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Book and DVD Reviews
No sport or game has had as long, and as extensive, a literature history as has fly fishing and its companion craft fly tying. This large body of written and visual material creates one of the greatest joys to members of the brotherhood of the angle. This body of work is one of the truly unique attributes of fly fishing and one that every fly fisherman should indulge in.
Collected here are reviews of books and DVDs I have read or viewed concerning fly fishing, fly tying, and stories about both. No hype, no paid endorsements, only my opinion of each book. These reviews not only describe the contents but also how well the contents have been executed by both author and publisher.
The Benchside Introduction to Fly Tying
by Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2006
189 pages, spiral hardbound
illustrated, Color
suggested price $45.00
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This fly tying instruction book is somewhat on the order of the Benchside Reference volume by same authors. The title is a bit misleading in that the book title would indicate a tying book for those wanting to learn to tie flies or very novice tiers that want to improve. However, the book is really not set up to teach fly tying for the most part. The pattern selection is in many cases of patterns that are too advanced for beginners; the patterns are not presented in a logical learning order. For example you may tie a pattern with a dubbed body and the next pattern has a quill body and the one after that a floss body, before you use the dubbing technique to make a body on another pattern. Thus, moving from one pattern to the next does not provide reinforcement of the previously learned techniques and procedures. On the other hand, the tying sequences are extremely well photographed and the accompanying text is well written.
This book uses a rather unique "Dutch door" type page having a top portion which may be turned independent of the bottom half of the page. Some will find this page style helpful and others will not. It is not easily useable if the book is not lying flat on a horizontal surface as the top page portions will hang down over the bottom page portions making turning the bottom pages a bother. The pages are designed so that the top portions contain the instruction for the fly being tied and the bottom portions contain the detailed tying procedure information. The advantage is you have the complete overall fly pattern constantly in front of you on a two facing page layout and you only flip the bottom portions of the pages to reference the techniques used in each step of tying the fly. The disadvantage is that you have to flip the bottom portions to up to seven or more different sections to complete the tying of a given pattern.
The book is divided into five sections. The first section contains the obligatory discussion of fly tying tools, hooks, and materials. It is as good a discussion of these topics as you will find. The second section is directed to the basic toolbox of the fly tiers craft, namely the basic techniques, at least some of which are used to tie every fly pattern. This section is also well written and easy to read. The third section is also directed to fly tying techniques but those that are illustrated as the major portion in the bottom half pages of the book. These are the techniques you will flip about in tying each of the patterns listed on the top half of the pages. The fourth section is the step-by-step patterns on the top half of the pages which will not be turned during the tying of any single pattern. Finally, the fifth section is a collection of additional fly patterns which are illustrated with photograph and recipe only, no step-by-step tying sequences. The book includes a table of contents on full size pages with a photograph of each pattern listed in the table of contents and ends with a good index that is on split pages making moving through it twice as cumbersome as a full page index would be.
For the beginner or novice tier this book may be more confusing than helpful. For the more experienced tier there is good well illustrated technique tying sequences that will allow you to learn or perfect many advanced techniques of the fly tying craft.
Overall, a well edited, written, and illustrated book whose title may be misleading. This is a book you will want to pick up and play with a bit before you purchase to ensure you are comfortable with the half-page layout design.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Contemporary Fly Patterns of British Columbia
by Art Lingren
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2006
111 pages, softbound
illustrated, Color
suggested price $25.00
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This book chronicles a portion of the fly tying history of British Columbia through documenting the history of the contemporary fly patterns and their creators. As such it is a very important work and one every fly tier with an interest in the history of the craft will want to acquire. The patterns are not the latest and greatest patterns from the slick monthly fly fishing magazines, nor are they presentation flies to hang on the wall. These are "working" patterns by tiers that actually use them to fish and developed them to answer particular problems they encountered in their own fishing.
