Presenting The Fly: A Practical Guide to the Most Important Element of Fly Fishing (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Rod Walinchus (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One of fishing's wisest of sages, the indomitable Lefty Kreh, has so authoritatively condensed his art down to science--without losing the art--that when he begins this expansive volume on how to get the fly to the fish with "Some Guidelines for Presentation" he doesn't bother rounding off his list to a falsely neat and packageable 50 guidelines. Kreh deems there to be just 47, so 47 there are. Some are obvious--"Always approach the fish as quietly as possible before you cast"; "If you can see your line in flight, you can make a more accurate cast"; "Never cast farther than is comfortable for you"--while others are quite specific: "Always approach a single fish, or school of fish, from upwind"; "After you dress a dry fly, be sure to remove any oil before you make your next cast"; "When you fish extremely clear waters, switch from bucktail and natural-hair streamer flies to those made from the more transparent synthetic wing materials." The rest of the book riffs on the guidelines in depth, the first half focusing on elements like casting, retrieving, tackle, and wading; the second on how to catch specific species, all with essential illustrations.

This is an absolutely essential and practical guidebook, a how-to for every level of experience. Kreh's talent is his knack for thinking about fishing in a thorough, nuts-and-bolts way; he leaves the more poetic meditations to colleagues like John Gierach, Paul Schullery, and Nick Lyons. The beauty of angling literature, of course, is that there's enough room in the river for both camps, but if you sign up for Lefty's, you're guaranteed to catch more fish. --Jeff Silverman

Review

"What a beauty...it's about every aspect of fly fishing."--Washington Times

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; First edition (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558217886
• ISBN-13: 978-1558217881
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,001,276 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be in every fly fisher's library., November 2, 1999

By	Ian Shumaker (Lansdale, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As I looked through a friends copy of Lefty Kreh's PRESENTING THE FLY I said "gee, I don't need this book, I already know a lot of this stuff." You see I've been fly fishing for almost 30 years and 30 years of frustration, trial and error and lost fish taught me much of what I found in this book. I realized that all I need is another 30 years of frustration, trial and error and lost fish and I'll probably figure out the rest of it as well. Then I came to my senses and bought the book, you should too. If I only had one book on fly fishing this would be it. I wish I had it 30 years ago. I imagine a lot of fish are glad I didn't.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most informative source for fly fisherman of all levels., June 27, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

The book starts you off from the very basic of how to begin then takes you to the very advance. It is a great resource and a must to any fly fisherman that wishes to contiually improve.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you'll need to fish-except the rod and reel!, January 18, 2001

By	William L. Lehman "grizzly_hackle36" (Elkhart, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whether you've been fly-fishing five minutes or fifty years, you can learn something from Lefty Kreh. And thank God, he's willing to teach. Primarily that's what this book is all about, teaching. Kreh sets out in clear, straight forward prose, the lessons he has learned from a lifetime on the water. Literally everything is in here. Questions as diverse as how to cast and what clothing to wear are covered. As is proper wading technique, knots and leaders, tackle selection, and more, all to introduce the concept of presnting the fly to the fish, because that's really what it's all about. What it boils down to is this, you buy this book and apply the lessons it contains and you will be a better fisherman. Period.