darkknight 0 Report post Posted June 4, 2007 Title: Tying Small Flies Price: $34.95 Format: hardcover Pages: 240 pages ISBN: 0-8117-0082-8 Photos: 300 color photos Publisher: Stackpole Books Now, everyone likes to be on their favorite trout water and see a large size 14 or 12 dry fly being slammed by a gorgeous brown trout. Who wouldn’t? But in most situations that is not the case when fishing more heavily fished rivers such as the San Juan River or the South Platte River. This is where this book shines. Mr. Engle’s approach to tying smaller flies to catch more fish solves this problem. “Tying Small Flies” breaks it down for you in describing the hooks, materials and tools that are used, as well as, describing the different types of flies that can be tied to imitate these smaller insects. This book is filled with step by step instructions in tying some of the most popular small flies, with the highest quality pictures depicting each step of the tying process. It may be difficult for you to imagine fishing or even tying flies is sizes 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 and yes, even the ultimate in small, size 32. For those that were worried about the infamous size 32, Mr. Engle has set aside a chapter specifically to cover this topic. Mr. Engle’s philosophy is to tie simple flies that are durable and will catch fish. This is made even clearer with his section on tying midges. This book shows how important midge larvae are to any one who fishes the San Juan River. Ed shows some of the more effective patterns of San Juan River guide Gary Willmart. Although, Willmart ideal spooks in his words the “pretty boy” fly tiers, he shows how easy they are to tie using his simple techniques with emphasis on tying thread flies, which work. These and many other classic patterns are covered, as well as, fishing techniques used and the history behind the small flies. All in all, this is a great book for anyone who enjoys tying or learning more about the small flies that these imitations mimic. Overall Rating (1-5 with 1 being "horrible" and 5 being "outstanding"): 4 out of 5 Review brought to you by Terry Will March 20, 2007. Terry is a web developer for Neiman Marcus and NOT affiliated with any fly fishing company. When not spending time with his family you will find him usually hip deep fly fishing for Rainbows and Browns in the Lower Mountain Fork River tail waters just outside of Broken Bow, OK. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rscconrad 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2007 Excellent review. Thanks for taking time. I wish we had more reviews like this on books old and new. At least outside Chicago it is way to hard to get your hands on a book before you buy it. All our local flyshops have closed down due to people like me who found it too easy to order on the internet rather than supporting the fly shops around town. What have I and others like me done. Robert Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin D. Compton 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2007 Equally good on small flies is Engle's companion volume to Tying Small Flies -- Fishing Small Flies. Also, his earlier book, Fishing the Tailwaters, has a chapter on tying small fly patterns. Anyone have a favorite itty-bitty pattern to share? Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.Z 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2007 my favorite small fly book is syl nemes, but i will have to check that book out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites