Creative Fly Tying (Masters on the Fly series) [Spiral-bound]

Mike Mercer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Masters on the Fly series | Publication Date: July 15, 2005

The book serious fly tiers across the country have been waiting for. California's Mike Mercer--whose highly original trout patterns have made him one of Umpqua Faether Merchants' top fly designers--offers fresh and thought-provoking insights to the art of fly tying in Creative Fly Tying, his first book. These concepts are drawn from a lifetime spent on the water fishing and guiding, studying the prey and feeding habits of fish. Mercer shows how to think differently about trout flies; he explains which materials to use and why. He reveals the evolutions and epiphanies that went into the creation of 12 of his favorite innovative patterns: Gold Bead Poxyback Green Drake Nymph, Copper Bead Micro Z-Wing Caddis, Profile Spinner, Rag Sculpin, Micro Mayfly Nymph, Alaska Lemming, PMD Trigger Nymph, Gold Bead Biot Epoxy Golden Stone Nymph, Sac Fry, Rag Hex Nymph, Zebra Midgeling, Glasstail Caddis Pupa. Very little is left to chance in these deadly flies--they are truly designed, head to tail. Tying sequences are elaborately and exquisitely photographed in super-sharp detail by Ted Fauceglia, America's foremost macro-photographer of aquatic insects.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wild River Press (July 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974642738
• ISBN-13: 978-0974642734
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Rare Books That Won't Make You Regret Spending Time Reading Instead of Fishing, September 3, 2005

By 

Dr. Reed - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative Fly Tying (Masters on the Fly series) (Spiral-bound)

Those who have known or heard of Mike Mercer and his innovative fly designs have waited a long time for this book. Mercer's all too rare Cal Ripken/Lou Gehrig-esque, quarter century long dedication to his job at the Fly Shop in Redding, California, along with his overwhelming and overriding commitment as husband and father, have left many a fly tyer and fly fisherman who owe their success to his creative inspiration hungry for insights into just how he does it. Despite uncounted articles in virtually every fly angling/tying publication on the newstand; no matter his contributions as a long time "Signature Fly Designer" for Umpqua Feather Merchants (39 patterns in their current catalog by my unscientific count); never mind his all too infrequent, 'standing room only,' personal appearances - it is still common to find fly shop employees and anglers who are great devotees of his creations but either don't know his full name or where he's from. (The biographical "Introduction" goes a great distance in mitigating one's ignorance on this count; not to mention, once again confirming that kids who spend what many adults consider to be a bit too much time knocking around, not taking things 'seriously enough,' can still do great things.)

If you've done any fly fishing worthy of the title in the last 20 years, particularly on waters in Northern California, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, or pick your state, then you have most likely either used, heard of, seen, or been made aware of one or more of the author's patterns. In "Creative Fly Tying," Mike Mercer gives you step-by-step instructions, replete with fantastic color photographs, for twelve of these piscatorial treats: Gold Bead Poxyback Green Drake Nymph, Copper Bead Micro Z-Wing Caddis, Profile Spinner, Rag Sculpin, Micro Mayfly Nymph, Alaska Lemming, PMD Trigger Nymph, Gold Bead Biot Epoxy Golden Stone Nymph, Sac Fry, Rag Hex Nymph, Zebra Midgeling, and Glasstail Caddis Pupa.

To the readers' great joy, this is not merely a "how to," pedantic list of materials with captioned photographs which barely outline the steps involved in recreating his brand of trout candy. Within the total 146 pages of text, 126 pages are dedicated to not only providing detailed instructions, but in giving aspiring tyers a rare glimpse into the often humorous, sometimes serious, but always entertaining stories behind the development of these patterns.

As an example, in his usual, easy going style, Mike tells of the angling excursion which served as the catalyst which set the wheels spinning on the road that led to his now famous Poxyback series. Unlike the typical, dry "I observed this...the insect was this shade, with just a hint of this...consulting with two world class entomology texts" accounts so common in today's tying literature, Mercer starts by describing his approach to the stream that day: "When I voiced my uncertainty to Andy, he just grinned and vanished over the rim of the canyon. Feeling like Alice chasing the Rabbit, I plunged after." [p. 21]

Such sentiments express, as well as anything else could, the feeling fly tyers will have as they plunge into the vast resource this work provides.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some disappointment, November 19, 2009

By 

Doh (Pickering, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Creative Fly Tying (Masters on the Fly series) (Spiral-bound)

Mercer is an engaging tier and writer, the book is handsomely produced. On the basics this is a 5 star book many will enjoy. Personally:

1) There aren't enough patterns for a book that costs 60 bucks Canadian retail, there are only a few chapters, but each chapter is full of juicy patterns I would like to tie that are variants of the basic tie covered. But the patterns are not given for these ties. One could of course guess, and some patterns are such minor variants that would work, but others are very different. There is something stingy or stupid about not giving these recipes: Stingy because it feels like they are holding out; stupid because most of the patterns use some special Mercer tying material so why not drive sales to those materials.

2) Many of the patterns are minor variations of some other fly. Often the only real difference is a signature Mercer Dubbing, etc... How different is a micro mayfly from a Copper John. Of course, that is fly tying. In the early days one could make a big reputation by just creating a variant of a standard dry. That may have been because the universe was not so well laid out and even minor variants were large steps. Increasingly the tying world is crowded with patterns. But...

3) There are innovative patterns, like the Rag Sculpin or Hex. Unfortunately I haven't had any luck finding those materials, and they are silly expensive for minute amounts if you find them. Some tiers have found craft store substitutes, but I haven't found them yet. Meanwhile there are good patterns for these flies in conventional materials. The fact these materials are not easy to find suggests these patterns have not proven all that useful over alternatives.

4) Much of the material can be found on the internet already, or in articles that Mercer has published in his regular columns. No harm in putting them in a book, because obviously many people would like them together. Though...

5) I prefer many of his patterns that didn't make the book.

Anyway, it's a good book, just a few of my notes.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, not for beginners, December 17, 2006

By 

Anthony S. Alpert (Weaverville, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Fly Tying (Masters on the Fly series) (Spiral-bound)

As said by the first reviewer, this is a beautiful and well written book. It only has about 12 fly recipes, and each fly is discussed and photographed for many pages. This is not your regular fly tying book with 100-300+ fly recipes.

Mike's flies are amazing, and it's great that he works at a local fly shop where I could ask him questions.

With that said, as amazing as this book is, it is not for beginners. I'm not even sure if it is for intermediate fly tiers. I find the flies difficult to tie and very challenging.

I am not trying to be derogatory about the book. I think the book is amazing, beautiful, and the text is wonderful. Great for begginers to read. But this should not be your first or even tenth fly tying book. It was not made for a beginner, and I'm not sure if it was made for an intermediate fly tier.

There are many great beginner books (I learned by Randall Kaufmann's wonderful books, and Dave Hughes' Trout Flies). If you are an advanced fly tier, then this is a great book.

BTW, I fish many of Mike's flies. Today I will be tying on a Micro Mayfly, but it's not one I tied.