The Fly Tying Artist

The Fly Tying Artist is a how-to tutorial guide for fly-tying enthusiasts. Released 1st Nov, 2018 by Stackpole Books, it's 256 pages and available in hardback and ebook formats. The author, Rick Takahashi, is well known in the fly fishing world and has over 60 years of experience creating and tying flies (and fishing).

My background with fly tying is fairly unusual, I think. I've never met a fibrecraft I didn't enjoy, and when I was teaching a class in tatting a couple decades ago, there was a man in my class who was also an avid fly tier. We traded instruction and though I'm not sure if he's still tatting, I am still tying the occasional fly. I'm not an avid fisherman and I don't really even like to eat fish (blasphemy, I know). I have heard over and over from other fly tiers that it's meditative and I've found it to be true. It can be very relaxing to spend time tying flies and it's always a bonus to wind up with something functional at the end.

This book is laid out very logically. It does follow on from Mr. Takahashi's earlier books with in-depth step by step tutorials for many of the flies he developed earlier. Each chapter starts with a generic body form and provides several alternatives for producing specific insects/nymphs. The ties are progressively more detailed as they go on.

There are 12 chapters dealing with different flies for different applications (and a good solid explanation of where and when to use each). These 12 chapters are followed by 2 chapters with different techniques for different environments. The book ends with a functional index. There are probably a couple hundred flies altogether including variations of each main archetype (That's an estimate, I didn't count them).

The tutorials are well photographed and the book is enhanced by the addition of really beautiful photos out in the field with a lot of gorgeous healthy trophy fish and action shots.

One thing I really liked was that, although the author does write which specific supplies he uses, there is no 'shilling' in this book and he isn't trying to push only his own products. He says what he personally uses and leaves it at that.

Beautiful book, well photographed, well written, very useful. Would make a lovely gift for an angler or fly tying hobbyist. Don't discount the possibility that someone in your life who knits, sews, tats, or does other fibrecrafts would also enjoy a try at tying flies.

Five stars.

This is an excellent book for any fly tier, beginning or expert. I have been tying flies for over twenty years, and still picked up quite a bit of knowledge from it.
Takahashi breaks his book down into different "bug" hatches. Mayflies, Caddisflies, Stoneflies, Terrestrials, Midges, Leeches, and Stillwater flies.
Each section describes the insect, then goes into detail about the different parts of the fly. Abdomen, wing case, tail, etc. He gives a list of materials that can be used for each insect.
The author then identifies a fly that can be tied to represent each bug. Along with step-by-step, easily understood instructions on how to tie it. And each step is clearly photographed. After you have that fly down pat, he gives you a whole bunch more examples of flies that represent that bug, and what is needed to tie it. You can then use your knowledge from the first example to tie the additional flies.
I really enjoyed this book. I must have close to fifty books on fly-tying, but I truly believe that this is one of the better ones. I would recommend this to any budding fly tier. And to anyone with more experience who just wants to branch out to try new things.

I dowloaded this book for my husband who teaches dky tying at our local non profit outdoor education center. Together we read the book and he explained it to me. He found the book to very informative. It gives very good instruction and he used it to make flies that were new to him. He felt it was easy to follow and the pictures were helpful. He hopes to buy a copy to use as a give away for a future class. Thank you netgalley for the arc, the review is my husband honest opinion.