we did chat for awhile regarding the flies and the tackle and techniques for fishing them. As I am certainly no world authority on the topic, I wish I had a copy of this book to show him so he could learn from the masters.

To borrow a phrase from the great G.E.M. Skues, wet fly fishing continues to be a minor tactic among fly anglers. Granted, there has been an increase in the amount of print (and electronic) media devoted to all manor of wet flies, but if you inspect the bins of your local fly shop or glossy catalog, dry flies and nymphs still rule the trout waters of America. It is not surprising, then, that fishing wet flies, and to a large extent their distant cousin streamers, is the realm of fly tyers who provide their own flies.

I've enjoyed all of Darrel Martin's fly fishing books, and "The Fly-Fisher's Craft" is no exception. In a world where it is often said that there is nothing new to write about fly fishing, Darrel always seems to find a new angle, a new approach, or some interesting research to offer his readers. His latest book takes us on a trip through history to look at the origins of the basic tools of fly fishing - the fly, the hook, the line, and the rod. Anyone who has an interest or appreciation of fly fishing history will enjoy this book.

See the review A Hundred Places to Fly Fish Before You Die

I have been waiting for this book for a long time. Tube fly books are few and far apart and the moment I learned that this one was coming, I knew it was a must for me. Secondly one of the authors, Bob Kenly, is a GFF contributor, with whom I have corresponded during the last 10 years, and his involvement in the book guaranteed the quality and creative level of the content.

I wish I had more books like this one in my fishing library

It's nice sometimes to bump into a different book, and Dutch Ad Swier's pike book is different.
Pike books are not common, and books from the Netherlands are not common, but what makes this book really stand out is the author's very personal approach to the whole affair: the pike, the gear and the flies, the writing, the illustrations and the approach to fishing altogether.

The first word that comes to mind is pragmatic.
And I like pragmatic!

In my ways, fly fishers and fly fishing are a lot like cooks and cooking. There are trained and certified professionals, part time hobbyists, celebrities, long honored traditions, well known recipes, several popular magazines, centuries' worth of books, and an entire industry built around the subject. Some cooks will pick up a recipe, follow it blindly, and produce excellent results to the delight of everyone who has a chance to sample their cooking. Other cooks will look at a recipe and wonder - what is baking powder, and why do I need a teaspoon for my muffin batter?

This is the first fly fishing novel I have ever read. In fact, it might be the first one I've ever heard of, so I don't have anything to compare it to. I'm also not a literary critic, so I don't even know if I'm qualified to review the book. I guess the best I can offer is the perspective of the target audience - a fly fisherman who enjoys reading books.

Rick Hafele should be a well known name to most fly fishers. He's been the entomology columnist for American Angler magazine for years, co-authored the successful "The Complete Book of Western Hatches" with Dave Hughes, and did a popular video for 3M called "Anatomy of a Trout Stream" which co-starred a large fish-shaped rock. With "Nymph-Fishing Rivers and Streams", he brings it all together with an excellent textbook on the subject of nymph fishing for trout which also features a 72 minute DVD.

Dec Hogan is well known in the fly fishing world as a master of the two-handed fly rod, but until I picked up "A Passion for Steelhead" I did not know much about Dec Hogan the angler. 313 pages later, that surely has changed, almost to the point where I feel the book's title is a bit of an understatement. Anglers worldwide tend to be passionate about their fishing, but I've always had the sense that those who chase steelhead in the Pacific Northwest were a little more hardcore than the rest of us, where the passion occasionally boils over into obsession.

I will admit right now that I had never heard of Jeff Hull prior to reading his new book "Streams of Consciousness". Obviously, I have been living with my head in the sand, or - more likely - way too close to a laptop screen, because his resume is pretty impressive, with writing credits for some big time magazines. Big time as in "known outside the fly fishing world". You know - National Geographic, Audubon. Stuff like that.

It sure is nice to see Bob's flies celebrated in such a book. Heavy bond paper with a glossy sheen, beautiful full color photos, and lots of step-by-step instructions. Very nice.

Jay "Fishy" Fullum is no stranger to readers of Fly Tyer and other popular flyfishing magazines. In fact, he's recently been named as the "artist in residence" for that magazine, which certainly helps justify the subscription price. It should come as no surprise, then, that Fishy's book relies on his art to tell the story of his flies. In this case, the art is in the form of pencil drawings - and I must say they are simply amazing. I've always been a sucker for well executed pencil drawings, and Fishy's are among the very best I've ever seen in a fly fishing related book.

The subtitle for this book is "An illustrated natural history", and that is exactly what it is. Malcolm Greenhalgh's text is pure natural history with all the facts you ever wanted to know about the atlantic salmon plus a bit you didn't know you wanted to know. Rod Sutterby's illustrations are more than just illustrations. They are art and his beautiful paintings are what make this book special.
Sutterby's art is exquisite and his fishing pictures are amongst the best I've seen.

