Customer Reviews

Fishbugs: The Aquatic Insects of an Eastern Flyfisher

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"Passing anglers were naturally curious about the contents of my collection bucket, a mixture of caddis, mayfly, stonefly, and dragonfly larvae along with a few hellgrammites and perhaps a scud or two. It distressed me to discover that many of these fly fishers, whose drying patches were loaded with every kind of attractor pattern imaginable, had never before seen any of these insects in their natural aquatic forms." In fact the distress should have been the anglers' not that of author Thomas Ames Jr. The learning curve for fly fishermen is steep at the beginning. Learning about the equipment, the knots, the casting technique, and the introduction to aquatic entomology is quick and fun. But "matching the hatch" is initially quite conceptual, and it takes years of dedication to learn why trout are attracted to specific patterns. We all know that the patterns match various insects, but which, exactly? The learning curve in fly fishing is mostly about the insects on which trout feed, not the fish themselves. Ames' book closes that knowledge deficit with absolutely stunning photographic detail. Every turn of the page is a studio quality portrait of the insect in its maturity and its larval stage, accompanied by a photo of the pattern which imitates one of those stages. The patterns are also meant to be lifelike, and most have shadows underneath them to enhance the realism. The book is the graduate level education in trout fishing which may have eluded you because you were standing in the stream prospecting with various patters, rather than dipping a collection net to the riverbed to harvest insect specimens. We should all be grateful to Mr. Ames for his dedication. Do not be tempted to merely study the photos, or to use the book solely as a reference. The text accompanying the illustrations is as well-composed as are the photographs, and it is both entertaining and informative. "Fishbugs" combines insight with stunning beauty. It is impressive for its scholarly treatment; it will enhance your knowledge of the natural world; it will help you catch fish, and it will look very nice on your coffee table.

This is a book that belongs in every advanced fly fishing/tying library. the photos of common mayflies, caddis and stoneflies are outstanding. The text is anecdotal and interesting, but could have been expanded to include hatch dates, fly sizes, more on variations (like the many body colors of psuedocloeon on teh Housatonic R.). A very nice companion to Mayflies by Fauceglia, also a recent excellent pictorial book.

I bought my husband this book for his birthday and he loves it. He loves fishing the streams of Pa. and this book has been a great wealth of knowledge.