The book is divided into eight geographic regions of British Columbia and fly tiers from each region and their favorite patterns are included in each. The patterns include freshwater trout, steelhead, and salmon; Stillwater trout; and saltwater salmon and steelhead. The biographies of each of the included fly tiers are as important as the patterns themselves. Too often the people in fly-fishing are lost over time because of the lack of documentation. The author has done a wonderful job of preventing this from happening to at least a few dozen fine contemporary fly tiers.
The patterns include a photograph of the completed fly, a detailed recipe, and comments by the creator as to tying and fishing the pattern. The writing is well done and easy to read. The photographs are well done. The editing and layout design are good making the book easy to enjoy.
Overall, this is a excellent book of very fishable fly patterns that also records the work of some of the fine British Columbia fly tiers and designers. This book makes a great addition to every fly tying library.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Atlantic Salmon Flies, Postcards from Rivers Past
by Richard R. Twarog
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2006
33 postcard pages, softbound
illustrated, Color
suggested price $12.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This is a truly interesting volume. It isn't really a book, but instead a book of postcards that may be kept in tack or taken apart and the individual postcards used or framed. Each post card is a reproduction of a fly tied by the award winning American fly tier Tim Trexler. There are flies designed by Tim as well as flies designed by others and old classics in this collection of superb images. What a great collection to take on fishing trips and send to friends at home working, telling them all the appropriate lies -- ah, stories of your fishing skills and successes. Or better still to frame and hang in your fly tying room for inspiration and enjoyment.
Overall, this is a great collection of very affordable art that you can share or enjoy yourself, for years to come.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Two-Handed Fly Casting
Spey Casting Techniques
by Al Buhr
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2006
79 pages, softbound
illustrated, Color and B&W
suggested price $22.00
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This is one of those instruction books that actually explain every step and movement required to perform the desired physical action, in this case making a well developed Spey cast with a two-handed rod. The strength of the book is the well written, concise text. The text is further supported by well choreographed and executed photographs. The author starts the book by explaining how to make a "grass leader" so you can practice some of the basic casting motions without the need for being on the water. He then breaks all Spey casts down into seven distinct portions so that the caster can practice very effectively either a single portion of a cast or a complete cast effectively both with text and photos. Next you learn about tracking the cast and the casting stroke fundamentals. The forward cast portion of the seven part Spey cast is further broken down into 3 sub-parts. Next the author explains the five fundamentals of every good two-handed cast. The practice routine using the overhead cast all one-hand casters are familiar with is used to teach the idea of "flip the tip" which teaches the caster to develop a two-handed casting stroke that utilizes the strength of the bottom hand and the use of the upper hand as a pivot to allow the long rod to do the real work of casting. This reversal of the normal one-hand casting upper hand dominance which is detrimental to a good two-handed cast is turned into a teaching asset making the transition easier. The bulk of the book is devoted to teaching the mechanics and theory of fifteen of the most popular and useful practical two-handed casts, important techniques such as off-shoulder casting, single haul, quickening, and how to fish using the two-handed rod and the two-handed casts in a number of different water types. The book finishes with three of the most important and useful chapters revolving around common errors and problems in making two-handed casts and how to correct these errors and problems. It is quit simply incredible that all of this very lucid and useful information is in a book of only 79 pages.
This book is not only for beginners but is an extremely useful resource book for everyone casting a two-handed rod as a reference of many popular two-handed casts, a repair manual to fix casting errors and problems, and a technical reference to provide the theory of two-handed casts and casting. With its low price it is one of the real bargains in fly fishing. This is a book that clearly should be in every two-handed caster's and all two-handed casting instructor's libraries.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Spey to Z
by Greg Pearson, Topher Browne, Way Yin
Three Amigos Productions Billingham, WA, 2006
DVD, 88 minutes, Color
suggested price $39.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This two-handed casting DVD may well be a break-through production in that it clearly shows the connection between one-hand and two-hand casting and how knowing the one can compliment learning the other, as well showing the connections between the various styles of two-handed casting. These connections between the various two-handed casting styles include both the strengths and weaknesses of each style thereby allowing the viewer to more easily choose both the best casting style and the best two-handed cast in their own everyday fishing situations. One of the pleasant features of this DVD is the fact that these three world-class two-handed casters don't take any of the sport of fishing or casting too seriously, but instead can stand back and smile and laugh at themselves. They teach ideas, methods, and techniques giving the viewer a toolbox full of methods to successfully cast and fish a two-handed rod.
