Book Review: Flies for the Greater Yellowstone Area by Bruce Staples

I won't be getting out to Yellowstone this year. After three blessed years of wandering the greater Yellowstone area a variety of events have conspired to keep me elsewhere this year. I will still savor memories of tight lines in the pocket water of the Lamar, casting between willow lined banks on trickles in the back country and otherwise staring slack jawed at the majesty of the place.

As part of my Yellowstone therapy I'm already plotting next year's return. One the things I realized by wandering the fly bins in West Yellowstone fly shops is that they do things differently out there. Hoppers are much more important than they are here in the east so the number and variety are stunning. And even the familiar bugs, Drakes for example, are different patterns than you'd find in a shop in Pennsylvania.

The folks over at Stackpole sent me a copy of Bruce Staples, Flies for the Greater Yellowstone Area ($29.95, $23.75 Amazon, $14.99 Kindle) This book is just what is says it is, fly patterns for the Yellowstone area.

This isn't a "how to tie it" sort of book. It's a pattern book. 220 pages of patterns. Each pattern has a paragraph or two with a wide variety of commentary. Some of it is the "why" of the pattern. There's some "where to" and some recommendations on variations that work.

The book is organized into roughly bug-based sections: Caddis, Stonefly Mayfly, Damselflies (or Dasmelflies), True Flies, Scud/Shrimp with sections on Streamers, Terrestrials, Worms and Vertebrates and Attractors.

The variety of patterns is stunning. When you have this many patterns, some of it feels like variety for variety's sake. But much of it leaves you thinking "yeah, that could work" and digging through your materials for something that matches.

The challenge of the practical application of this book is that when you put together 220 pages of patterns with a land mass the size of "the Greater Yellowstone Area" it's much like walking into a fly shop with 300 fly bins and try to figure out where to start.

So, I see this book as a great place to match pre-trip intel (river + hatches + fishing reports/ tall tale factor) with some patterns that might be found effective on the water.

I also like about this book because of the stunning variety of patterns. The combinations of materials and styles gets the fly tying juices flowing. Already I'm thinking of a version of a cripple emerger I tie that might be better with a CDC wing instead of a deer hair wing.

And these flies aren't just for Yellowstone. I cleaned up one afternoon using a yellow sally on a small river in the Blue Ridge foothills and there's a yellow sally pattern in the book that I'll tie for later this season.

If you're looking for ideas for patterns, this is a great place to start. And if you're lucky enough to be heading out Yellowstone way this year, well, get tying.

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Full Disclosure: Stackpole Books sent me the book free of charge for review.

Book Review: Selectivity by Matt Supinski

Fishing books are an antidote to winter doldrums. The water beckons but daylight is fleeting, ice guards the banks and fish sulk. I'll still get out there if I can manage but I eventually succumb to the call of the fire, a deep glass of spirits and the company of family and friends. And a good book.

A few weeks ago, I  received a package in the mail containing Matt Supinski's new book, Selectivity. This tome focuses on advice for angling to fussy trout, steelhead and Atlantics. It's a coffee-table-book sized book and is visually stunning. It also has a heft and a feel that book junkies will appreciate.

Most "how-to" books are prescriptive and, frankly, I find them of marginal value. Angling is highly situational and it's hard to take specific advice - fish this fly, go to this spot, wait for this condition - and make it yield a tug on the line. More valuable is the nugget of general wisdom that you can mull and test and the add to your repertoire if it seems to fit. This is the strength of Selectivity. While there is some prescriptive advice, the sweet spot of Matt's book are the observations and the anecdotes that accompany the techniques.

The book starts off with twenty pages that cover angling history and the language Supinski uses to describe the phases of selectivity: Aggressive/Active, Selective/Reflective, and Passive Dormant. The book then shifts into the first of three sections covering trout, steelhead and Atlantic Salmon:

The trout section comprises half of the book and will likely be the greatest benefit for most anglers. The section starts with a detailed discussion of each of the trout species and some behavioral commentary. I didn't expect this section to be valuable but Matt has a very conversational style and he talks about his experience angling for each species. The discussion about lake-run rainbow and brown trout in the Great Lakes make me appreciate the resource even more than I previously did. I've added a trip to Michigan to the bucket list.

