Customer Reviews

Barr Flies: How to Tie and Fish the Copper John, the Barr Emerger, and Dozens of Other Patterns, Variations, and Rigs

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This one of the best fly-tying/fishing book I have read. As a fly tyer I really liked the super clear photos and understandable guide to the many excellent flies presented in this book. There is just enough fishing info to help. What a great book!.

This is the best book I have ever seen for tying John Barr's patterns. The narrative by John is excellent and the photographs by Charlie Craven are outstanding. I recommend this book uncoditionally for anyone interested in tying flies!

I have approximately ten fly tying books of my own and have read more than twenty others. This is by far the best. Clear step-by-step photos and clear explanations as to why these flies work.

Barr Flies: How to Tie and Fish the Copper John, the Barr Emerger, and Dozens of Other Patterns, Variations, and Rigs
Even if you have never heard of or fished the hopper , copper and dropper, you will enjoy this fly tying book. The instructions are easy to follow. The step by step instructions are well illustrated. He goes into some other flies as well. I would recommend this book to any intermediate fly tyer.
Mac

It is hard to imagine that anyone pursuing trout on flies could have walked into a fly shop in the past five years and not have walked out with one of John Barr's flies. Even harder to imagine is that this same angler has never heard of a Copper John or a Barr Emerger. Walking into several fly shops in the past four months around the country, I can attest not only to the popularity of his patterns, but the more than enthusiastic reception this book has received among the fly fishing faithful.

I admit to having tied my own Copper John's for years, now. While I doubt that the effectiveness of my flies will change much now that I tie them in de facto Barr style, the step-by-step instructions and photographs sure have them looking just flat-out better than anything turned out at the vise previously. From a standpoint of personal pride alone, this book may be worth the purchase.

John's commentary on the development of the patterns is good entertainment, but what I found to be of great value were his explanations for why he was driven to imitate the food organisms he has included (i.e. why they are important to the trout), how to fish them best, and overall how these flies are incorporated into his own personal system of fishing. The final pages provide photographs and explanations of four fly boxes (which may have been featured in an issue of "Fly Fisherman" previously - I have not bothered to check) containing the book's patterns in an array of colors and sizes, in addition to a few other popular western fly patterns. I know I stand on thin and melting ice at the mere suggestion of such a notion, but the thought of consolidating one's fly assortment to just four boxes and covering all of the bases likely to be met on-stream just sounds outrageously tempting. Perhaps when I have put 200 days on the water for the next 10 years and have 20 original patterns designed to tackle all of the challenges faced in that time, I will be able to do so. In the meantime, why start re-inventing the wheel? A great book, whether you want to subscribe to a complete fishing system, learn a few new techniques and flies to add to your arsenal, or just make your own flies look better.

I've been fly fishing for over 30 years and live in the epicenter of fly fishing in Montana. I learned a ton from this book ("Barr Flies"). I caught more trout over 20 inches this Summer on the Beaverhead than any time in the past. Filled with great, very specific tactics. Thanks John Barr.

I am usually pretty picky on my fly pattern books and get most of them off the internet. This is a reallyg good addition to your tying library and has lots of info, pictures and organized well. I keep it next to my bench when I get ready to go chase the trout or warmwater fish. Great for remembering patterns I had tied or finding new ones to try.

I live in Colorado and every fly in this book has caught a fish. The book itself looks great on the coffee table but its the instructions and photos that make this my favorite fly book.

Highly recommended.

Even if you already know how to tie these patterns, this is an incredible book. One of the things I look for in a fly tying book, is does the author give his/her advice on fishing the pattern. John Barr does that very well in this book. I grew up fishing, but only began fly fishing about 3 years ago. I didn't have a mentor, so all my learning came from asking a local fly shop owner a lot of questions and books. If I had to recommend 3 books to a new person, this book would be in the list. The tips given in this book will get you catching fish quickly. Have fun fishing and when you can't fish tie flies for the next trip.

This book provided very good visual demonstrations of the various flies that are included and I would recommend it for anyone intersted in tying flies.