The DVD starts with the one-handed pick-up and lay-down cast. This is used to explain the idea of a loop, casting plane, straight line tip movement, as well as the back cast and forward cast. Way Yin then moves the casting plane and starts to make the back cast under the rod tip until the end of the line hits the water on the back cast, before starting the forward cast - voila! The one-hand cast has become a Spey cast. He then goes on to demonstrate and explain the traditional Spey casts using a long taper profile (long belly or long head) line. Then Topher Browne illustrates and describes the modern Scandinavian casting style using an under-hand style casting stroke and a short taper profile (shooting head) line. In this section Topher relates the Scandinavian casting style to the Kiss & Go traditional Spey casts as well as the importance of "overhang" and the proper amount of overhang for this style of casting. In the third section Greg Pearson demonstrates and teaches the Pacific Northwest, or Skagit, style of Spey casting that uses a very short taper profile line and is generally coupled with heavy sink tips and big heavy flies to get down quickly in heavy water flows of swollen winter rivers in the Pacific Northwest. The importance of slowing down while maintaining a smooth continuous back cast and forward cast is very well explained. This "Flop & Stop" casting style is the real crux in casting this type of outfit well and it is very clearly illustrated. This flop and stop is probably the most difficult part of casting in the Pacific Northwest style well. The use of mid length taper profile (mid belly) lines are touched on and the positives of this type of line are discussed. The final section of the DVD is one of the most important in fishing a two-handed rod. The idea of always selecting a Spey cast that provides an anchor on the casters downwind side is very well illustrated and discussed. The number of hooks and heavy lines that will not hit the caster makes this section well worth the price of the DVD all by itself.
The DVD is very professionally done by Jeffery Pill one of the finest producers of fly fishing DVDs in the business. The sound is excellent as is the scene choreography and photography. The DVD is of the same quality as a Hollywood movie and it shows in that you are never distracted from the lessons being presented while you watch.
If you are interested in learning to successfully fish with a two-handed rod this DVD is one you will definitely want to own.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Active Nymphing
by Rich Osthoff
Stackpole Books
Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006
178 pages, softbound
illustrated, Color and B&W
suggested price $19.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
For most fly fishers nymph fishing means dead-drifting a nymph below a strike indicator. While this method of fishing a nymph is successful at times, as are the other methods of dead-drifting nymphs, there is a better way. This better way is what the author calls Active Nymphing. Active nymphing is a method and strategy of fishing a nymph with movement to help provide the illusion of life to the fish. The method uses weight, specific casts, and gear that allow the nymph to sink quickly to the desired level in the water column and then become a moving, active fly to entice fish to strike.
The author opens the book with a chapter on rigging for his method of nymphing, followed by a chapter describing how to cast the heavily weighted fishing rigs he is proposing. This is followed by a chapter setting out the philosophy of active nymphing and why the author sees it as a more efficient and productive method of fishing a nymph. These chapters are followed by five chapters on fishing active nymphs downstream, with long lines, with no line other than the leader, micronymphing and nymphing in lakes. The book concludes with a chapter on designing active nymphs as well as an excellent index.
If you thought you understood nymphing tactics this book will open your eyes and provide you with fresh ideas and techniques to increase your nymph fishing pleasure and success.