Building on Vince Marinaro's work, Matt discusses how trout see surface prey and what the implications are for anglers. Then he gets into the techniques for tempting these trout. It's everything from the obvious (stealth) to the subtle (decoding masking hatches). He also addresses subsurface presentations and, for those keying in on trophy trout, fishing meaty streamers and dries to Active/Aggressive trout both during the day and at night. As a bonus the section also includes details about fishing sixteen hatches that Matt considers foundational knowledge for trout anglers. The section ends with color plates of dozens of flies (recipes for all in the back of the book) with details and anecdotes about several. My favorite is the Big Spring Mouse. It is big and not a mouse.

I spent some time on the Steelhead section as that's where I've recently found some frustration. Matt is known for his expertise in this area and this section, while not as long as the trout section, seems the best organized and most direct. There's almost too much information to gather in a first reading and I've got to go back through it slowly before my next trip. Steelhead fishing is one of those things that rewards time on the water. Matt reinforces this belief talking about the importance of getting to know the river, slowing down the pace of angling and being thorough in each run.

The last thirty pages of the book deal with Atlantic salmon. I didn't spend too much time on this section as it's not something that really interests me. That said, there are pictures of some absolute beasts. Maybe there's something to it after all....

Overall, I like this book and recommend it with two slight reservations. The early chapters don't seem well organized; I had a bit of trouble getting the pace of things. But once Matt hits his stride things begin to click. Also, my copy had two pages with production errors - a slight blurring of the text - which is disappointing in a book that is produced to such high quality. [UPDATE: The publisher checked copies on their end and it seems mine is an isolated example] But these faults don't detract from the overall value of this tome; well worth the price of admission.

If you're in western Connecticut, you can meet Matt at Housatonic River Outfitters on Wednesday, January 22nd at 6 p.m. He'll be there for a book signing and presentation. They'll also be local beer and wine to taste. I'll be there around 6:30 p.m. I hope to see you there.

Selectivity: The Theory & Method of Fly Fishing for Fussy Trout, Salmon, & Steelhead, Matt Supinski, $39.95 or about $36 at online retailers.

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Full Disclosure: Stackpole Books sent me the book free of charge for review.

A Passive/Dormant rainbow that I  tempted yesterday with a large yellow stonefly nymph.

give me Mountains for my Horses

Not Connecticut Horses

I don't get horses. At least I don't get horses in the Connecticut sense. In suburbia, especially at it's rural edges, you'll find all manner of horse farm. Everything from a 100 year-old shambles of a barn with a tiny ring of half-rotted fence posts to houses of splendor, havens of investment bankers, with acres of mowed paddock and gleaming rails.

I've ridden a few times while on vacation stopping at a dude ranch sort of place to satisfy my youngest son's desire for a saunter horseback. It's enjoyable but not something I'd got out of my way to do save to make my youngest happy. Around here horse riding seems to be the realm of middle-aged women and girls; legion of which can be found wearing buff colored breeches and riding boots while waiting in line at Starbucks on a Saturday morning.

On a trip to Idaho this past summer I had the opportunity to fish with a bunch of guys from Trout Unlimited. They were good company and the fishing was excellent. After the fishing the talk meandered over beer. One thing I discovered was that Tom Reed kept horses and that he had recently lost a special one. I didn't quite get it though I suppose losing a good dog was as close as I'd come to understanding. Later, while sitting having a beer with Bruce and Kat - the Smithhammers of Victor - I mentioned my fishing companions. Kat immediately stated that I should read Tom's book - give me Mountains for my Horses - and Bruce seconded the notion.

In the moment, a book related to something I was ambivalent about was set aside but later the enthusiasm of the recommendation gnawed at me. Amazon obliged in delivering the book to my doorstep by the time I got home.

I was expecting a "boy loves dog" sort of thing and was pleasantly surprised to find something else. Tom's book is a series of short stories that chronicle his early interest in horses, the mortgaging of his future to acquire that first four-legged beast and the lifelong obsession it kindled.

