Strategies for Stillwater [Hardcover]

David Hughes (Author), Dave Hughes (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (October 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811719162
• ISBN-13: 978-0811719162
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #743,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dave Hughes is author of more than 20 books about fly fishing. They include the classic Western Hatches with Rick Hafele, American Fly Tying Manual, Handbook of Hatches, Reading Trout Water, Dry Fly Fishing, Nymph Fishing, and the massive referenceTrout Flies. His latest book, published in 2009, is Nymphs for Streams and Stillwaters. His next book is Pocketguide to Western Hatches, due out in fall of 2011.

Dave was founding president of Oregon Trout in 1983, and was awarded life membership in the Federation of Flyfishers in 1985. He was awarded the Pete Hidy honorary life membership in the Flyfishers Club of Oregon in 1992 for his literary accomplishments. Dave received the prestigious Letcher Lambuth Angler Craftsman Award in 2008 from the Washington Fly Fishing Club. He is also a life member of his home club, the Rainland Flycasters in Astoria, Oregon.

Born in Astoria, Oregon on the 4th of July, 1945, Dave worked his way through college at jobs specializing in the Three Ds--Dirty, Difficult, and Dangerous: mink ranches, tuna canneries, and shrimp boats. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1967, from Army Infantry Officer Candidate School in 1968. Dave served one-and-a-half years in Viet Nam, 6 months as a communications site commander in the Mekong Delta, and one year as liaison officer to the Commanding General of communications in the Southeast Asia theater.

Dave is an accomplished amateur aquatic entomologist. His hobbies include collecting, identifying, and photographing the aquatic insects that are fed upon by trout, as well as tying and fishing the flies that match those insects and fool those trout. His articles on fly fishing have appeared in Field & Stream, Gray's Sporting Journal, Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, Fly Fisherman magazine, American Angler, and Fly Tyer. Dave served as editor of Flyfishing & Tying Journal for eight years, and is currently Elements of Success columnist for Fly Rod & Reel, essayist for Northwest, Southwest, and Eastern Flyfishing, and Minor Notes columnist for Flyfishing & Tying Journal.

Dave lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Japanese fly fishing writer Masako Tani, and their daughter Kosumo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll read it and discover why you need it, June 10, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Strategies for Stillwater (Hardcover)

I used to think that there was no strategy, per se, to fishing a lake--a big tub of water you trolled until you got an arbitrary hit.

This book takes an almost forensic view of a lake's features--water layers, vegetation, etc.--and shows how to read them and catch fish. It's much more detailed than I expected and I came away with a real sense of how to find trout as quickly as possible.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stillwater trout don't want you to read this book!, August 19, 2003

By 

James "software_rancher" (ALAMOSA, CO, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Strategies for Stillwater (Hardcover)

The typical flyfishing book concentrates on fishing streams of one sort or another. But trout lakes and ponds are often easier to find than good trout streams. Those who have spent any time fishing lakes know that there are some significant differences between the two venues. In this expansive tome Hughes covers stillwater flyfishing from top to bottom.

The book is broken into three parts: "reading stillwaters" which discusses the nature of the lake environment; "strategies for stillwater" which equipment, boats, trout behavior and fishing techniques; and "lake food forms and their imitations" which describes each class of fish food along with how to both select (or tie) an imitation and convincingly fish it.

The book is well organized and complete without being tedious; Hughes' prose provides pleasant reading. I know that I'll be a better lake fisher for reading this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, But Dated, November 1, 2006

By 

Gnarly1 (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Strategies for Stillwater (Hardcover)

Dave Hughes has successfully published a number of books on trout fishing. Strategies for Stillwater gives cogent, concise information concerning the way lakes "work" and tips on how to locate trout in them. I wish, however, that Hughes would update the book. A lot has happened since it he wrote it.

For example, pontoon boats on lakes are now very popular. While Hughes describes the pros and cons of prams and float tubes, he doesn't touch on pontoon boats because they weren't around (at least in any great numbers) when the book was written.

There are now a lot more line options for stillwater. I would like Hughes' take on them.

Finally, the patterns described in the book, while venerable, have given way to more "modern" imitations. For example, the patterns for the nymphs of damsels, dragonflies, and callebaetis have changed substantially in the last ten years. Beadhead flies, which have become a flyfishing staple, get no mention because they were not in common use when the book was written. The tremendous work done by Brian Chan, Phil Rowley, and others on understanding and imitating chronomids has been of great benefit to flyfishers. This information also post-dates the publication of the book and would be welcome in a new edition.

Hughes is a good writer and the many tips he gives on finding trout are as valid today as when he wrote them. Be aware, however, that this is not the latest and greatest work on stillwater tactics. Hopefully, Hughes will update it soon.