I'm going to work this review backwards and do the complaints first.

Ok - so - how happy was I to see that someone finally convinced Scott Sanchez to write a book? Not being an Montana insider, I was not entirely familiar with his tying, but his reputation as a excellent fly tyer extended far beyond that mighty state's borders. While I've seen a few of his magazine articles and his contributions to the works of Jack Dennis, I was intrigued at the possibility of what he might be able to do with an entire book of his own.

I'll save you the suspense. This is a great book.

I have had the good fortune of fishing with several South African fly anglers over the years, and apart from being great anglers and very nice people (like most anglers I meet), they all left me with an impression of South Africa as a country with a rich variety of fishing opportunities from the saltwater of Durban Harbor over the stocked reservoirs to the streams in the mountains. Brown trout, rainbows, yellowfish, tigerfish and numerous saltwater species seem to be abundant and readily available in beautiful, lush landscapes.

This is an amazing couple of books!
Volume one has been sitting on my bookshelf for many years and I have had it out many times to check facts about various patterns.
A couple of years ago I bought a used copy of volume two, and even though it hasn't seen as much use as the first book, it does get some attentions now and then. Recently I was handling the books again, and that sparked me to dig out this review, which I started writing for volume one many years ago.

Some books just have it all: great images, well written text, large format, beautiful typography and all the nice graphic details. But very few have gold print.

This one has! And it deserves it.

I have been lucky enough to fish quite a lot of places in this world. This book makes me humble in that respect.

A book which is any fly tier's wet dream - or nightmare - depending on your angle of observation and approach to flies and fly tying.

It is a stunning and mouth watering experience to let your fingers run through and your eyes run over this book.

This book took me from the Introduction through its seemingly endless (in the good way, that is) fishing stories.

At first glance this 2005 edition of a 25 years old book does not seem very impressive. When I leafed quickly through the book as I always do with new books, I was struck by the B/W photos and the layout style, and judged the book to be a bit on the boring and outdated side.

Not so!

Because once I started reading and spent some time really looking at the photos and checking out the drawings I realized that I had a true classic in front of me.

Do you need a last minute Christmas gift idea for an angler? Well, Merlin's Daily Fishing Calendar could be a very good suggestion for such a gift.

It's a beautiful little desk calendar with one page for each day, each with a photo and a quote plus of course information about the day.
The author and editor Alexander Schwab has gathered an amusing and educating collection of facts and fishing wisdom, which will entertain you every day when you tear off a page.

Before we get to the review, I have to confess that I am a bit biased, as I've known Joe for a few years through his involvement in a fly tying email group of which we're both members. When he announced to the group that he published a book, I knew right away that I wanted to do a review. I was especially pleased when I learned the subject was warm water fly fishing, a subject which I have a keen interest in. When I lived "back home", I spent quite a bit of time chasing bass and pike in local streams and rivers.

Charles Meck is no stranger to fly fisherman, at least those in the mid-Atlantic states, as he's been writing books and articles about fly fishing since the 1960's. His latest book, "Fishing Limestone Streams", tackles those most special of trout waters where hatches can be intense, the fish can be grow large, and the catching can be difficult.

There are a few things you can count on when you read a book by Lefty Kreh - good storytelling, just-the-facts brevity, a conversation tone to the writing, and lots of practical no-nonsense advice. In "Fly Fishing for Bass", Lefty continues this trend by filling the 143 pages with lots of his book with all of the above, and more.

I've read a lot of books where the author seems to be very eager to impress the reader either with his skill, or knowledge, or abilities. You won't get any of that here

When I first read "Bassin' with a Fly Rod", I knew that I had found a book to my liking when I read this passage:

Those subsurface fly fishing systems that we hear about today - sinking lines with buoyant flies and similar systems - make interesting reading and sell fishing tackle. But such notions are based on an idealistic perception of bass fishing and usually prove to be woefully deficient in actual practice, often frustrating and discouraging would-be bass fly fishers.

Reviewing a book originally from 1989 might seem a bit silly. Let me assure you it isn't!
Reviewing a book written by J. D. Bates might seem a bit intimidating. Let me assure you it is!

I'm not sure quite how to attack the task at hand. On one side this is one of the all time classics written by Bates only a decade after his landmark monograph on streamers. On the other side it's just a book like any other from the 80's - not really impressing by today's standards and usually not something you would worthy much attention, had it not been for the author.

I have always been fascinated by Spey and Dee flies.
Sure, full dressed salmon flies are fascinating and beautiful, but the often lightly dressed Dee and Spey flies with their long and swung back hackles and low riding wings are just soooo fishy!
They all look like something, which could dig themselves perfectly into the jaw of a large Atlantic salmon.
At the same time they have the aura of the classics and you know that these patterns have fished all the great salmon waters of the world during all the great eras of salmon fishing.

