Fly Tying For Beginners: How to Tie 50 Failsafe Flies [Spiral-bound]

Peter Gathercole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2005

Any angler who takes up the art of fly tying will discover an added dimension to the wonderful sport of fly fishing. This profusely illustrated instruction book shows beginners how to craft 50 professional-looking flies for trout and salmon fishing. Each fly-tying project consists of step-by-step instructions accompanied by close-up photos of the work in progress and a large photo of the finished fly. Beginners will learn how to make dry flies, wet flies, bugs, nymphs, hairwings, and streamers. They'll also get advice on which flies are best for catching which variety of fish. Author Peter Gathercole is the ideal fly-tying instructor, offering a thorough grounding in the core techniques required for fly tying, while assuming no previous knowledge on the reader's part. As he instructs, he also demonstrates that with good guidance and a little practice, every angler can tie a fly that is good enough to fool a fish. More than 500 color photos.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

(back cover):
Being able to tie your own flies gives an added dimension to the already absorbing hobby of fly fishing. This foolproof book is a complete guide to making 50 versatile flies for trout and salmon fishing.

Each featured fly includes close-up shots and an explanation of its component parts, from threads and yarns to beads, tinsels, and feathers. A full-page photograph is also presented.

Clear instructions allow you to master the core techniques quickly, and detailed photographs take you through every stage of the process, from dubbing the body to fixing the hook.

Learn how to make sturdy dry flies, wet flies, bugs, nymphs, hairwings, and streamers. Each entry indicates where the fly should sit in the water, and which fish it is best used to catch.

PETER GATHERCOLE is one of Britain’s leading fly dressers, and he is also a popular photographer and writer of articles and books on game fishing.. His work has appeared in Trout and Salmon and many other magazines, and his previous books include The Sotheby’s Guide to Fly Fishing for Trout, Catch That Fish, and the hugely successful The Fly Tying Bible.

About the Author

Peter Gathercole is a leading British fly tyer and game fisherman, and has written several books and many magazine articles on fishing and tying flies. He has fished in Europe, North America, and Polynesia.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 256 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (October 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764158457
• ISBN-13: 978-0764158452
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, March 3, 2006

By 

A. Gonzales "A. Gonzales" (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fly Tying For Beginners: How to Tie 50 Failsafe Flies (Spiral-bound)

This is an excellent book. It is for beginners and that is exactly what I am. The photographs are in bright full color and take you step by step through the tying of the fly. There are a lot of fly tying books out there and I have looked through dozens and dozens of them. Not one of them came close to being as good as this book.
The wire o' binding that lets the book lie flat is just an added bonus.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but ..., June 23, 2006

By 

M. Wallace (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fly Tying For Beginners: How to Tie 50 Failsafe Flies (Spiral-bound)

There are some truly great things to say about Mr. Gathercole's book, "Fly Tying for Beginners." First, it is laid out in a very sensible manner. Starting with tools and techniques up front, followed by a list of flies, all in awesome crystal-clear color photos. The book's size and wire wound binding makes it so easy to use on at the tying bench.

That said, as a novice to fly tying, I found myself going to other resources to research techniques such as tying hair wings. In addition, it would have been MORE helpful (for me) if some of the techniques I needed to use were found in the same pages as the fly I was tying at that time. One other point is that I found myself having to guess several times on tail lengths, hackle sizes,and occasionally material placement.

Overall, I'm very glad to have this book as a reference, but I'm also glad I have OTHER references to assist me with the gaps of information I found missing in this one.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fly tying for beginners, March 1, 2006

By 

Roland D. Sabourin - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fly Tying For Beginners: How to Tie 50 Failsafe Flies (Spiral-bound)

The book is as user friendly as is possible. It's ringed binding allows it to lie flat on the table and the size of the book is just right, not too small nor too big. The diagrams are easy to follow and unique in their design. I like novel designs and compliment the author on his creativity. If I were to design a book, this would be it.