Art of the Wet Fly

Fly Dressing Materials and Techniques

In this section I am focusing principally on the books I have personally found most useful and I am fully aware of other excellent books by anglers such as Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer, A.K. Best, Ed Engle, Terry Griffiths, Darrel Martin and many other accomplished fly tyers. Of course, there is much too that we can learn about fly dressing from the writers of old listed in the historical section of the present bibliography. Of interest to anyone wishing to survey the sheer range of current fly dressers and their patterns, it is worth consulting Steve Thornton’s Flytyers of the World(Volumes I, II & III available).

Collyer, D.J., Fly-Dressing, David & Charles, 1975; Fly-Dressing II, David & Charles, 1981. Before his untimely death, David Collyer enjoyed a high profile as a fly dresser in the UK and these are lovely books covering the whole spectrum of nymphs, pupae, dry-flies, wet-flies and lures. I don’t think anyone ever tied a neater fly than David J. Collyer and when you read his detailed tying instructions you know why. Both volumes are illustrated with colour plates; the first volume has line drawings by Derek Bradbury (sadly his tackle shop in Hale Barns is no more!) and the second has line drawings by Susan and Sharon Collyer.

Edwards, O., Fly Tyer’s Masterclass, Merlin Unwin, 1994. This brilliant guide to tying ultra realistic patterns figures coloured photos of Oliver’s flies by Peter Gathercole and accomplished line drawings by the author. As I write, Paul Morgan of Coch-y-Bonddu Books, is preparing a brand new edition of this book. I have learned much about tying techniques from Oliver’s book yet I tend to fall back on much simpler and even scruffier patterns. Nevertheless, when I talk about fly tying with other anglers, Oliver Edwards’ name is generally enunciated in hushed tones! Rightly so.

Gathercole, P., Fly Tying for Beginners and The Fly-Tying Bible. Useful books for beginners who don’t attend fly tying classes. Spiral bound for ease of use at the fly tying bench.

Jorgensen, P., Modern Fly Dressing for the Practical Angler, Winchester Press, 1976 (photos by the author, introduction by Lefty Kreh, preface by Art Lee – enough said!). Poul Jorgensen has written other books (such as Dry-Fly Patterns for the New Millennium) yet Modern Fly Dressing is the book I tend to turn to when inspired to create more realistic patterns.

Veniard, J., The Fly-Dresser’s Guide, A & C Black, 1952 (plus later editions); Further Guide to Fly Dressing, A & C Black, 1964 (plus later editions); Reservoir and Lake Flies, A & C Black, 1970). I still use materials marketed by Veniards and learned to dress flies from a second-hand copy of The Fly-Dresser’s Guide – I still have it and use it! John Veniard’s books may show their age in terms of book production (the illustrations are very dated) but they are still good instructional manuals for traditional fly dressers.

Wakeford, J., Fly Tying Tools and Materials, A & C Black, 1991. A well-illustrated guide and particularly good on materials and substitutes for rare feathers.

However good the guides to tying flies are, there is nothing to beat self-discovery when messing around at the tying bench.