With this book Chris Mann has worked his way through yet another pile of flies sent to him from all over the world. His first epos in the series was the Shrimp & Spey flies, and he has now taken on a second and very large group of flies.

The concept is the same as Mann's second latest book. Why change something, which worked well the first time? So this book is also divided into three main parts: history, Europe and the US. As in the first book these are trailed by a comprehensive list of the flies and pattern descriptions.

To review this book is like kicking in an open door - a door, which was opened a few decades ago. So many people have praised it before me, and its influence has been so phenomenal that anything but a Global Class score would make little sense.
The impact of Poul Jorgensen on contemporary salmon fly tying - or rather contemporary salmon fly tiers - is massive. His book brought the craftsmanship and art of these gaudy yet practical and beautiful full dressed salmon flies to the attention of a whole generation of new tiers.

About a year go GFF visitor and author John Waldman (of "Stripers, An Angler's Anthology" fame) posted a message on our discussion board with the subject "World's Strangest & Most Clever Fishing Techniques".

In this message he called for assistance on strange ways of catching fish. The message spawned quite a good number of answers of which I'm sure you will find a few in the book that came from Waldman's inquiry - amongst other sources of course.

When I started researching for my first bonefishing trip, one of the first names I bumped into was Chico Fernandez.
His flies, his stories, his photos, his articles.
Fernandez is definitely one of the grand old men in bonefishing, and although his name is all over the bonefishing community, this is as far as I know his first book as an author. This is somewhat a surprise since his name pops up everywhere in connection with bonefishing.

This is a fantastically beautiful book!

I fell in love with it even before I owned it. I happened to pass by a Danish web site, which had a review of the book, and immediately started a hunt for the publisher in order to get a copy to review. Now, this book is published in Argentina, and Argentinian publishers don't really do a great job of making it easy to contact them. At the same time this book is not exactly widely distributed or marketed.

This book is on the short list of must reads. No kidding. It's really good.

A decade of fly fishing in the streams of 45 countries and states.

This book is touted mainly as an instructional guide to tying the various styles of classic freshwater streamers

During a recent stay in London, I (of course) had to visit Farlow's in Pall Mall - a large and very well assorted outdoors, hunting and fishing shop. The shop is worth a visit for anyone that's in the area.

They had a sale going on, and had a few tables piled up with different offers.

One item immediately struck my retina. All I could see was that it was a large format book - very large, actually - and the name Flip Pallot was visible on the top of the dust cover. Upon closer inspection it had a sign on it that said "Martin, buy me". Or rather: "Was: £40.95, now: £20.50".

About a month ago, a friend and I fished NY's Salmon River and enjoyed a day of continuous action. The pool we were fishing was continuously being refreshed with fish as they moved upriver from the rapids below, their tails spraying water behind them as they swiftly through the currents. As they saying goes, it was a day of tight lines and screaming reels. We left more than satisfied, with sore arms and smiles on our faces.

With "Innovative Saltwater Flies", Bob Veverka has followed the model of Judith Dunham, who wrote a pair of influential books on trout and salmon flies

The book is not huge by any standards, but the eighty-some pages is enough to get you around and aroused.

Like many fly tyers, I've always had a fascination with spey style flies. Whether the slender classic dressings with their tented bronze mallard wings, or the bright featherwings of Syd Glasso, spey and spey style flies seem to bring out the best in fly tyers.

Ok - this sounds cliché - but it is the absolute truth: but it is the absolute truth: If you flyfish for trout - this book is a must read. With clear photography, concise writing, and excellent layout, Ed Engle has come out with a real winner - one of the best of the new millennium.

Paul Marriner covers the subject in three main sections: tackle, locating fish and fishing tactics and flies.

If you had asked me a while back, I'd have answered that a book on web sites is a stillborn idea. End of story. Print stuff on web sites is bound to be outdated before the ink is dry, and web site reviews belong on the web, where updating can be done quickly.

That was before I saw Craig Buddo's book "Fishing Online: 1,000 Best Websites". This book has actually convinced me that the idea might not be that bad anyway.

Wow. Three hundred and forty four pages of emergers. Leeson and Schollmeyer have done it again.

This is the book that soft hackled aficionados have been waiting years to see.

What an enchanting and entertaining book! I cannot recommend it enough. Written in the late 1800's and first published in 1882 this book is bound to be an all time classic - especially in Norway where many school kids have been forced to read it as a part of their English education.

Two things attracted me by this book: the pictures and the price. I could have ordered it online in Paul Morgan's excellent Welsh book store Coch-y-Bonddu Books, but I actually found it in Paul's booth at The Danish Fly Festival for UK£12.95. That seemed like a bargain, and I still feel that I got a lot for my money. You can now find it online or in his catalog for even less: UK£ 9.95 (about 18 US$ or 15 Euros).