Those of us who prowl the stream in search of sport will understand the parallels between what we seek and Tom's journey. His dreams of living in Big Sky and traveling across the back country on horseback have as much to do with his passion for these animals as they do for that search for something else. Some of those things are tangible - elk and trout - but in the long pauses that exist in any search there's time to appreciate the solitude and grace that the journey affords. It's one of those books that ends too quickly leaving you wanting for the next chapter.

As I read the review copy for Pulp Fly: Volume 3 I was pleased to see another tale from Tom. It reminded me how much I enjoyed his writing about the journey. Maybe there's something to be found on horseback. Maybe on a ride to a trout stream.

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You can find give me Mountains for my Horses on Amazon for $8.96. Pulp Fly Volume 3 should be on sale in the next few weeks.

Review: Pulp Fly: Volume 2

I don't read as much as I want to. Part of that is the demands of work and family but my writing is also stealing cycles. And did I mention the work? And the occasional fishing trip? Fortunately, some time at the beach gave me quiet moments to read and I burned through a couple of books.

My favorite was the latest volume of Pulp Fly. As I wrote last fall, Pulp Fly is a new venue for writers to present fiction related to our sport. This issue is a compilation of short stories from twelve authors. I found the quality of writing in the first volume to be variable. This volume seems much stronger. I'm not sure if that has to do with the stable of writers or the emerging editorial voice. I suspect it's both.

Some of these stories are smart observances of the sport. Tosh Brown's Somewhere Out West gives voice to what I'm sure many a fly fishing guide has thought (and perhaps some have said).

There's also a dark streak in this volume with tragedy befalling and surrounding some of the characters. Flow by Alex Landeen, Hot Sauce Diary by Will Rice, and Frank was a very dull implement by Matt Dunn cover the landscape of suicide, murder and fear of murder (and fear of outhouse tipping).

And the whole thing starts off with an essay from Erin Block (Fireweed) whose literary sense and turn of phrase doesn't disappoint.

In addition, who can resist anything that includes a story about Sasquatch (Lone Lake by Chris Hunt).

Well worth the price of admission.

Pulp Fly: Volume 2, $6.95, Available on Amazon for Kindle, Barnes and Noble for the Nook and iTunes for whatever the heck Apple uses to publish books on their path towards total world domination.

Full Disclosure: I'm writing a piece of fiction for Volume 3 (available later this year) and I happen to like some of the folks who were published in this volume. That may skew my point of view slightly. Please adjust my praise by 13%

Review: The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing

A deadly addition to the fly fishing arsenal.

I'm a reader. It took me a long time to start using digital books. My reluctance to e-read had to do with a belief that a book is so much more than a compilation of words. The value of a really good book is found not only in its words but also for the way it feels in the hand.

I like a book that feels compact and dense when held. Don't get me wrong, I also read books that feel wrong. But I really like a book with a critical mass that makes it feel like a weapon. Jason Bourne would have ended his fight with Desh much sooner had he traded that four hundred page, deckle-edged novel for something more compact, more lethal. Something like The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing by Kirk Deeter and Charlie Meyers.

I had seen this book on the shelf at the bookstore but resisted reading it. It wasn't like any "how to" book that I'd read before and I just couldn't get my head around how this deadly little tome might actually contain enough knowledge to warrant the seventeen dollar purchase price ($11ish on Amazon).

The book is organized into five sections covering casting, presentation, reading water, rigging flies and then the final section on everything else. Each section contains some of the book's 250 tips written in a very direct and conversational style. Each tip is penned by either Charlie or Kirk (their respective initials are at the end of each) and provides a unique point of view on each subject.

What I liked most about this book is the style and intent of the authors. As opposed to some academic tome on the subject of fly angling it feels like you're sitting around the fire at the end of a long day on the water, swilling beer and listening to your buddies talk about what worked and what didn't during the day.

