This review is two for the price of one. "Fly Tying for Beginners" and "The Fly-Tying Bible" are both by the British author Peter Gathercole. They share a similar format and are so like two volumes of the same work I thought I'd review them together. I bought "The Fly Tying Bible" some time before "Fly Tying for Beginners", but bought the latter because I enjoyed the former so much.

For this review I'm going to talk about each book in turn and then mention things they share in common.

Although the title implies the book is for beginners, there is such a range of patterns described it also has a lot to offer intermediate tyers. There are 50 patterns, both traditional and modern. The flies are mainly for trout, but there are a couple of grayling, steelhead and salmon flies. There is a steady progression in difficulty, and all look useful. The first is a Hare's Ear Spider wet fly, and the last is a Dave's Hopper dry. The selection is a nicely varied mix of mainly English and US flies, and you may come across something you aren't familiar with. Many of them have a twist rather than being the same old flies you often see in beginners books. An example of this is choosing the Hare's Ear Spider over an ordinary Hare's Ear Nymph.

The first section of the book is aimed specifically at beginners, describing tools, hooks and materials. The materials section only gives brief descriptions, but this is made up for by good pictures and descriptions of the materials in the recipe for each fly.

Next comes the Core Techniques chapter, which starts right at the beginning - attaching the thread to the hook. It then covers all the techniques needed to tie the flies in the book. The techniques are presented as well as anywhere else I've seen. There are clear photos and along with text describing the overall process of each step, there are also captions pointing out details of what's being done.

The Fly Directory comes next. This is the bulk of the book and has the step-by-steps for the flies. It starts off with the Fly Selector, which is a very handy visual contents page of all the patterns. There's a picture of each fly along with its name and page number. Every pattern book could do with one of these.

Following that are the the patterns themselves, each described over four pages. The first page for a pattern has a few paragraphs talking about the fly, what it's used for, how it might be fished and perhaps mentioning certain things about the materials used and what sort of variations could be tied. The recipe for the fly is in the top right, along with a little icon showing the basic type of the fly, wet or dry. There's a sidebar showing the fish the fly might be used for. The first page also shows the first two steps in tying the fly.

The second page has a large photo of the finished fly. Above it is a smaller photo, and around that are pictures of all the materials used in the fly, with pointers to show where exactly they're used. Each material has a good description discussing how and why it's used. This page is definitely one of the books strengths, and really helps you understand what goes into the fly.

The next two pages show the final six steps in tying the fly, and altogether the 8 steps seem about right. Each step has a nice large clear photo, along with instructions. At the bottom of the last page is a "See also" section which references the page where specific techniques used for that fly are described.

The final part of the book has a list of material suppliers and a so-so glossary, about what you'd expect for this type of book. Finally comes a general index for all the book content, including the fly patterns, although the Fly Selector is more useful for this.

It's hard to fault this book. It's well presented and the information all seems clear and to the point.

How many pattern books does a fly tyer need? The answer would have to be always one more. "The Fly-Tying Bible" has 100 fly patterns for trout, steelhead, salmon, char and grayling. It takes a similar approach to "Fly Tying for Beginners" but, although it also covers tools, materials and basic techniques, it's better to suited to tyers with some experience.

"The Fly-Tying Bible" starts off in much the same way as "Fly Tying for Beginners". The first part of this book is much the same as the other one. Basic techniques are covered, but "Fly Tying for Beginners" does it better and in greater depth. There are two pages about tools which are the same as the other book. The four pages on materials cover fewer than the previous book, but describe them in more detail. However materials aren't described so well on the pattern pages.

Next we get to the flies. There are five chapters of patterns, entitled Dry Flies, Nymphs and Bugs, Wet Flies, Streamers and Hairwings. Each style has a page introducing it. This book has an interesting selection of flies too, with only a slight overlap with the flies described in the other one. In the Hairwing section there's a tube fly and a fly with a Waddington shank, which I hadn't come across before in a tying book. I like that it includes a few flies from Australia and New Zealand. This book doesn't have a Fly Selector showing each fly, which is a shame.

Each fly in the book is described on just two pages. The first page has a paragraph or two about the fly, like the previous book. Underneath the text is a large photo of the finished fly, with pointers labelling its parts with the name of the material used. There's no further description of the materials, unlike the other book. The top left corner has a small picture of the fly which is handy when you're flicking through. A sidebar shows the fish the fly is intended for, and icons show the difficulty of the pattern. Sometimes I feel the difficulty isn't quite right, I've had trouble with some difficulty 2 flies that were trickier to tie than difficulty 4 flies! Overall it seems about right though.

The second page for the pattern contains 6 steps for the construction of the fly, each with a photo and instructions. Personally I think the pictures are a bit small. Sometimes I feel 6 steps isn't quite enough, which is the main reason I feel this book isn't so good for beginners.

Following the pattern section is a Fish Identifier. This is an interesting part of the book which describes each type of fish mentioned, with nice illustrations. There are boxes containing the names and page numbers of the flies you might use to target each species, which is a great idea. Next is an index listing the flies by degree of difficulty, followed by a pretty average glossary and a list of suppliers. FInally comes a good general index for everything in the book.

While this is a good pattern book, it suffers a little in comparison with the other book. The step by step photos aren't as large, and the patterns aren't quite so well described, both in terms of materials and tying instructions. However these aspects of the book are still perfectly adequate, and the wide range of patterns covered makes up for a lot. It is certainly one of the better pattern books that I own.

The books are spiral bound and have heavy card covers, which makes for a nice solid feel. The rings are large so you can flip pages without too much trouble. I've had to feed a couple of pages back onto the rings. They do lie nice and flat though. Both books are also available in a conventionally bound hardcover, for those who aren't so keen on spiral bindings.

The books are an unusual size, more or less A5 or half a Letter sized sheet. It's a convenient size to fit on your tying area, much more so than a regular sized book.

Both books are very well laid out and presented. They're full colour throughout and printed on good quality paper. The photography is excellent, clear and well reproduced. The text is to the point and interesting.

To sum up, these are both great books which I would recommend. "Fly Tying for Beginners" is a particularly good beginners book, possibly the best I've come across so far. "The Fly-Tying Bible" is better suited to tyers with a little experience. It's a really good book to follow on from the other one with, or one to buy if you're looking for a pattern book covering an interesting range of flies.

Reviewed by Jo Meder

Book details, as reviewed:
Fly Tying for Beginners
Published in 2005 by New Burlington Books
ISBN 1-84566-167-2
RRP $24.99 USD

The Fly Tying Bible
Published 2003 in Australia by Gary Allen Pty Ltd
ISBN 1-877082-23-6
RRP $24.95 USD

Jo Meder (jo@sexyloops.com) lives in New Zealand's South Island on the side of a mountain. Since rediscovering fly fishing a few years ago he's become a hopeless addict and can often be found roaming the banks of both rivers and lakes, supporting his habit through work as a software developer. One day he will catch a fish from his kayak. He likes to cast just because and seeks to pass on the enjoyment of casting in his capacity as an FFF Certified Casting Instructor.