Fly-Tying [Hardcover]

Helen Shaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1987

No book has taught more serious fly tyers the basic skills of fly tying.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

No book has taught - or retaught - more serious fly tyers the basic skills of fly tying than Helen Shaw's. Its lucid prose and more than 25 life-size tying sequences make the various processes absolutely clear.There are chapters on Tools, Thread, Tinsel, Floss, Wool, Dubbing, Hairs, Quill, and Feathers; and there is an especially helpful chapter on The Finished Fly. The result of this method of treating the separate techniques necessary in fly tying is the development of skills that will enable any fly tyer to tie hundreds of different patterns.A whole new generation of tyers will benefit from the reintroduction of this masterful book on the twenty-fifth anniversary of its original publication. (6 1/4 X 9 1/4, 324 pages, b&w photos)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (October 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941130541
• ISBN-13: 978-0941130547
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Fish & Sharks

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fly tying, December 21, 2002

By 

"[e-mail]" (Lincoln, NE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fly-Tying (Hardcover)

This is the bood that really tought me to ty flies. I have read and tried to follow others, unlike all the other authors Helen teaches by method rather than by pattern. The pictures I personally think are excellent, she uses oversized materials for illustration. After reading and practicing the methods one will be able to ty a fly just by a list of materials without a picture or sample fly. If I were asked to reccommend only one book for one just starting this book would be it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best, June 14, 2002

By 

BP (Herndon, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fly-Tying (Hardcover)

Shaw takes a unique approach to teaching how to tie. Rather than describing how to tie a Royal Coachman, for example, she organizes her chapters into fly parts and materials. So, there's a chapter on duck wings, a chapter on bucktail wings, etc. As a result, you can look at any pattern and figure out how to tie each part, regardless of whether you've tied the pattern before.

She also has hints on how to manipulate the thread or other materials to get a stronger and more lasting fly. No fly tyer shoud be without this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Basic Primer Of Fly Tying, November 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Fly-Tying (Hardcover)

If you are looking for a good solid book to teach you the fundamentals of fly tying then this book belongs in your library. Photography could be much better but the instruction techniques are concise and easy to master.