Good Fly Tying Book for Beginner

[sweetlou]

My son and I are going to jump in here and start doing this art of fly tying. I wanted to know what book anyone would recommend for us the beginers? I don't want a book that is to infantile, but one that we can use to build on as well. Thanks

[halcyon]

If it is trout flies you are wanting to learn to tie as well as learn the basics of fly tying I would recommend "Essential Trout Flies" by Dave Hughs published by Stackpole Books. It teaches the beginner the basic toolbox of techniques using currently available natural and synthetic materials and provides patterns of currently popular trout flies.

Regards,

[Shane Atwood]

I started tying about a year and a half ago. I have "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple" by Skip Morris. "Essential Trout Flies" by Huges and a beginners book by Kaufman that I forget the name. All great books on Tying. I would also suggest that you check out the Fly Anglers Online website. It has a great tutorial on getting started fly tying. If you follow their lesson plan it will progressivly teach you the steps need to make fly's that catch fish.

I'm not sure what Fly Fishing clubs you have in your area, but the one I joined up here in Washington, the Puget Sound Fly Fishers, has a great book and video library. Most of the books that people suggest are there and I can check them out for a month or two at no cost other than the yearly fee which is small. They also have classes for beginners on everything fly fishing.

Shane

[steve s]

For fly tying books, I would suggest The Flytiers Benchside Reference by Leeson and Schollmeyer. It's pricey but it has most every single fly tying technique out there. It's not a pattern book or a step by step book but if you are having a problem with a specific tying step, this book tells you how to do it. Great pictures and tutorials. If you go that route, I would also suggest a pattern or tutorial book, or just them online.
What I would suggest more than a book is to take a lesson. I tied for a couple of years using only books as a teacher and made fair to middling flies but as soon as I took a class, my fly tying improved drastically. I only learned a handful of patterns but I learned a lot of techniques that I was able to use on other patterns.
Good luck,

Steve S

[Michael Brady]

I started tying about a year and a half ago. I have "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple" by Skip Morris. "Essential Trout Flies" by Huges and a beginners book by Kaufman that I forget the name. All great books on Tying.
Shane

I second "Essential Trout Flies", after 9 years of tying, I still use it as a reference. Check out Barnes & Noble, or other bookstore and browse through and see which books fit you best. It all depends on what you want to fish for and where.

[Stefan Elliott]

a good DVD that you can place a hold online for your local library is , 50 years behind the vise , with bob clouser and lefty kreh , shows you how to tie on feathers , furs , everything , shows all the tools you need , and how to tie a clouser minnow and lefty's deciver , great DVD

[cabezon]

A recent book which I like is "Mayflies: "Top to Bottom"" by Shane Stalcup; it certainly fulfills your request for something to build on. While some patterns are specific for a particular mayfly species, most patterns are more about producing a fly which mimics a specific stage in the mayfly life cycle. The descriptions of the tying steps are nice, there are great pictures of mayflies (wish they had been identified), and Stalcup presents other color combinations for matching specific mayfly species.

When I was beginning, I found that taking lessons from the local flyshop where I bought my kit or from the local flyfishing club was a tremendous help. Some things are just easier to perform if you see someone else do it first (like whip-finishing by hand). Plus, you will find that folks are very generous with their reference books and materials as you begin to explore new patterns and techniques. Failing access to a live teacher, there are a number of good DVDs / videotapes out there which can show you some of the essential techniques. There are also some video clips online, such as from Fly Tying: The Angler's Art; there are some nice video sequences at http://kwsu.publictelevision.org/stations/kwsu/episodes.asp?eid=12&pid=2

Steve

[gbeeman]

Randall Kaufmann has two books out on tying, one for nymphs and the other for dries. Both are excellent. They allow you to see and understand techniques while tying flies you will actually use. I highly recommend both.

GBeeman

[scottflycst]

Great advice and suggestions all. A shinning example of the experience on this board.

[Stewart]

It's not a book, which is actually its strength, and it's free. However, if you don't have high speed interenet, a book woud be better. This is some of the best instruction you could ever get. http://www.kwsu.org/Offers/OMNFlyTying.aspx

:)

[Brian P]

The two books that I thought were very helpful, and are really nice as they are spiral bound, are "Fly Tying for Beginners" and "The Fly-Tying Bible" both by Peter Gathercole. They both have lots of good patterns and are step by step instructions. The first book "Fly Tying for Beginners" has a lot of different techniques shown in the beginning of the book such as how to tie a parachute hackle, dubbing, tying a hairwing, how to tie in a weighted underbody, spinning deer hair, whip finish, etc. The other neat thing about these books is that not only do they have step by step instructions and plenty of color pictures that go with them but they also have a general fish species guide for the flies being tied, the recipe, and a dissection of the materials that are used to tie the fly (different from the recipe in that it shows in color as to the type, form, and color being used and where they are used on the fly).

The above mentioned tying videos available at KWSU are awesome and I learned a great deal watching these on line and on TV (when they were still on PBS). Lots of great techniques that they show too (even though I still can't seem to figure out what they made their rubber head cement with. I know they mixed shoe goo with something).

Brian

[Mike Etgen]

I'll second the mention of the Skip Morris book; "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple," and add another - "Beginner's Guide to Flytying" by Chris Mann and Terry Griffith. Two advantages to the Morris book are that it's wirebound and has numerous additional patterns beyond the featured patterns.

In "Beginner's Guide to Flytying" I really liked the illustrations when I was starting - large, clear, understandable. Well-organized, straightforward presentations, included instructions for twelve flies whose technniques will serve as a platform for moving onto more challenging options. Either book should be available used through Amazon, I would think; that's where I picked up the Morris book. The other one, (the Griffith-Mann) if you're interested, I'd be willing send it to you for the cost of shipping it.

[Davy]

"Tie your own flies"

[ceviche]

I'll second the mention of the Skip Morris book; "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple,"

iagree Make that a third recommendation. It's one of the best places to start. That book sets you up with your fundamentals. Work through that book and then branch off into others. Outside of that, I'd go with any other of the books covering flies for the species of fish you're interested in. The Flytiers Benchside Reference by Leeson and Schollmeyer is not cheap, but it will go a long ways toward techniques Morris didn't cover. Talleur's Inside Fly Tying is another techniques book which will streamline your tying.

At any rate, Morris' book is a major best-seller for a reason. Do start there. You won't regret it.

[Les Johnson]

Keep it simple when starting out. Skip Morris's book, "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple" really begins at the beginning. He takes you through hooks, tools and tying materials before setting about teaching you how to use all of the above essentials to tie flies. Once you have learned the basics of handling all the various materials and techniques, you will be able to tie most any fly just by using the recipe.

Also, I definately recommend that you consider signing up for a beginning fly tying class in the winter. All Seattle area fly shops offer them. Contact: Orvis (Bellevue), Creekside Angling Company (Issaquah), The Avid Angler (Lake City), or Patrick's Fly Shop (Seattle). All have excellent beginning classes with outstanding instructors. Most, if not all of them are probably already booking dates for winter classes. The Washington Fly Fishing Club also has beginning fly tying classes every winter. Check the WFFC website.
Good Tying,
Les Johnson