There is no question that saltwater fly fishing is a booming industry - at least compared to the much older pastime of trout fishing. Go to any of the big fly fishing shows in the winter and the percentage of tyers, outfitters, guides, and shops that are saltwater oriented increases every year. In synch with this phenomenom is the similar boom in books and magazine articles dealing with saltwater topics.

Ian Moutter, author of Tying Flies in the Paraloop Way, returns with his second book: Imitative Fly Tying. Whereas his previous book was an exploration of fly tying techniques, this book is oriented toward those who want to apply those techniques to different fly patterns. As the name would suggest, the intent is to create patterns that are imitative in nature - that is mimicking natural food forms that a fish is feeding on. In this case, the fish are cold water species - namely trout or grayling.

No doubt that Ed Mitchell is an authority on coastal fishing. Judging from his book titles alone makes him one of the top experts on the subject.

His 2002 title "Fly Rodding the Coast" is a large volume on the art of fishing from the shoreline. It covers close to all aspects of this type of fishing with the limitations that is forced by the fact that he concentrates on US shores and striped bass.

First things first - I really enjoyed this book. So much so, that I've been scouring my mail order catalogs searching for the materials he uses, because I want to add some of his patterns to my fly boxes.

As the title suggests, Shane's book is devoted to mayfly imitations of each major stage - nymph, emerger, adult, and spinner - top to bottom as he says. For each section, he offers up several patterns, each with a introductory essay, step-by-step tying instructions, and a list of variations.

The L.L. Bean Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing is comprised of three previously published books - Dave Whitlock's Fly-Fishing Handbook, Macauley Lord's Fly-Casting Handbook, and Dick Talleur's Fly-Tying Handbook.

Geez—with a subtitle like that, what more is there that can be said?

It seems that big fish, big rivers, and monster hatches catch all the headlines these days - especially what is found on the huge tailwaters below the many dams that have been built over the years. Tackle is being designed more often for long casts - fast action rods with lots of power to toss flies to distant targets. Chest high waders, pontoon boats, guided drift boat trips - almost everything we see is targeted at the big water and big fish angler. I guess that is where the big money is, as well.

At only 126 pages, this quick read will have your mind absorbed in the genesis and exodus of The Gentlemen's Society of Angling. At $18, however, the price seems a bit steep for an afternoon's read in paperback cover, figure you'll clip off $0.15 per page as you read (smile!). The book has a hint of Forrest Gump's honest niavity and a generous touch of characters similar to Norman McClean. You even come to realize that Quill Gordon just isn't a fly. Author Jay Hill casts a story line that lays out perfect, but you won't know it until the very end; a perfect cast so-to-speak.

A whole book about a very special fishing technique for salmon and steelhead by one of the sport's most well known authors.

The flies represented vary from classics tied by recognized experts to contemporary patterns, terrestrials, and extra-terrestrials.

A history of CDC in fly tying, as well as a wealth of patterns and techniques.

It would be a mistake to toss this book off as another niche "how-to" guide. Quite the contrary - this book is that (sort of) yet much more.

A compilation of articles and essays from one of the finest trout fishermen in the world.

It has been said that in the world of fly fishing, there is precious little new to say. The conventional wisdom is that most of what is written and said is the regurgitation of long established ideas, sometimes bent with a subtle twist to make them appear new. Have we gotten to the point where new books are published that are simply a compilation of older works?

My first thought was probably the same as yours - what is "paraloop"? Paraloop is part technique, part style. Take a piece of a parachute, a bit of a thorax dun, and some thoughts of a comparadun, mix, and you'll arrive at a paraloop.

You will have to look a long way for a better and funnier introduction to fly fishing, which at the same time can serve you as a fly fishing mini-bible for many years.

"Land of Little Rivers, A Story in Photos of Catskill Fly Fishing" by Austin McK. Francis scores a Global FlyFisher Global Class mark in Bob Petti's review. Read about the book whose beauty is only exceeded by the majesty of the subject.

Lefty takes us from soup to nuts and offers us his opinions on many things flyfishing related.
There's that word again - advanced. Whenever I see that word in a title, a little alarm bell goes off. Does the book really deal with advanced topics, or did the publishers insist on putting that word in the title to sell more copies to hopeful readers?

Want a great and affordable gift for a flyfisherman - or a little treat for yourself?

Here is good suggestion: a fun little book, written by a man with stories to tell and a big heart for humour, fishing and rod building.

And the book is only 10 US dollars!

Ken Hanley has done it again - and beat himself at it: made a book about the less traditional fly fishing in the salt. Compared to his previous Fly Fishing Afoot in the Surf Zone, this book has a lot more volume and a lot more content. Built along the same lines: instructive, insightful and well written, the new title manages to get around more types of fly fishing for traditional as well as almost unknown species.

