Product Description

Fishing success comes from making wise observations on stream and acting on them right away. In Handbook of Hatches, Dave Hughes teaches how to match the hatch and not worry about identifying the insect until later, if at all, and to fish better, focus on shape, size, and color to choose the best fly for the situation. This popular reference work is now updated with full-color photos of the insects. It is an understandable approach and useful guide to fishing hatches that covers mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies, midges, dragonflies, boatmen, alderflies, and hellgrammites.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62216 in Books
• Brand: Stackpole Books
• Published on: 2005-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 276 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780811731829
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Dave Hughes is the editor of Flyfishing & Tying Journal and has written twenty-five books about fly-fishing for trout, including Trout Flies (0811716015), Wet Flies (0811718689), Essential Trout Flies (0811727483), and Taking Trout (0811729060).

Customer Reviews

Reference for Simplicity
The strength of this book is its approach at SIMPLIFYING your selection of trout patterns. Hughes' basic contribution is to make the point that bugs of specific families (e.g. mayflies, caddisflies, etc.) can all be matched by the same fly style. All that needs to be changed to match the natural is color and size. For example, a parachute style fly can be used to match BWOs, PMDs, Hendricksons, and any other mayfly. What needs to vary is just the color and size.

The other helpful point from this book is the idea that basic pattern designs should be chosen to match water conditions, not specific hatches. For example, Catskill flies for rough water, Comparadun style for smooth water, Parachute style for water in between. This is in contrast to selecting pattern designs for specific bugs (e.g. comparadun for a BWO).

The true value of this book is the focused clarity on selecting and tying patterns for a simplified fly box. I think this book will be useful for beginners confused by the vast array of available patterns, and for more advanced anglers looking for clarity and simplicity in their pattern selections.

For the Novice and for the Experienced Fly Fisher
This is far more than an introduction to the entymology, the context, and the how-to instruction to identifying, tying and fishing with flies that match the hatches. Clearly written and well illustrated with color photography, Handbook of Hatches is a pleasure to read and reread. Food here for the novice and for the experienced fly fisher.

Love the book!
Very well written, gave me (a novice) a lot of good information about what trout eat and where to find them. I especially liked the comparison with a real fly and then a picture of a tied fly. Great, I would recommend this to anyone novice or very experienced.