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“The dry fly, the wet fly, and the nymph all enjoyed cherished places in an angler’s bag of tricks; but all except the most opinionated will agree that streamer flies and bucktails; when properly selected and employed, hook more and bigger fish more often and in more places than any other type of fly rod lure.” —Joseph D. Bates, Jr. Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing (1966) Streamers, and hair wing versions called bucktails, are versatile patterns that can be fished anywhere whether targeting landlocked salmon on a pristine Rangeley region Maine lake, largemouth bass swimming among the lily pads in a tepid southern farm pond, cutthroat trout inhabiting swift, western rivers or hypercritical browns in the Catskills. In this valuable reference for tiers and anglers alike, author Mike Valla collects here for the reader his favorite classics that are not only important from a historical perspective, but also work well to this day. 100 favorite patterns including Allie’s Favorite Bleeding Shiner Brooks’s Honey Blonde Bumblepuppy Chief Needahbeh Colonel Bates Edson Tiger-Dark Fox’s Yellow Optic Bucktail General MacArthur Goober Jane Craig Missoulian Spook Nine-Three Parma Belle Shushan Postmaster Spruce Supervisor Thunder Creek Silver Shiner Warden’s Worry
New flies and old standbys from one of Umpqua Feather Merchant's top-selling fly designers with 500 step-by-step photos of 24 proven patterns for the most demanding trout Patterns for streams across the country, not just tailwaters; includes nymphs, emergers, and dry flies that imitate mayflies, midges, stoneflies, and caddis Detailed information on how to fish the patterns with over 30 rigging illustrations from artist Dave Hall
The Catskills region of the eastern United States, just two hours northeast of New York City, was the birthplace of a uniquely American style of fly that continues to grace the bins of fly shops around the world. Mike Valla explores the essence of Catskill flies, delving into the history of the region's rivers, fly fishers, and fly tiers and blending their colorful histories with precise step-by-step tying methods. He compares the styles of all of the Catskill school of fly tiers and shares color photos of never-before-seen flies from the vaults of the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum as well as detailed tying steps for 11 Catskill-style fly patterns. This book is essential for those not only interested in learning to tie the Catskill-style flies, but also those interested in the history of American fly fishing.
John McPhee's twenty-sixth book is a braid of personal history, natural history, and American history, in descending order of volume. Each spring, American shad-Alosa sapidissima-leave the ocean in hundreds of thousands and run heroic distances upriver to spawn. McPhee--a shad fisherman himself--recounts the shad's cameo role in the lives of George Washington and Henry David Thoreau. He fishes with and visits the laboratories of famous ichthyologists; he takes instruction in the making of shad darts from a master of the art; and he cooks shad in a variety of ways, delectably explained at the end of the book. Mostly, though, he goes fishing for shad in various North American rivers, and he "fishes the same way he writes books, avidly and intensely. He wants to know everything about the fish he's after--its history, its habits, its place in the cosmos" (Bill Pride, The Denver Post). His adventures in pursuit of shad occasion the kind of writing--expert and ardent--at which he has no equal.
How to tie the 31 most effective trout patterns and selected variations-more than 200 recipes in all. "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
The classic bucktails--Mickey Finn, Black Nose Dace--are some of the very first flies that anglers learn to tie, and they are the most well-traveled of all streamer types, from Maine to Washington, trout to salmon. With over 500 patterns, this is the only book to date written on bucktails as well as other hairwing streamers.
"The most innovative fly tier I have ever known." --Lefty Kreh on Bob Popovics "Bob Popovics has brought more creative ideas to the table in the last two decades than any other tier out there." --Dan Blanton This is the first and only book available on the tier whose techniques with epoxy and silicone revolutionized saltwater fly tying. The family of flies Bob Popovics developed over the last three decades (dubbed "Pop Fleyes," a spelling that incorporates part of his last name with the fact that eyes are a prominent feature in their design) have proven devastatingly effective for stripers, bluefish, false albacore, and many more species. This book goes beyond the basic recipe format to provide the thinking behind Popovics's pattern development, a guide to key tying techniques, and detailed notes on how to fish Pop Fleyes most effectively.
The first in a new Stackpole Books series featuring 50 important flies from a particular region, tied by anglers with close ties and local knowledge of the place. This volume, by Catskills expert Mike Valla, showcases flies that work well on the water there and pays tribute to the region he knows so well. Though not a tying manual, each fly is featured in a spread that includes a large, easy-to-see image, recipe, and tying notes.