This is a well written, well designed book which is easy to read and provides great information to increase the fly fisherman's success on stream. A book fly fishermen everywhere will want to add to their library and refer to often.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Woolly Wisdom
by Gary Soucie
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2006
232 pages, softbound
illustrated, Color and B&W
suggested price $35.00
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
If you thought there was a woolly worm and a woolly bugger and other than the difference in the tail that was it, you are in for a surprise. This book presents 400 woolly patterns covering numerous variations. There are standard woolly worms and woolly buggers, buggers without hackle, buggers without tails, buggers with bodies of yarn, fur, hackle, ersatz, as well as the traditional chenille. There are buggers that sink, and those that float. There are buggers with foam heads, foam bodies, bead heads, cone heads, dumbbell eyes, foam eyes, as well as buggers with short tails, no tails, extra long tails made of just about any material that can be used as a tail material. If it can be tied bugger-like and used to fish for any fish that swims in cold, warm, or salt water there is most likely a pattern covering it here. So this is a pattern book of woolly creatures of a vast variety. But it is also a book of inspiration for tiers to create even more, and hopefully better, woolly buggers to meet even more fishing situations. At once, both a history of what is, and a springboard for what can be, in the world of woolly flies. Besides being a pattern book it also teaches a whole quiver full of methods and tips that will allow you to tie better woolly buggers. Flies that swim better, have more movement in the water, and stand up to more fish before having to be retired. Also included are fishing tips by the creators of many of the patterns and explanations of how the particular pattern was developed.
The book is beautifully illustrated and written. In fact, it is a very easy and pleasant read. The stories, tips, and notes by the pattern creators is well worth the read and the modest price of admission.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Fly-Fishing Pioneers & Legends of the Northwest
by Jack W. Berryman
Northwest Fly Fishing
Seattle, WA, 2006
206 pages, softbound
illustrated, Color and B&W
suggested price $29.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
One of the real pleasures of fly fishing is the vast amount of written history about the sport. This book is definitely an addition of major importance to his wonderful written history. The author has provided all of us with well written biographies of twenty-three of the men of the 20th century who have made major contributions to the sport. These contributions were not only to fly fishing in their Pacific Northwest home, but to the sport worldwide. For the first time you will be able to glimpse the men and the times they lived in during a period of tremendous innovation in both tackle and technique. While the impetus for all of these men was to more successfully fish for the trout, steelhead, and salmon of their home waters, what they did has echoed throughout the world. The double haul, one of the great innovations for single hand rod caster all over the world for saltwater and large river fishing was invented, developed, and presented to the world by a pair of these men, for example. And there were the men who entertained a worldwide audience by writing about these developments and their use in fishing for large, strong fish in the Pacific Northwest, men such as Zane Grey and Ted Trueblood.
The book is very well written presenting an easy and entertaining read. The historic photographs and well done illustrations increase the reader's pleasure and allow a wonderful snapshot of our ancestors fly fishing world. A history book that is fun!
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Steelhead Fly Fishing Nez Perce Country
by Dan Landeen
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2006
111 pages, softbound
illustrated, Color
suggested price $25.00
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
If you are a steelhead fly fisherman you have dreamed of taking a steelhead on a dry or waking fly. And you have heard of the Snake River Tributaries such as the Clearwater and Grande Rhonde. This small volume presents a history of this legendary Nez Perce country, its rivers, its steelhead, and its characters. The book is a beautifully written and illustrated oral history by those fly fishermen that lived and live it. A documenting of the oral history of twenty eight Nez Perce country steelheaders spanning the beginning of fly fishing in the area in 1938 to the present day. Also, included is a short informative fun read of the geological formation of the region and its now famous dry fly steelhead rivers. If you cast a fly for steelhead you will want to have this book in your library.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Basic Fly Fishing
by Jon Rounds
Stackpole Books
Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006
113 pages, softbound
illustrated, Color and B&W
suggested price $19.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This is a notebook sized spiral bound book designed to teach a neophyte how to fly fish. With the binding style it can be laid open flat on a table or other flat surface making referring to it while practicing easy. The uses of a large number of color photographs help the reader to visualize the textual information being presented. While the book is geared to fly fishing for trout, there are sections on bass and pike fishing which present several techniques of special interest to warm water anglers. The use of dogmatic absolutes to describe and define techniques and procedures is counterproductive and unnecessary, however. If you are someone that learns well from the printed page this book may be of assistance in learning to fly fish. And at the very low price this book clearly is one that will assist you to refresh your memory of lessons from personal instruction.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Nymph Fishing Rivers & Streams
