Essential Trout Flies

by Dave Hughes

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 How to tie the 31 most effective trout patterns and selected variations-more than 200 recipes in all A core list of flies that will catch trout anywhere, in every season, this collection includes the most important patterns in a wide range of styles, from dry flies to streamers. The tying steps for each pattern are illustrated in step-by-step photos with detailed captions, followed by photos and recipes for the six most useful variations-217 patterns in all. Each chapter features a description of the insect the pattern imitates as well as expert information on how and when to fish the fly.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thorough book on trout flies

This book is very informative and thorugh in it's coverage of trout flies. It is packed edith plenty of pictures and descriptions on how to tie the flies which is helpful and nice. Highly recommend this book for your tying collection

[Max Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your Go To manual of essential flies

Always interesting to read and become familiar with another's views and experiences in fly fishing. This author not only offers his choice of flies and how to tie them but where and when but how to fish them as well.

[Megan Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

great information

Helpful for beginner to intermediate fly angler in beginning/continuing their journey. Great starting place to the novice fly tyer as well.

[john labrum · Rating 3 out of 5]

So close and yet so far

His verbiage is great , but his photos are terrible . Nobody ties flies against a blue background . We use white to get contrast . This is not in keeping with his other great books and photos .

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slim volume, but the content inside is pure magic. Probably more appropriate for the intermediate and advanced tyer. Hughes presents 31 "essential" trout flies with general tying instructions. Each basic pattern, however, has 6 or 7 variations, offered at the end of every section, totaling around 200 fly recipes. The point being: with basic, competent skills, and minor alterations in technique and material selection, the sky is the limit when it comes to designs and permutations.

Hughes tackles the major types of flies: dries, wets, nymphs and streamers. As he writes in the introduction, "By learning to tie the most important pattern in any fly style, and by being prepared to tie its variations, you can match all the species in a given insect order."

The only negative--if this could be construed as such--would be the lack of "table friendly" binding. Spiral bound would be a dream. I can only hope.