Details Grand In Edwards’ Book
Books on fly tying and fly patterns keep rolling off publisher’s presses at a bewildering rate. Most fill a niche and most are useful to amateur and professional tiers. Huge, detailed drawings of intricate steps in fly tying make Oliver Edwards’ Fly Tyers Masterclass one of the most useful fly tying books to be published in years. The 8x11-inch softcover book is worth every cent of the $19.95 price.
Edwards is one of Britain’s best known fly tiers and his book was published first in England. Stoeger Publishing Co. published the U.S. edition. Patterns featured in the book are simulations of insects abundant in both England and the United States.
What makes the book different from nearly all other fly tying books is Edwards’ attention to detail. Drawings in most books don’t show the fine techniques for tying in tails, wings, hackle and bodies. Edwards’ drawings are so elaborately detailed that even a beginner can perform advanced techniques.
Other books published recently:
Prey, by Carl Richards, published by Lyons & Burford, $24.95. You’ll be amazed at some of the fly patterns that Richards shows in his latest book. They’re so realistic that, if you’re a fly tier, you’ll want to sit down at your vise immediately and try to duplicate a few of them.
Most of the patterns that Richards features simulate saltwater crabs, shrimps, crayfish and baitfish, but some suggest prey of freshwater fish. Richards’ innovative patterns, some of which almost look like lures, are sure to be copied by thousands of fly fishers.
Little River, by Margot Page, published by Lyons & Burford, $16.95. Page may never be quite as absorbed in fly fishing as her famous husband, Tom Rosenbauer, author of several books, but she understands the satisfaction of hooking wary trout on flies.
Maybe it was inevitable that she would become a fly fisher. Her grandfather was the legendary Sparse Gray Hackle and she worked for Nick Lyons, author, fly fisher and publisher of outdoor books.
Her readers will be happy that she now is a published writer, as well as a fly fisher. Her tales are delightfully warm and insightful. You’ll be hearing more from this perceptive young woman.
Terrestrials, by Harrison R. Steeves III and Ed Koch, published by Stackpole, $29.95. A biologist and a veteran fly fisher and tier teamed up to produce this excellent, informative book on the insects that fish relish. Steeves is a biology professor and Koch, author of “Terrestrial Fishing,” is the fly fisher whose name is recognized by veteran fly fishers throughout the country. They discuss beetles, ants, hoppers, bees, crickets and even butterflies, offer numerous patterns to represent the insects and tell how and when to fish them.
Backcountry Fly Fishing in Salt Water, by Doug Swisher and Carl Richards, published by Lyons & Burford, $29.95. Swisher and Richards, best known for their classic, “Selective Trout,” produced this book for fly fishers who would like to explore secluded areas of lakes, estuaries and streams near saltwater.
The authors discuss tides, fish species that thrive in the backwaters, prey of the game fish, fly patterns and ways to get to the best waters.
The Kenai Peninsula, published by the Alaska Geographic Society, $19.95. This paperback book, filled with excellent color pictures, is one of a series being published by the society. If you ever plan to hunt or fish on the arrow head-shaped peninsula or if you visit the area as a tourist, you can learn a lot about the Kenai by reading this 128-page book that’s illustrated with some beautiful color pictures. The Kenai is a mountaincovered peninsula that’s home to brown and black bears, caribou, moose and Dall sheep.
River Journal: Pere Marquette, by Matthew A. Supinski, published by Frank Amato Publications, $14.95. This is the eighth in a series of books on North American rivers. Supinski’s book, illustrated with numerous outstanding color pictures, introduces Michigan’s famous river to fly fishers. Anyone planning to fish the stream would do well to buy the book to learn how, where and when to fish it.
Steelhead Savvy , by Jim Bedford, published by Frank Amato Publications, $12.95. Although Bedford’s little book has only 88 pages, it’s filled with excellent, usable information on where and how to catch steelhead on lures.
The Return of the Bald Eagle, by Priscilla Tucker, published by Stackpole, $14.95. The bald eagle is getting lots of publicity now as the result of some mysterious deaths of the raptors in the East. Birders and others can learn a lot about the species in Tucker’s 115-page paperback book, including the fact that Washington is second only to Alaska in the numbers of bald eagles.
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Fenton Roskelley The Spokesman-Review