The Total Fly Fishing Manual: 307 Essential Skills and Tips

by Joe Cermele, The Editors of Field and Stream

Overview

From the same team that brought you the Total Fishing Manual , comes the book fly fishing fanatics have been waiting for: The Total Fly Fishing Manual: 307 Tips and Tricks from Expert Anglers. The Total Fly Fishing Manual is the most comprehensive collection of expert fly fishing advice and up-to-date gear reviews. This book gathers the best tips, old school-techniques that still deliver and adds a wealth of new material.

Filled with over 300 hints from the best anglers in both salt and fresh water, the editors of Field and Stream give you everything you need to make the perfect pitch, find a secret spot and score a fish.

TOOLS
From the best flies of all time to the best reel for the job and when to change your hooks learn about the tools you needed for the job. As well as practical skills like tying a Palomar knot, how to unravel flylines, the five-minute fly, tying a clouser minnow, and how to lose the tailing loop.
TECHNIQUES
From old to new, everything you need to know to strike in the night, put a different spin on it, spot and stalk, shoot the breeze and find where they feed.
TACTICS
Put yourself in the best position for the catch: get up the creek for a late-season trout, find a secret spot, sneak up on more fish, fish headwaters for autumn trout, fish with your eyes, hook more rising fish, take the long shot, and dominate the shoreline.

Whether you’re fishing for, salmon, bass or carp this guide will help you improve your technique, upgrade your equipment and hook your prize fish.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616288730
Publisher:	Weldon Owen
Publication date:	05/26/2015
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,049,674
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Joe Cermele started his career in outdoor journalism in 2004 covering fishing tournaments for a local magazine in his home state of New Jersey. In 2005 while attending Rider University, he became an intern at Salt Water Sportsman magazine, joining the editorial staff full time that same year after graduation. In 2008, he moved to sister publication Field & Stream, where he was named Fishing Editor in 2011. His writing appears monthly in the magazine, he blogs weekly on Field & Stream's website, and also hosts and produces Field & Stream's "Hook Shots," an award-winning web-based fishing show with a punk rock edge. Cermele has fished all over the country and abroad, but when he's not traveling on assignment, you can find him on his boat chasing tuna and striped bass off the Jersey coast, pitching tubes to smallmouth bass on the Delaware River, or flyfishing for trout in New York's Catskill Mountains.

Read an Excerpt

TIP 104: TIE A FIVE-MINUTE FLY
 
The Woolly Bugger is the perfect pattern for a learning fly-tyer. It’s big, so you can see what you’re doing, and it involves only a few inexpensive materials. Even more importantly, it’s a proven producer for trout, bass, and almost anything in between.
 
STEP 1 Wrap black 6/0 thread along the length of a size 10 streamer hook. Always wrap away from yourself, over the top of the hook. If you want a beadhead bugger, slide the bead on the hook before starting your wraps.
 
STEP 2 Secure one large black marabou feather at the front of the hook, and wrap all the way back to the bend. You want to leave enough feather exposed to create a tail.
 
STEP 3 Connect a 2-inch piece of fine copper wire by the tail, and also a strand of black chenille. Wrap the thread forward, then the chenille, but leave the wire behind. Tie off the chenille with a half hitch.
 
STEP 4 Now tie on a saddle hackle feather (black or grizzly), palmer it back (wrap with spacing), and secure this with a couple of wraps of the wire. Trim the leftover hackle. Wrap the wire forward, and tie it off with the thread. Trim the excess wire.
 
STEP 5 Finish the fly with a tapered thread head. Whip- finish, apply a dab of head cement, and you’re done.

