Dry-Flies & Dry-Fly Fishing

I suppose that I have become rather typecast as a wet-fly man yet I do fish the dry-fly as occasion dictates or simply when I feel like it.  Of course, on ‘Dry-Fly Only’ waters there is no choice in the matter!  I don’t think I have read that many books on the dry-fly but I can recommend the following:

Halford, F.M., Floating Flies and How to Dress Them, London, 1886 (FFCL); Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice, London, 1889 (FFCL).  Although Halford’s books are available in the Flyfisher’s Classic Library series there were also good editions of the above books published by Barry Shurlock in the 1970s.  It is interesting to read Halford because all too often the ‘high priest of the dry-fly’ is either misquoted or misrepresented; perhaps old Skues had a little to do with that.  Thinking about the days of Halford, what a shame that his chum, H.S. Marryat, never wrote a word on fishing the dry-fly.  By all accounts he was the real maestro.

Marinaro, V., A Modern Dry-Fly Code, Crown, 1950 (excellent Crown reprint in 1970) (now available via FFCL).  Vince Marinaro’s book is a real American classic and by no means irrelevant to anglers in the UK.  Also worth looking at by the same author is In the Ring of the Risewhich includes excellent photographic material.

Roberts, J., To Rise a Trout, Crowood Press, 1988.  John’s is probably the most complete book on fishing dry-flies.  It is packed with information, beautifully illustrated and contains many excellent patterns.  This is a book long overdue for reprinting I think.

Wilson, D., Fishing the Dry Fly, A & C Black, 1970 (first published in 1957 as Dry-Fly Beginnings).  A neighbour bought me Dry-Fly Beginnings as a birthday present in 1960 and I have been a fan of this book ever since.  Dermot Wilson’s book is an excellent introduction to dry-fly fishing.  How many of you remember those brilliant catalogues he issued from his business at Nether Wallop Mill?

I am afraid that’s all I am offering on dry-flies for the present.  I know there are many other books available, particularly in the USA, and I may get round to reading some of them in due course.