Secret Flies of the Czech and Slovak Fly-Tiers book by Vaclav Liska
For those of us who are interested in learning new techniques to catch fish - we would be well advised to look over the shoulders of these match fisherman. The point of the match is to catch fish - not look pretty - and very few among us couldn't use an extra trick up our sleeves when it is time to fish our own rivers. The book "Secret Flies of the Czech and Slovak Fly-Tiers" is like a giant peek into the fly boxes of some of the best match fishermen on the planet. The intent is just that - to have these talented and innovative fishermen share their favorite secret weapon flies with the rest of us. This isn't a random "bunch of flies" book, but rather a compendium of answers to the question "what are your favorite flies". Each chapter in the book opens with a bit of biography on the tier whose flies are to be shown. One after another, you read about competitions - the World Championships, the European Championships - each angler clearly relishing their participation both as an angler in the event as well as a representative of their country. Both their passion and their experience make me stand up and take notice. After the bio page, the rest of each chapter is a series of fly recipes - two per page. Each fly has an excellent photograph along with the recipe for the fly and some notes about how the fly is intended to be used. The flies cover the entire range of trout flies - streamers, wet flies, nymphs, and dry flies, but without counting I would judge that nymphs represent the largest portion of flies shown. In some cases the materials used may sound unfamiliar, but the photos are clear enough that any clever tyer should be able to find a suitable alternative that is more readily available.