Good Flies: Favorite Trout Patterns and How They Got That Way - Tapa dura

A great writer, some great flies - and more practical and amusing observations on flies and fly tying than you'll find in books three times as large.

This intimate glimpse behind John Gierach's favourite vice focuses on the trout flies he has found most successful and how he ties them. There are chapters on how he has developed as a fly tyer - from the hopeless tinkerer who tried every pattern there was to the expert who has settled on a large handful of favourite patterns that now catch most of his trout. Gierach explores the tools he uses for his tying and advocates those that are simple and basic, he also makes his case for the use of natural materials. Then there are cogent chapters on the flies themselves - small, medium and large mayflies, spinners, midges, caddis, hoppers, nymphs and streamers.
The book is punctuated throughout with fishing stories and observations, all in Gierach's inimitable style . . . rambling a little, following this thread and that, always full of wit and deft experience and that special down-home style that has made him America's favourite fly-fishing author. No John Gierach fan will want to miss this delightful little book on the heart of all fly fishing: the fly.