Table of Contents

Tools

1 Build a Pro Trout Kit

2 Seine to Match the Hatch

3 Know What You're Casting

4 Dress Appropriately

5 Beware Bargain Bugs

6 Handle Tiny Flies

7 Get Versed in the Mighty Muddler Minnow

8 Mod Your Muddler (and More)

9 Make a Dry Run

Essential Flies: Parachute Adams

10 Save Tour Eyes Two Ways

11 Get the Light Stuff

12 String 'Em Up

13 Mind Your Grip

14 Play with Fatal Attraction

Essential Flies: Woolly Bugger

15 Mint a Mini Fly Box

16 Float Big when the Going's Tough

17 Check Your Rod Speed

18 Avoid Getting Lost

19 Get a Bead on the Big Bugs

20 Dip Some Rubber

21 Ante Up with Ants

22 Get On the Dirt with Hoppers

23 Let Your Bugs Breathe

Essential Files: Hare's Ear

24 Tackle Toothy Fish

25 Pick a Cold Remedy

26 Get Steamy

27 Egg Steelhead On

28 Matchbook Tour Midges

29 Get Crabby in Winter

30 Make like Bigfoot to Stay Warm

31 Wade Over to the Hockey Section

32 Join the Bass Bag Revolution

33 Throw the New Bass Classics

34 Go Large for Largemouths

35 Carry Everything You Need Around Your Neck

36 Dunk Some Wool

37 Paint it Black

38 Go Weedless

39 Play the Ultraviolet Card

40 Stock the Extras

41 Build a Throwback Fly Box

42 Check the Airways

Essential Flies: Stimulator

43 Wax On

44 Repair Waders in the Field

45 Spike It

46 Find a Hole with Alcohol

47 Protect Your Bootlaces

48 Get Wired (or Not)

49 Get in Line

50 Take the Lead

Essential Flies: Copper John

51 Check Your Leader

52 Change on the Fly

53 Hit the Bar Before You Strip

Essential Flies: Elk Hair Caddis

54 Duck Tangled Lines

55 Reduce Fly-Line Memory with a Coffee Can

56 Understand Your Fly Reel

57 Get the Inside Scoop on Fly Reels

Essential Flies: Flashback Pheasant Tail

58 Fix Your Holy Cork

59 Craft a Makeshift Mini Caster

60 Perform Emergency Guide Repairs

61 Get Greasy when It's Cold

Essential Flies: Slue Winged Olive

62 Go Fiberglass First

63 Take Care of Your Guides

64 Try a Cane Rod

Essential Flies: Prince Nymph

65 Turn Japanese with Tenkara

66 Make a Poor Man's Case

67 Cast, Don't Wiggle

68 Store Gear for a Winter's Nap

69 Pack for Your Flight

Tying

70 Build the Basic Tying Kit

71 Get Hooked (In the Details)

72 Take a Dry-Fly Anatomy Lesson

73 Pick Your Eye Candy

74 Fluff Them on the Cheap

75 Tie One on the Fly

76 Organize Your Fibers

77 Get Saturated

78 Wrap It with Ice Dub

79 Make Your Own Dubbing

Essential Flies: Zonker

80 Make Glow-in-the-Dark Flies

81 Embrace Modern Materials

82 Stop the Bloodbath

Essential Flies: San Juan Worm

83 Be a Color Guard

84 Stick to It

85 Hack a Hellgrammite

86 Bob for Glory

87 Tie a Hopper Nymph for Non-Hopper Season

88 Craft a Clouser Minnow

89 Go Nude

90 Follow the Rule of 3

Essential Flies: Birdie Bug

91 Turn Purple

92 Raid Your Easter Basket

93 Tint Your Own Tails

94 Spin the Fly Wheel

95 Do Your Prep Work

96 Fish with Protection

97 Slap Some Elk Skin

98 Tie Drab Colors to Hook Bonefish

Essential Flies: March Brown

99 Craft a Money Bunny

100 Let Nature Be Your Tying Muse

101 Stay Classy

Essential Flies: Muddler Minnow

102 Throw This Joint

103 Tie an Easy, Deadly Mouse

104 Tie a Five-Minute Fly