A no-frills treatise to teach us "how to cast effectively for the biggest fish under the most demanding situations".

You might think from the title that a trout angler wouldn't have much of a reason to read this book, but that is simply not true. If, while fishing, you have to deal with wind coming from various directions, you have to make a quick cast to a specific target, change direction, or cast for a bit of distance, this book will teach you a thing or two.

This is the first book I have found dealing entirely with fishing from a kayak. Most other kayak books are about kayaking, and might mention fishing, but Ken Daubert does it the other way round, and covers the fishing part extensively, not forgetting the more common aspects of kayaking.

If you want to know who's who and where's where, John Randolph is the guy to learn from

With cover texts such as "When to fish and where to cast" and "How to match the perfect fly" the promises are piling up in this wonderful book from 1999.

Drag-free drift is more than just adding a couple feet of 7x to your leader. Much more.

When I first heard of this book, I couldn't help but wonder how an author could fill an entire volume describing leaders and how they affect the drift of the fly. At what point does redundancy set in? How much material science to include? How many engineering principles? At what point do we leave the audience (anglers) behind?

The guy grew up on the Miramichi? Oh man. I just had to read this one.

Who hasn't dreamed of what it would be like to grow up near a river like the Miramichi? In a land largely unspoiled by so-called civilization? Among people with home-grown sensibilities and an intimate knowledge of their world gained not from study but from experience?

This is the world Mr. Richards shares with us.

If you're content fishing for ten-inch brown trout in secluded settings, great. If you have the desire and means to chase down big (and I mean big) trout, read this book.

I wanna go Bonefishing!

And thanks to Randall Kaufmann's gorgeous book I can — on paper at least. His book Bonefishing! is a true masterpiece in contemporary fly fishing literature.

The magnitude of this book alone was enough to stir my interest when I first saw it at a fly show in The Netherlands. The photo on the front page just wet my appetite further, and letting my fingers run through the pages definitely assured me that I needed to get to know this book better. It's drop dead gorgeous as they say in the UK.

This book is titled Shrimp & Spey Flies for Salmon & Steelhead in the US

I had been looking forward to this book - not least because one of my fellow GFF partners, Steve Schweitzer, and I myself had been corresponding with one of authors, Chris Mann, and had supplied flies for the book.
Like most people I am a bit narcissistic. Most of us must admit that seeing our own name on print in a book does hold a certain degree of satisfaction.

When reading this book, you get the impression that the authors are proud of their work and they know that they have written an above-standard-book. They are not afraid of showing it, not afraid of challenging traditional tying techniques. Some may find that provoking, but what if the book can withstand this pressure...?

The title Pop Fleyes is not a typo, and it is not the synonym for one or both of the authors. The unusual title is the result of combination of the names and one of the major parts in Bob Popovics' designs — the eyes.

AK Best takes the mundane and examines every detail from every angle

"Now there are hundreds of fly-tying books in print. Why do we need another one? This is the book I would have wanted when I started."
- Tom Rosenbauer

Those are some big words. What's true is that there are hundreds of fly-tying books available to the beginning fly tyer, along with almost as many web sites (ahem), videos, cd-roms, and even magazines devoted to tying flies.

Where does this book fit in with all that?

This small volume is a general overview of the bass bug fly-fishing. It contains sections on the history of bass bug fly-fishing, how bass bugs work, fly-fishing for top-water bass, fly-fishing gear needed, tactics for fly-fishing bass bugs, tying bass bugs, a collection of bass bug fly patterns, and a bass bug fly-fishing bibliography.

R.Valentine Atkinson (ed. and photos)
Distant Waters - The Greatest Fly-fishing Worldwide
Published by Mitchell Beazley, Great Britain, 1997
ISBN 1-84000-010-4
Price UK£ 25.- (I've seen it on sale for $24.50 at Amazon.com)

This is an astonishingly beautiful book. A book I felt I just had to own when I saw it in a book store in London. Its pictures are immediately attractive, and just running your fingers through its large pages will reveal green and blue hues that will make you you stop and hold your breath immediately.

European authors Chris Mann and Terry Griffiths angle for a new spin on beginner flytying books. With barely a photograph and just a small piece on materials and tools, see why this book gets a rare score on the GFF Review scale. GFF partner Steve Schweitzer reviews the book.

You'll be enchanted and tempted by R.Valentine Atkinson's book with pictures of fly fishing destinations all over the world and thrilled and entertained by the accompanying texts written by the greatest contemporary writers. Read the full review here.

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.

Tom Kirkman's book "Rod Building Guide" is a cover-to-cover brain dump of the author's experience building all manner of fishing rods. He doesn't tell the reader as much how to do things, as he does why, and almost as importantly, why not.