Like most advice, especially from your goofball buddies, it's a take it or leave it sort of thing. Some ideas immediately click cause you've been there before, experienced the problem and can see how the tip might just work. Other's work because you've heard them twice before and now on the third try it's starting to sink in. Still others provide food for thought.

Here's a few samples of the tips and style of the book.

On wind knots & the Big Bang Theory:

....When I see the intricate mazes of highly complex, patterned knots that result from a micro-second lapse of concentration, it reinforces my belief that this whole delicately balanced universe may have indeed resulted from a massive explosion. -- K.D.

The ultimate casting advice (okay, this one is a bit preachy but it's spot on):

....Give me a good drift over a perfect cast, any day, and you'll catch more fish.... -- K.D.

Quoting Pat Dorsey:

...."The difference between a good fisherman and a great one is often no more than a BB" -- K.D. (If nymphing Steelhead teaches you only one thing it is that weight rules the day)

Daring to be different the tips all have unique names.

One of my favorite tips is #134: Raging Bull....You're standing on fish. Here Kirk talks about the fact that many anglers wade right in and cast to the far bank cause as everyone knows, that's where the fish are. Of course, they totally ignore the fact that the fish may have been right where they're standing before they eagerly waded in.

This was exactly the advice I got from the guide who taught me to nymph. As we approached the water, Mike (I can't recall his last name) instructed me to fish my way across to the seam we wanted to fish instead of wading through unfished water. Later as we worked our way upstream he nodded to a guy in a popular hole and said "That guy's standing where he ought to be fishing." Sage advice that has helped bring me fish over the years.

So, I give this book a solid recommendation with one caveat. I don't think this is a book for the beginner. You need some fly fishing context for the lessons contained within. You have to get out and make a bunch of mistakes and learn a few hard knocks lessons before I believe the advice will have the most positive impact. But I would highly recommend this book for someone who's on the journey to becoming an experienced fly angler.

Or anyone about to engage in mortal combat.


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Full Disclosure: I received this book as part of the prize package for the TU/OBN/YPF/Simms Blogger Tour award. They then forced me to read it while Kirk Deeter was looking over my shoulder. Okay, that part is not true. But I did spend the better part of a week roaming around Yellowstone with Kirk and I consider him firmly on the friend list. Regardless of what influence you think free stuff and friendship have on me, I stand by my words.

Book Review: Shin Deep

I'm looking forward to meeting the folks on the Yellowstone trip. Even though we've never met we're not exactly strangers. I know them all through their writing and I've even spoken to Marc on the phone a few times.

Besides his blog, Chris Hunt has a bonus set of writing -- his book, Shin Deep. For my trip out to Denver I bought a copy. It was the perfect read for such a trip. Not too heavy (literally and figuratively) and helped me mentally prep for angling in the Rockies as well as on the Yellowstone trip next week.
If you've read Chris' blog you're in for a treat. It's the familiar voice you hear on the blog but with more depth and variety.
The book is organized around rivers and fishing geography. Each vignette tells an angling story as well as a bit of the life into which it is woven. As all of us know, this obsession of ours is inextricably linked to the people and lives which it touches and Chris' writing brings that out well.
While Chris does touch on my home waters in Connecticut my favorite chapters are of different locales. Shenandoah is a fantastic tale of a visit to nation's capital, a spouse's incredulity (a common angling spouse's state), and a proposal for a three question test before being allowed to purchase a fishing license. Oh, and some angling for Appalachian Brook Trout as well.
His visit to Alaska recounted in the chapter Prince of Wales brings to mind everything that can go both wrong and right in a trip. His quest for the right fly, heck any fly, in the wilds of Alaska leads to an absurd and rewarding adventure.

Finally, Colorado is a tale of small stream fishing for Brook Trout in Rocky Mountain National Park. Any small stream angler will recognize this setting and the challenges is possesses. I particularly like this story because he managed to work in the phrase "booger eating morons"; always a winner.

The book has sixteen other stories of angling adventure. Some are very good, all are solid. Perhaps the best endorsement for this book is that I read it in two sittings without noticing the time going by. Well worth the investment. Pick up a copy.

You can find the rest of Chris' writing at Eat More Brook Trout

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