by Rick Hafele
Stackpole Books
Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006
178 pages plus DVD, hardbound
illustrated, Color and B&W
suggested price $49.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
The author has written one of the most informative and instructional volumes on modern nymph fishing for trout. The book is well written and easy to read. It is also well illustrated with excellent quality photographs as well as lovely watercolor artwork illustrations. The book includes an opening chapter on the history of nymph fishing which is a fun read. The trout, and more importantly, his habitat is described in chapter two which is followed by a chapter on tackle for nymph fishing. This tackle chapter covers not only rods, lines, and reels, but also indicators, weight, and rigging techniques. This is probably one of the best descriptions of modern nymphing tackle in print. The chapter on selecting the right fly pattern includes information on collecting "bugs" as well as how to take bug samples, and most importantly, how to interpret the resulting information. Chapter five is the real meat of the book presenting eleven nymphing methods using text, photographic sequences, and diagrams to clearly teach the reader exactly how to accomplish successful fly presentation under numerous habitat and water conditions. The final major section of the book is dedicated to the insects trout eat and the imitations that will successfully fool the trout. The insect information is very well presented with enough information to allow the angler to have enough of an understanding of the prey species he is trying to imitate without having to look to reference volumes. The pattern selection is kept short by providing a limited set of imitative patterns that cover a large number of insects without having to carry thousands of patterns to the river. Interestingly, the book also includes a DVD which presents a humorous, fun day on the stream with the author and his sidekick showing how and where to use the various nymphing techniques. This DVD is so light hearted that you can not help but learn while chuckling. The book is a rare combination of instruction and page-turner fun read. Such a well written volume deserves a place in every trout fisherman's library.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
The Trout Whisperers
by Pete Bodo
Stackpole Books
Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006
278 pages, hardbound
not illustrated
suggested price $24.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
Every so often novel using fly fishing as the basic plot is published. A few of them turn out to be good reads. This unfortunately, is not one of these. The story line is of a pair of longtime fishing buddies on an annual fishing trek to Montana. The events and tribulations of both a long term relationship and fishing together are portrayed in what can only be describes as a failed attempt at parody or a really bad farce. This book has a one page plot and 277 pages of unnecessary detail having little or nothing to do with the story line. This is definitely one book you can pass up.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Thunder Creek Flies
by Keith Fulsher
Stackpole Books
Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006
109 pages, hardbound
illustrated, Color
suggested price $34.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
The Thunder Creek style of fly pattern is one that for some reason has not gotten the press it should. This revised and augmented edition of the author's original 1973 book is therefore very welcome. Along with the originally published patterns are new patterns for saltwater making this style of fly even more useful. The tying instructions and the history of the style and patterns is well written and beautifully illustrated by the superb photographs of David Klausmeyer. The book opens with a chapter on the evolution of flies for imitating baitfish, and continues with chapters on the history of the development of the Thunder Creek patterns, a chapter on designing Minnow flies, and a chapter on the fish the Thunder Creek series is intended to imitate. The book then provides a chapter describing how to tie these great flies in great detail in both text and picture. The book then concludes with a chapter on tackle for fishing baitfish imitations, fly selection and fishing techniques, saltwater Thunder Creek patterns, and the need for continuing stewardship of the habitat of fish. The especially designed end papers add a very nice touch. The design, editing, printing are all top notch. This is a book every fly tyer will want to add to his personal library and refer to often for inspiration and information.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Featherwing & Hackle Flies for Salmon & Steelhead
by Chris Mann
Stackpole Books
Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006
222 pages, hardbound
illustrated, Color
suggested price $39.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This is a beautifully executed book on a very interesting segment of fly tying, feather wing and hackle flies for Atlantic salmon and steelhead. The most striking feature of this book is the computer generated color illustrations of the flies. These illustrations replace the traditional photographs of actual flies and while they are clearly more functional in showing detail, they do lack the soul of a real fly reproduced photographically. From a practical point they are excellent instructional aids however. The writing is very well done and easy to read and the design of the book is also excellent making for a book that will be read and re-read many times.
