By gene Kugach
Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 Softcover, $19.95
This book is a collection of “instruction sheets used to demonstrate the [fly] patterns that were tied during the Chicago Fly Fishing Club’s weekly meetings from 1984 to the present,” the introduction says. As you might expect of a Midwest club, only 17 of the patterns are for salt water, and some of these are old dressings (the Bonbright Tarpon Fly, Frankie Belle, Brooks Blonde, etc.)
Each pattern rates a full page, including brief notes on the fly’s origin and use, a description of the dressing, a list of detailed tying steps, and a black-and-white illustration of the finished fly.
Numerous other types of fly patterns are included in the book, but again many are older dressings no longer in common use. Some of the information about their origins also is wildly inaccurate.
The detailed tying steps could make this a good low-priced resource for beginning fly tiers, but others are well-advised to approach with caution.
