I ordered Nymph Fly-Tying Techniques only because it mentioned a few things in the contents that I was interested in, and hadn't seen covered in other places I'd looked. I wasn't really expecting to get too much more out of it than that, but it was pretty inexpensive so I didn't mind. What I got was a book absolutely chock full of useful information.

Nymph Fly-Tying Techniques won't tell you how to wind a dry style hackle, tie a parachute hackle or up-wings. It also doesn't cover tube flies or articulated flies. Emergers aren't really touched on. Apart from that, it really is a comprehensive manual of fly tying techniques. As well as what are generally considered to be nymphs, the book also touches on soft hackle style wets and streamers like Woolly Buggers and leech patterns.

There are three sections in the book. The first covers all the basic techniques which are used in the rest of the book. There is a brief discussion on hooks, including debarbing and sharpening techniques. It then moves on to cover thread handling, tying on, tying off and cementing. As an example of the thoroughness of the book, the tying off section covers half hitching, whip finishing by hand and using a Matarelli whipping tool. The photos and descriptions clearly illustrate all the steps in these procedures, and this is the best treatment of these techniques I have seen in any fly tying book. There are some very handy tips about dealing with broken thread, something I as a relative novice am particularly experienced with.

The first section goes on to describe mounting materials (5 different ways!), trimming materials, forming underbodies of various sorts, preparing material such as feathers and hair, tying on tails, many different ways of dubbing bodies including how to make a dubbing brush twister, feather bodies, wings including using wing burners, legs, eyes, hackling and on and on. There really is almost everything covered in this section that you could possibly need to know. It's all very clearly photographed and described.

There are only a few techniques I can think of which are missing. One is stripping one side of a feather to help with making a sparser or tidier hackle. There also isn't anything about using foam. There are some bouyant type flies in the book tied with deer hair, such as the Serendipity and a dragonfly nymph designed to be fished booby style near the bottom, so perhaps some mention could have been made of using foam.

The second section is really part of the first, but I think it's worthy of special mention. It's a collection of photos of natural nymphs and insects of various sorts. All the major groups are covered. Only sub-aquatic creatures and nymphal forms are shown, but given the subject of the book that is perfectly appropriate. This section is great because it gives you an idea of what you're actually trying to tie, and helps to show what the proportions of different parts of the insects are.

The third part of the book is the main part, and it's where all the techniques in the first part are put into practice. Each topic in this section concentrates on a couple of fly patterns which illustrate the particular techniques relevant to the topic. As an example, the first chapter in this part of the book is about lashed and extended bodies. The first topic uses Ultra Chenille to tie a San Juan Worm and a Beaded San Juan Worm. The next topic is about using Chenille (though still Ultra Chenille really) to tie a Palomino Midge and Palomino Caddis Pupa. The last topic in this chapter covers Furled Yarn, which is a technique where you twist a loop of yarn so much it stays twisted. A Midge Pupa and Damsel Nymph are used to illustrate this technique.

There are far too many patterns and techniques to list them all here. The last chapter has some interesting flies with different sorts of bodies, using glass beads, spun deer hair and woven chenille or vinyl rib. There is a general sort of progression in the difficulty of the techniques, so you can work your way through as your skills improve. However if you are more experienced you can pretty much just jump in anywhere and find something interesting to tie. You will likely find a new way of using a familiar material at the very least.

The presentation of each fly pattern is excellent. At the start of each topic there is a photo of the finished flies, along with a clear list of materials. There is usually a brief paragraph describing particular aspects of the patterns, what they imitate and sometimes how they might be fished. Each fly is photographed with a different colour background. The background colour for the photos outlining the steps for each fly is the same as the initial photo, which is a useful cue to tell which fly is being discussed.

The steps for tying each fly are described using a photo and text. The flow goes left to right and down the page. That might seem a funny thing to mention but I've recently bought a couple of fly tying books which go down the page and then left to right. It's a bit hard to get used to because it isn't the way we usually read books.

When a technique which was described in the first section of the book is being used the name of that technique is highlighted with bold text and the page number it is described on is added. This is a great idea because it means you can jump into the book anywhere and not end up feeling lost. It also prevents redundant discussion of techniques and lets you quickly refresh your memory if needed.

Often optional techniques are described that can be used to modify a pattern, such as adding a wire rib to a fly with a wound yarn body. Sometimes a completely new fly pattern is introduced which uses the same basic techniques as the fly being described previously. Whenever this happens the background colour of the fly photos changes to a different colour, so you can't get confused about which steps apply to which fly.

The patterns used in the book have been chosen to illustrate the particular technique under discussion. There are some old favourites, patterns from well known tiers and a few which seem to have been made up for the book. All of the patterns look like they will catch fish though, and for the most part you wouldn't feel like you've just tied something a bit ridiculous that you'll probably never use. There may be some flies which might not be appropriate to the areas you fish, but the techniques can always be adapted.

All of the photography in the book is very good, and as the author is a professional photographer that's not really surprising. The text is succinct and to the point, there are no anecdotes and the like to distract from the matter at hand. It does mean the book is a little dry, but there is plenty to hold your interest. I have the paperback version, and it stays open flat nicely for when I'm tying flies. There is also apparently a spiral bound edition, but I find spiral bound books have a low life expectancy with me. It's printed on good quality glossy paper and is in colour throughout.

The book has a really good index section, something I always like to see in books like this. The general index mainly focuses on the tying techniques. There is also a separate index for the fly patterns featured in the book, as well as another index which groups the fly patterns by type, for example Caddis and Mayfly patterns.

In fly tying expertise I would say I'm on the cusp of beginning and intermediate. I think any fly tier below expert level would get a lot out of this book. I have read a lot of books and magazines about fly tying and there were lots of techniques here I either hadn't seen described before, or which were clearly described for the first time. It perhaps isn't quite suitable for an absolute beginner, even though it does cover some very basic techniques. Once you've tied a few flies (and I mean just a few) I think you'd be ready for this book. It has really made me think how I can put different techniques together to create my next "irresistible" fly - soon to join the ranks of other "irresistible" flies in my boxes, but never mind…

Nymph Fly-Tying Techniques is wall-to-wall useful information, very well presented, great value for money and I heartily recommend it.

Reviewed by Jo Meder

Book details, as reviewed:
Nymph Fly-Tying Techniques
Published in 2001 by Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
ISBN 1-57188-266-9
RRP $23.95 USD