Wet Flies: Tying and Fishing Soft-Hackles, Winged and Wingless Wets, and Fuzzy Nymphs [Hardcover]

Dave Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 1995

A detailed survey of the history and use of wet flies, with step-by-step tying sequences. A standard reference on the subject.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The history of fly-fishing begins with wet flies, but in this country wets haven't made much headway against the popularity of dries. One reason is that they often imitate adult insects, which appear mostly on or above the surface of the water; another is that they have been fished wrongly. With three decades of fishing experience and coursework in aquatic entymology, plus leading workshops across the country and writing four books on fly fishing tactics, Hughes (Fly Fishing Basics, Stackpole, 1994) here does what he values in others: instructs and enthuses. He explains subsurface insect behavior, extensively covers fishing literature and history, presents detailed instruction on materials and tying, and teaches presentation-all with numerous photos, drawings, and 24 pages of color plates (not seen by this reviewer). Carefully researched and well written, this volume should be useful to all fly fishers and the libraries serving them.
Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Dave Hughes is a highly respected fly-fishing writer with over two dozen books in print. He writes regularly for the popular fishing magazines and currently is a columnist for fly rod & Reel. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (March 24, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811718689
• ISBN-13: 978-0811718684
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #673,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wet Flies : Tying and Fishing Soft-Hackles, Winged and Wingl, November 4, 2000

By 

Gary R. Yaden (London, KY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wet Flies: Tying and Fishing Soft-Hackles, Winged and Wingless Wets, and Fuzzy Nymphs (Hardcover)

This is THE essential book on soft hackled, wet and nymph flies for fishing. If you go after fish by fishing flies below the surface, this is THE reference book to have. Good instructions and photographs throughout with color plates of the flies covered in the book.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wet Flies - the best!, July 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wet Flies: Tying and Fishing Soft-Hackles, Winged and Wingless Wets, and Fuzzy Nymphs (Hardcover)

This is the best book available right now for learning general theory of subsurface fishing. Hughes codifies all the previous knowledge and techniques of famous fly-fishers of the past and compiles all of this into a book that is informative and very easy to read. The discussion of the patterns is worth the price alone. The techniques for fishing the patterns could be put in another book and would be a bargin itself. And his personal knowledge and friendship with Nemes, Hidy, and Rosenberg is demonstrated in stories of fishing with them. Really, this book is good read at any time of the year, not just the winter. Get it, read it, use it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference, December 15, 2002

By 

John King (Shoal Harbour, Newfoundland Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wet Flies: Tying and Fishing Soft-Hackles, Winged and Wingless Wets, and Fuzzy Nymphs (Hardcover)

Hughes' writing is clear and concise. His distillation of work by earlier writers on the subject is lively. It appears to me that he is generous in acknowledging the innovations and achievements of others including his own contemporaries.
But this is more than a well-researched history by a modern practitioner. Hughes' own contribution is the convincing and clear demonstration of some tying techniques that I now use in my basic repertoire. The colour plates are clear and well organized, and the advice, as usual, is worth taking seriously.