The book is divided into a short introduction, a well-written general history, and worldwide development of the feather wing and hackle styles of fly patterns for salmon and steelhead, followed by a section on the feather wing flies of Europe and a section of the feather wings of North America. One of the most interesting features of the book is the way it shows how various regions of the world cross-pollinated one another the development of these types of flies. These are followed by a catalogue of dressings of a great number of classic and current fly patterns from all over the world. The catalogue is arranged to have the recipes on one page and thumbnails of the flies on the facing page. The book concludes with a very user-friendly bibliography and index. There are no tying instructions included. However, if you are interested in tying feather wing and hackle flies for salmon and steelhead, this book is an excellent resource. In fact, this is a book you may want two copies of, one for your reading table and one for your tying bench.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
Early Northwest Fly-Fishing
by Blaine Hallock
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2006
232 pages, softbound
illustrated, B&W
suggested price $19.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This book is a manuscript that was written in the late 1940's by a native Oregonian about fly fishing from the 1890's to 1950. As such it has historical significance in that it presents the fishing, camping, and trekking of the time first hand. And it is so well written that it is a real page turner. While the history is documented it is done so in an easy to read manner that brings out the enjoyment the author got from the outdoors of his time. There are observations of fishing not only in the classic rivers of the Pacific Northwest but of Alaska, Singapore, Japan, Panama, the South Pacific, Japan, Mexico and more. Here are stories of strange fishing and funny fishing circumstances brought about by the much different travel arrangements of 50 to 100 years ago. The author also had produced all of the line drawings for the book and family members provide numerous period photos of the author and the fishing locations. For anyone with a curiosity about fishing around the world this is a must read. It is a book that can be given as a gift to any fisherman safe in the knowledge it will be appreciated.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang
A Passion for Steelhead
by Dec Hogan
Wild River Press
Mill Creek, WA, 2006
319 pages, hardbound
illustrated, Color and B&W
suggested price $59.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
Dec Hogan is a steelheader's steelheader. He is one of those rare individuals that have a passion that has only grown with time and who never lost his sense of wonder of it all. This book truly conveys this to the reader. The passion and love of steelhead, their habitat, and the pursuit of them with a two handed fly rod is so wonderfully presented the reader can not help but smile and start packing for the river. This book is so much fun to read you forget you are actually being taught an art by one its true masters. The illustrations by Greg Pearson are some of the most enlightening ever printed to show the reader exactly what is going on when we swing our flies to steelhead. Likewise, his illustrations of the casting strokes are superb. The photography of the rivers and the fish are of the high quality expected in coffee table art books. The photographs of the flies are nicely done and the large size of the images makes them excellent illustrations for the fly tyer. It is, however, the writing style of Dec that makes this book a must have volume. The writing draws readers beside a campfire to listen to Dec tell tall tales of great rivers and great fish. It simply can not get any better than this if you are fortunate enough to have the incurable steelhead virus. And in every tale told there are lessons which can make the reader a better caster, better fisherman, and better fly tyer.
The only distractions in this book are the first chapter and the last chapter written by two guest authors. Neither chapter belongs in this book. They don't fit any more than a first chapter by Darwin on the evolution of Man and a final chapter by a lawyer on divorce laws would fit in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. I strongly suggest you skip both chapters and simply enjoy the really great story told by Dec Hogan. You will not be disappointed.
The editing, design, and layout of the book are extremely well done. The large format allowing the use of very large illustrations and photographs is one of the great features of the book and makes the experience of reading it even better. Buy this volume and be inspired.
© 2006 Bruce E Harang