Dig out your gallows tools, you're gonna need it after you read this book.

My first thought was probably the same as yours - what is "paraloop"?

Paraloop is part technique, part style - mostly for floating (or at least "emerging") flies. Take a piece of a parachute, a bit of a thorax dun, and some thoughts of a comparadun, mix, and you'll arrive at a paraloop. It is really none of these, yet all of them.

So that's what a "paraloop" is. Clear? Probably not. Look at the pictures and it will make sense. Better yet, read the book.

Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies by Paul Marriner should not be viewed as simply a book.

One of the most popular parts of our site is the Reviews section. A good mixture of product and literature reviews are a heathly addition to a global site such as ours.

Surprisingly, in an otherwise literature rich sport, there have been few quality fly-rod-building books. The ones that come readily to mind are AMATEUR RODMAKING, by Perry D. Frazer in 1914, A MASTER'S GUIDE TO BUILDING A BAMBOO FLY ROD, by Everett Garrison in 1977. Thus, when a book on fly rod building is published, it is greedily snapped up. Usually, however, the new books turn out to be both poor in quality and short on useful information.

Fly fishing obsession, does it exist? "The final question is; should any man turn his back on ambition, profit, security, and a parking place in the city, just to pursue a fish!"

There are hundreds of books for the beginning flytyer, many of which are published by material manufacturers or tool manufacturers to 'lure' you into buying their wares. So why then would Chris Mann and Terry Griffiths try their hand at another beginning tying book? It's because their approach makes this book one of the most unique on the market. The tying steps, tricks and illustrations are done via the computer at the hand of expert illustrator Chris Mann.

Dave Hughes has authored a number of excellent and practical books covering a variety of fly fishing topics. This volume is no exception. This slim book is an excellent overview and introduction to fly fishing the dry fly on both moving and stillwater.

The sections on dry fly fishing techniques and dry fly fishing tackle and equipment are concise, practical and informative. Following the suggestions in these sections will put the beginning and intermediate fly fisherman well down the road to becoming a first class practitioner of the dry fly.

Kent Helvie has provided the Steelhead fly tyer with a very good basic fly pattern book. There are both modern and "classic" steelhead fly patterns of every type. Each style of Steelhead fly has clearly illustrated and described tying instructions. In addition, each pattern also has a photograph of the completed fly in one of the many fly plates.

The book opens with a very short history of Northwest Coast Steelhead fly fishing, and a well thought out and useful section on the fly tying materials important to the Steelhead fly tyer.

I'd like to discuss the topic of old and antique fishing tackle from two perspectives. First as actual fishing tackle and second as collectibles. The resurgence in interest for old stuff seems to be okay to me because I'm also old and worn.

I recently spent an evening reading a new book entitled "Glimpses of Maine's Angling Past", authored by Donald Wilson.

This is a very unique and interesting little book. No fly patterns. No fishing techniques. It is basically what the title implies - a portal into the past of one of the most historically significant states in the U.S. with regards to fishing and in particular, fly-fishing.

Fly's Bug-ology Course. Required Reading: "Serious River Rat Level"

Flyfishing "how-to" Books

This one is for all the new inductees to the sport. I still remember it like it was yesterday, my struggles to understand the arcane techno speak of fly fishing. So here are some books that will explain the arts and mysteries. As usual this listing is by no means complete, it just represents yer humble author's short list of relatively easily obtained books. Having said that I know that someone will be able to prove that some of these titles are not available. Yup that's life for ya, win some... lose some, oh well.

There are a lot of important books that have been published and some recent additions also. In this installment we're going to look at some of the tyers and books that I think are worthwhile and comment on the patterns, concepts and technical aspects of the world of silk, fur and feathers as Mr. Skues put it.

The Guys that Came in Second

Throughout the history of the sport of fly fishing there have been many original thinkers who have been recognized for their contributions yet equally there have been many who have not. What makes one fly fishing guy memorable and another lost in the shuffle? It makes you wonder doesn't it. Well maybe not a whole lot but just a little.

So... for those of you with a pathological curiosity here are a few of the duets where one flyfisher gets the recognition and another gets the footnote.

Danish-American Poul Jorgensen belongs among the greatest inspirators when it comes to classical salmon flies. His book 'Salmon Flies - Their Character, Style, and Dressing' is metioned by many well known international salmon fly tyers as the book that started them as salmon fly tyers.

A Selective Historic Overview of Fly Fishing

There's a lot of mythology to the history of fly fishing. Time tends to embellish things and through selective interpretation of facts, events take on a life of their own. However you want to look at it, the end result is we are stuck with a situation we can do little to verify, so we live with and incorporate this into the fabric of our sport's "reality" and history.

