Fishing Flies: A World Encyclopedia of Every Type of Fly
Greenhalgh states he is not interested in showing us any fly-fishing flies that have not caught fish, and that alone should merit this book more attention than others that show us pretty flies with no track record. Despite its being called an encyclopedia, readers can use this book in more quotidian ways. Although the work does not explain how to tie flies, anyone who has taken a class from a decent teacher will be able to make flies from the descriptions given here. That said, some of the flies are formidable challenges for even the best tiers, and readers must take that into consideration.   Greenhalgh’s introduction succinctly describes the history and evolution of fly-fishing by recounting the flies of such luminaries as Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton. The author then describes more than 1,300 flies in the chapters “Trout and Graying Flies,” “Streamers and Bucktails,” “Flies for Salmon, Sea Trout and Steelhead,” “Flies for Freshwater Predators,” and “Saltwater Flies.” Each chapter begins with the history of fishing for that particular type of fish. Within chapters, entries are organized into subsections and include “recipes” (uniform lists of parts) along with brief descriptions. Often there are three flies described and pictured on a page. Jason Smalley’s illustrations are lovely color photos on white paper. For further reading, a seven-page bibliography lists the works used by Greenhalgh in writing this book.   Any library with a large population of fishermen among its users would want this work, as would most land-grant colleges with fisheries programs. The book is large and heavy because of the paper’s quality but very reasonably priced. --Clay Williams