Keither Fulsher -- Thunder Creek Flies

Thunder Creek Flies: Tying and Fishing the Classic Baitfish Imitations by Keith Fulsher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm probably overrating this book at 4 stars, but there's solid writing, great pictures, and clear tying descriptions. I would have enjoyed seeing more photos of the baitfish the patterns match, and I thought some of the non-recipe sections could have been a little more detailed, but I'll admit they're sort of tangential to the point of the book.

I haven't tied or fished any of the patterns yet, but I'm looking forward to doing so.

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C. Boyd Pfeiffer -- Bug Making

Bug Making by C. Boyd Pfeiffer


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's a pretty great intro to the field (as far as a novice can tell). It's nearly encyclopedic in scope (covering foam, cork, balsa, injection foam, etc. for freshwater, saltwater, trout, bass, billfish, panfish, etc.), but at the same time it's succinct. Pfeiffer's description are clear and easy to follow, which is the main thing you want in a book like this one.

There are plenty of b&w pictures here, and they're useful, but it would be nice to have color plates to go with it. Not so much to see the colors of the bugs (you should know what color to use for your bee pattern), but to make everything a little sharper and more distinct for the trickier techniques.

Some of the info must be a little outdated (the list of suppliers/distributors, for example, and the bibliography), and I'm not sure what advances might have been made in materials since the book was written. Even so, the basic principles are clearly laid-out and very accessible, and the main points probably haven't changed too much.

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A Bully Saves the Day

I've been slacking with the posts lately, but I should have some more writing time freed up, so let's get back to it.

About a month or so ago, I took the fly rod out after some bass. Working my way far downstream, I passed four other anglers. None of them admitted to catching a fish, which was a little troubling, and my day started off slowly. I was looking for a big bass and was sticking mostly to the bottom. I didn't have a single hit.

Finally, I figured it was time to just catch some 'gills, and hope the bass might show up. I tied on a small popper with a new fly I'd been meaning to try out, Bully's Bluegill Spider. I don't know if if was the fly switch of the sun suddenly coming out, but the hits started. I took a number of fair-sized panfish, mostly on the spider.

Finally, a bass hit. He wasn't a monster, but he was 12 or 13 inches. I hung on through three jumps, and then he burrowed deep. I saw him angle for a boulder and I tried to lead him past it. No luck. I felt the line stick, but could feel a slight throb. The line was snagged on the boulder, but the fish was still on. I've caught fish like this before. I plucked the line, and when that didn't work, I waded out to him. I saw him come loose just before I reached him.

That was my only bass encounter of the day, but I did see a pretty large smallie take a swipe at bluegill I was bringing in. That happened at least once last summer, only a hundred yards or so from this spot. I've got to start throwing some of those bluegill patterns...

Anyway, I couldn't complain. The fishing died completely after maybe an hour, but I had kept plenty busy on a day when no one else seemed to be doing anything. I was optimistic about tying into some bass over 15 inches on that outing, but changing expectations and plans made for a fun day even without the big ones.

If you're interested in the Bully's Bluegill Spider pattern, I recommend (again) Bluegill Fly Fishing and Flies by the Wilsons. You'll get a good pattern, pics, and the story behind the fly, as well as tons of great info on bluegill fly fishing in general.

Bob Clouser -- Clouser's Flies

Clouser's Flies: Tying And Fishing the Fly Patterns of Bob Clouser by Bob Clouser

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was going to wait to review this one until I had tied and fished more of the patterns in the book, but it's not necessary.

The book's strengths are obvious: clear descriptions, and big, colorful pictures. I've been tying Clousers for years, but one night with the book immediately improved them. Clouser gives detailed instructions even down to the level of how to properly anchor your eyes, how to epoxy, etc.

This one does have advice on how to fish the patterns. While it's certainly enough to get you started, I think it works best as a partner to his Fly-Fishing for Smallmouth Bass book, which goes into far more detail.

So, yeah, if you're tying for smallies, this one's probably essential.


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Dave Hughes -- Essential Trout Flies

Essential Trout Flies by Dave Hughes

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

What I had seen on the book before I picked it up was a little misleading (or at least I misunderstood it). Hughes doesn't present 31 patterns; instead, he presents 31 types or styles of flies, such as traditional dries, Wulffs, flymphs, etc. For each of these styles, he provides 6 or 7 varieties, so you actually end up with 200 or so clearly presented patterns, primarily targeted for trout. For each grouping, he provides precise instructions with good pictures of each step.

He also provides some very brief tips (a sentence or less) on how to fish each variety, so at least you have some sense of what to do with what you're looking at if it's something new to you. The overview of tools and materials is decent, too.

The book's primarily targeted just-past-beginner tyers. You probably wouldn't want this as a sole introduction (and I'd recommend a DVD or a class for that), but it's a good early book. Even so, I think intermediate tyers would benefit from a clear and handy guide to this number of patterns.


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Fly Pattern Encyclopedia

Federation of Fly Fishers, Fly Pattern Encyclopedia by Al Beatty

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one's just not for me. There are some beautiful flies in here, but they're usually too complicated for my skills (and more complicated than what's necessary to catch fish). Between the complexity of the patterns and the use of unusual materials, it's not one I'll actually be using.

I'd also be interested to see some info on how/when to fish some of these flies. The backwards woolly bugger, for example -- when does this outfish the original? Some information like that, even if it meant the inclusion of fewer patterns, would have been great.

It's a book for fly tyers more than fly fishers. Good at what it is, but not for me.


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Dick Stewart -- Universal Fly Tying Guide

Universal Fly Tying Guide by Dick Stewart

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

An earlier edition of this book was the first fly tying pattern book I ever had, and that's probably where it should be. There's a decent introduction to a few techniques, and a good diagram of the proportions of some flies.

The pattern collection is pretty simple, and pretty small. Returning to it now, I don't always think these are the best versions of the flies (the hare's ear being the prime example), but there are no glaring problems here. As a cheap, concise intro, it's not a bad pick, but it won't served more advanced tiers.


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John Roberts -- Collins Illustrated Dictionary of Trout Flies

Over the next week or so, I'm going to be posting my thoughts on a handful of fly tying books. Here's the first, on one that I bought out of a bargain book newspaper catalog I used to get until maybe 2000 or so:

Collins Illustrated Dictionary of Trout Flies by John Roberts

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is one I just don't connect with. It's a great collection of recipes, with maybe 1000 patterns, and includes work by some great tiers. Just in the "W" section we get Whitlock, Wotton, and Wulff (and then throw in LaFontaine, Ruane, etc.).

So it's a great compendium, but that's it. There's not much instruction here, or instruction on how to fish the patterns. So I'm sort of criticizing it for being something it didn't mean to be, I admit.

It's also a bit British for my purposes, whether it's the certain terminology or certain patterns that just seem culturally off to me.

One oddity about using the book (though this is wise in terms of price and) is that the pictures of patterns are separate from the recipes, with a set of full-color plates in the middle of the book. It takes some flipping to see exactly what you're looking at and how to make it. But this is a reference volume, not an instructional manual. It's just not one that really does it for me.

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