Although this book is riddled with errors it does convey the basic information that a beginning Atlantic salmon fisher would need.

This is where it all starts

You are what you eat!
You are what you read!
Garbage in garbage out!

I don't know what all this means but it came right out of my keyboard as I sat down to begin this journey with you.

This column is a new one for the Global Fly Fisher and it will evolve and grow. It may also flow smoothly, succumb to seasonal droughts and also run full spate as it runs from it's source to it's final destination. It
is unnamed at this time but I will give it a name when I think of something appropriate.

Overall, I don't like where-to-fish guidebooks. Most of them are poorly researched, poorly written, and generally useless. This volume, however, proves the exception to the rule. This is a book you will enjoy reading as well as one that will inform the visitor to Virginia about the best fly-fishing opportunities. The text is well written and well edited. The color reproductions are very well done and pleasing to look at. In addition, they compliment the text very well. This is another indication of good editing.

What stirred my interest in this book was Charles Garwood's article on foam flies for panfish. In this he mentions Skip Morris as his inspiration. During a recent visit in Seattle I stumbled over the book, and as it's absolutely reasonable priced and looked very interesting, I immediately bought it.

When Dean Riphagan's book, "The South African Fly Fishing Handbook" arrived at my doorstep, I could only imagine what was inside the package. Would the book contain some patterns I could use in the States? Would the book contain some tips or re-enforcing basics that everyone could use? How about pictures of trout in Africa? When I think of Africa, I think of what the colonized press portrays: desert, elephants, zebras, lions...all the wildlife that a harsh winter in the States wouldn't take kindly to. And what about fishable trout water in Africa?

This is a book, which I have looked forward to read with great anticipation. I saw it first when a friend--Kim Rasmussen--wrote an article on the color on salmon flies for a Danish magazine, and was quite intrigued by the concept of a more scientific approach to the color of flies.

If you ever want to know the 'entomology' of the salt water prey species, this is a good place to look. You will become a very educated salt water fisherman if you read and understand these sections. This will fortunately not be so hard, because even though Roberts has a very scientific way of treating his subject, it's not hard to read and undterstand the book.

Spanish flies are different! At least the ones that are shown in this book. The flies that this book treats are not only tied in a very special fashion, but almost all use Coq de Leon feathers. Read our review of La mosca ahogada.

This is one of the funniest books I have read for quite a while. I laughed a lot while I read it - and learned a lot.

Imagine a serious book where the smartest dog in the world and several pack goats all named Rufus play a major role! Such a book can't be boring. Gary LaFontaine's book Fly Fishing High Mountain Lakes is excellent - educating and entertaining.

A collection of hundreds of small tying tips gathered during Stewart's career as an editor of American Angler and Fly Fish America.

This book is a collection of hundreds of small tying tips gathered during Dick Stewart's career as an editor of American Angler and Fly Fish America. Read the review here.

This is a book that deliberately sets out to help the reader achieve a goal, which few of us actually admit we have: to catch BIG fish!

Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout is quite systematic, and guides the reader through a natural evolution in understanding the advice to come. This is done by introducing the basics: behavior, food selection, and habitats of larger trout, then discuss tactics and in the end show you the right flies.

If you were intrigued, fascinated and inspired by Ken Abrames' book "Striper Moon", this book will kick the legs away under you

The authors are two of the best fly fishing guides in the state of Michigan. That is saying a lot in a state where fly fishing guides have been creating legends for over a century. What the authors have done, in this book, is provide the fly-fishing public with a working handbook for catching the largest trout in a stream on streamers. The methods and fly patterns have been developed during years of pursuing and catching the largest trout on some of Michigan's, and fly-fishing's, most famous, and difficult, waters.

This is one of the very few American books on fly-fishing for trout on
Stillwater

In this very slim handbook, Ed Jaworowski has identified thirty-two of the most common casting problems.

I can't help being enthralled by stripers. And John Waldman's book has just enhanced that feeling.

My knowledge of the American striper heritage is not very profound, but I trust that the representatives of the literature that Waldman has chosen for his book Stripers, An Angler's Anthology are adequate. Read the full review here.

I have tried the hitch with little success as of yet, but after reading this book over and over, I am still a believer

In computer circles - and maybe other places - a project such as this book is often referred to as a soup stone project. This refers to the fact that it's built from scratch by contributions from many people.

A project such as this excellent book is often referred to as a soup stone project. This refers to the fact that it's built from scratch by contributions from many people.

Paul Marriner is well known to Atlantic Salmon fly fishermen the world over. He is likely the best known Canadian fly fishing author outside of Canada today. This book by Paul is interesting in that it documents the Atlantic Salmon flies that are currently favored in eastern Canada. As such the book title may be a bit misleading. These fly patterns include both modern new dressings as well as old Atlantic Salmon patterns, Steelhead patterns adapted for Atlantic Salmon fishing, and conversions of Spey and Dee style patterns adapted for use in Canadian waters.