105 Flash Your Stack

106 Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

107 Loop that Bunny

Essential Flies: Clouser Minnow

Techniques

108 Conquer Trout Camouflage

109 Let Bad Casts Go

110 Control Your Wrist

111 Point Your Shots

112 Fish the Cycle

113 Dress a Dry Fly Right

114 Hunt for Shadows

Essential Flies: Dave's Hopper

115 Match the Motion to the Meal

116 Play the Angles

117 Don't Barge In

118 Mow the Lawn

119 Tie an Arbor Knot

120 Don't Be That Guy

121 Teach a Kid to Fish

122 Outfit Your Kid

123 Play in the Dirt

124 Wade for Your Life

125 Follow Bubbles

126 Fish with Your Eyes

127 Steer Big Trout Away from Trouble

Essential Flies: Zug Bug

128 Be Ready for the Strike

129 Use the (Net) Buddy System

130 Try Tenkara

131 Build Accuracy

132 Don't Spook the Fish

133 Cast the Whole Line

Essential Flies: March Brown Wet

134 Tie an Orvis Knot

135 Strip into a Hamper

136 Rig Two Flies

137 Avoid Double-Haul Mistakes

138 Perfect the Slack-line Cast

139 Fire the Curve Cast

Essential Flies: Mickey Finn

140 Go Blind for Carp

141 Go Long

142 Strip Underwater

143 Dupe Wary Trout at Close Range

Essential Flies: Deceiver

144 Take a Shot at Shad

145 Focus on the Feeders

146 Buck the Wind

147 One-Two Punch a Pike

148 Fly Cast Underhanded

149 Stop that Cast!

150 Keep the Arc

Essential Flies: Royal Wulff

151 Cast in Tight Quarters

152 Win the End Game

153 Get the Tuna Tune-up

154 Don't Wiggle Your Tip

155 Become Ambidextrous

Essential Flies: Black Stonefly

156 Fly Cast to a Moving Fish

157 Perfect the Parachute Cast

158 Tie the Blood-Knot Dropper

159 Help Catch-and-Release Trout Survive

160 Cast in the Wind

161 Have a Low-Water Game Plan

162 Master the Steeple Cast

163 Take a Knee

164 Tie the Improved Turtle Knot

165 Lose the Tailing Loop

Essential Flies: Zebra Midge

166 Be a Two-timer

167 Do the Panfish Crawl

168 Get Hands-on

169 Perfect Your Pairings

170 Avoid Double Trouble

171 Join the Board

172 Jam It

Essential Flies: Krystal Spinner

173 Tie a Tippet to a Fly

Essential Flies: Salmon Egg

174 Tie a Tippet to a Leader

175 Mix in Metal

176 Mimic an Escaping Crayfish

177 Practice Proper Bass Popping

178 Make It a Slow Dance

179 Use the Right Bass Leader

180 Find a Damsel in Distress

181 Sink that Dry Fly

182 Wait for the Weight

183 Catch Heavy Trout on a Light Tippet

184 Conquer the Basic Carp Presentation

185 Swing a Current Seam

186 Make Easy Measurements

187 Strike Silver

188 Strip Set the Toothers

189 Avoid Loose Ends

190 Get Hitched

Essential Flies: Foam Bass Bug

191 If It's Broke, Fish It

192 Drift a Fly with a Dry Leaf

193 Pop with Confidence

194 Try Tube Flies for Stream Trout

195 Catch Trout with a Muddler

196 Fish the Thin Red Line

Essential Flies: Epoxy Scud

197 Master the Mend

198 Mend Midair

199 Don't Fear the Rear

200 Reach for Success

201 Make a Figure 8

202 Get an Indicator Education

203 Drift and Lift

Essential Flies: Foam Beetle

204 Try High-Sticking

205 Survive the Steelhead Jam

206 Go Shooting for Chromers

207 Match a Steelie's Main Course

208 Do the Chuck 'n' Duck

Essential Flies: Griffith's Gnat

209 Cash In On Summer's Monster Hatches