Although this book is riddled with errors it does convey the basic information that a beginning Atlantic salmon fisher would need.

And at last the book is there: Torp in English. At last a book with the potential to reach beyond the borders of his small home country.

If you are like me, when glass beads came upon the fly tying scene a few years ago, you passed them by. Or, if you did anything with glass beads, it was to add a iridescent bead to the body of caddis emerger patterns. After a few outings the flies got pushed into a forgotten corner of the fly box and the beads got lost in the fly tying materials storage boxes. After a few articles in the fly fishing periodicals, the few published glass bead patterns seemingly disappeared.

Combine the practicality of Sheridan Anderson, The witty prose of John Gierach and the comedic illustration of Gene Trump and you have the only Alan Pratt book ever published. Click here to read why this book surpasses simple flyfishing comedy into absolute hilarity. A genuine 6 on the GFF scale!

A.K. should be fairly well known. The term 'production fly tyer' is very suitable for him. He counts his flies in hundreds of dozens and has before demonstrated his ability to write books about this kind of tying.
In this book he reveals the contents of his own fly boxes. They contain a lot of brown trout flies - no salt water patterns, no poppers, no bass flies. There are a few hoppers and ants, but apart from that it's mayflies, stoneflies a caddises.

This time it's float tubing. It's a basic book, that treats the subject from the bottom: considerations before buying, selecting a tube and other equipment, getting 'on board', strategies and much more. On top of that comes a more general section on trout food and flies.

The authors have added immeasurably to the fly tier's repertoire with this wonderful volume dedicated to the tube fly. Here in one slim volume is collected a brief history and a full range of applications regarding tube flies for the first time. For the tier wanting to try tying tube flies there are well written and beautifully photographed tying sequences. For the beginner tube fly tier there are well-documented sections on tools, equipment, and materials. For the innovative fly tier there are thought provoking ideas on the use of both traditional materials and modern materials.

This book is very stylish, kind of mellow in the visual tone and held in beautiful B/W. People who have met Krieger (or seen his videos) will know that he is not excactly B/W. On the opposite: he's a colorfull, enthusiastic, noisy, acting-all-kinds-of-roles type of instructor.

WARNING: I enjoy good humor. If you don't care for silly wit and prose, you won't agree with my review. Stop here and read something more serious on GFF. However, if you are like me and your built-in internal wader-snug system jiggles over classic comedy, then you'll want to read on.

Combine the practicality of Sheridan Anderson, The witty prose of John Gierach and the comedic illustration of Gene Trump and you have the only Alan Pratt book ever published. Making it more of a spectacular feat is that all the writing and illustrations are done solely by the author.

We at GFF wish that more people made books like this: small and affordable and right on the target. Ken Hanley's small classic has been reprinted

The book is actually quite systematic. Dave Whitlock deals with all important fresh water trout food species; from mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies to fish, scuds, shrimps and leeches. Every group is descibed in detail: life cycle, which is very important to understand -- especially when it comes to insects, morphology, habitus and how to imitate them.

This is a very quotable book. I like short, concentrated books, that don't waste too much time on repetitions and smalltalk. Mr. Pryce-Tannatt is a writer just after my heart, when it comes to that. He does not beat around the bush and talk in length about things that don't concern the subject.

This small book has made me a striper fan. The subtitle gave me the first hint that this would be interesting

This is a book that I bought when attending a very well set up fly tying arrangement here in Denmark just after new year, and already at the arrangement I met two of the tyers featured in the book: Oliver Edwards (UK) and Mogens Espersen (Denmark).

The fascinating thing about AK is, that you start believing him and that many of his methods make sense. His approach is very personal, and he doesn't try to hide this.

When you take into consideration the size and volume of this book: large format and app. 250 pages, and the fact that it 'only' deals with 20 flies, it should be obvious that each fly is described in minute details. And it sure is.

With this book you get your moneys worth in weight. The book is a large format book with more than 300 pages. The size alone can make this book a bit scary, and innocent flytyers who leaf through it, will probably be intimidated by the huge volume of information.

Seriously. This is a book that I like just to touch. The print renders the photos in an excellent quality, and leaves the reader with a feeling that the flies are as textured, translucent and subtle as they actually are.

A short story about the book review section.

Bob Arnold is undoubtedly one of the most devoted wild Steelhead fly fishers alive today. More importantly, Bob is also undoubtedly one of the Steelhead's greatest proponents. Bob has spent the better portion of his life in a mad love affair with a siren dressed in molten silver with crimson blazes, This passionate love affair has taken Bob on many an outing to pursue a fish of which legends are made. The wild Steelhead of mystic rivers such as the Stillaguamish, and Wenatchee.