210 Read the Weather

211 Kick Off with Tricos

212 Check Your Double Timing

213 Rely On Double

214 Run a Search Party

215 Make the Season's End Memorable

Tactics

216 Prospect a Trout Pool

217 Identify Trophy Waters

218 De-Funk and Re-Funk Your Carp Bugs

Essential Flies: Crazy Charlie

219 Dunk a Spoon Fly

220 Pick Pockets for Trout

221 Deliver a Wounded Dry

222 Make a Seine

223 Dapple a Fly

224 Get Shocked

225 Gink and Sink tor Smutting Trout

226 Find Your Rhythm

227 Drown a Hopper Fly

228 Play in the Night Light

229 Get Down-Slightly

230 Entice a Carnivore

231 Hook Big Bronze on Tiny Bugs

Essential Flies: Sneaky Pete

232 Success with Attractor Dry Flies

233 Go Low and Slow

234 Stick 'Em High

235 Box In a Redfish

236 Form a Float Plan

237 Score While You Wait

238 Beat the Tuna Death Circle

239 Fish the Highs and Lows

240 Learn the Czech Trick

Essential Flies: Inchworm

241 Dissect the Perfect Trout Stream

242 Try a French Twist

243 Make a Curly Q

244 Inch a Midge in Still Water

245 Master the Slow Retrieve

Essential Flies: Chernobyl Ant

246 Join the 20-20 Club

247 Drift an Irish Dibbler

248 Pick a Pickerel Fight

249 Gage Up for Tarpon

250 Use Outsize Flies for Outsize Trout

251 Slap the Hamster

252 Flycast to a Fickle Pond Trout

253 Section Off Your Steelhead

254 Go Downtown for Big Browns

255 Resist the Urge to Re-Cast

Essential Flies: Flesh Fly

256 Give It a Rest

257 Spot and Stalk Wild Trout

258 Scout a Trout Run

259 Sit Still

260 Uncover Dark Secrets

Essential Flies: Banger

261 Catch a Breeder

262 Sight-Fish Spooky Trout

263 Find a Trout in the Dark

264 Plot a Late-Night Stalk

265 Don't Get Glued to the Bottom

266 Cast Into the Grass

267 Say Si to the Spanish Combo

Essential Flies: Foam Ant

268 Let the Birds Come to You

269 Do the Wet Fly Shuffle

270 Catch a Killer

271 Start A Frenzy

272 Don't Waste the Good Stuff

273 Ice Out a Trout

274 Get a Spring on Streamers

275 Tie a Non-Slip Mono Loop

276 Lift and Lower

277 Swim a Spring

278 Fish an Early Spring Pond

279 Sharpen Your Skills with 'Gills

280 Cut some Slack

281 Find Hot Tail (Race) Action

282 Place to a Peacock's Aggressive Side

Essential Flies: Adult Damsel

283 Know When to Be Dull

284 Have a Brown Trout Summer

285 Bait and Switch a Bill

Essential Flies: Flashtail Whistler

286 Drop and Wiggle for Bronzebacks

287 Stay with Your Trout River this Fall

288 Hook More Rising Fish

289 Choose Your Tailrace Flies

290 Fish Around the Leaves

291 Luck Into a Laker

292 Don't Knock the Whitefish

293 Deodorize for Permit

Essential Flies: Moose Rat

294 Go Skiing in a River

295 Land an Autumn Trophy Brown

296 Land Your Dream Muskie

Essential Flies: Tarpon Bonny

297 Catch a Stone Cold Trout

298 Understand the Snowfly's Lifecycle

299 Pop by Species

300 Bang Some Bucketmouths

Essential Flies: Dead Drift Crayfish

301 Catch Smallies with Salty Flies

302 Pick a Prime Steel Spot

Essential Flies: Gurgler

303 Rattle a Speck

304 Plot a DIY Bonefish Attack

305 Annoy a King

Essential Flies: Permit Crab

306 Sneak Up On a Carp

307 Wrangle Old Rubberlips

Essential Flies: Game Changer