Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying Hardcover – July 15, 2008

I picked up fly tying this year and in preparation, picked up several beginner books, including this one. At first, I think I was a little put off by this book and read the others I had since the others were perhaps a little better illustrated or had more patterns. As I grew into the craft, however, I found myself constantly seeking this one out to better explain the methods and to discover where I was going awry. This one quickly became the beginner book that took me from cursory, surface knowledge to actual skill.You won't find a beginner book out there on this topic that goes into the depth that Charlie Craven's "Basic Fly Tying" does. While some may not find this important at first, when you find yourself actually trying to learn how to whip finish, you'll absolutely appreciate the difference between the descriptions and pictorials in this book versus the others. When you're seeking methods to get control over your thread and materials, none of the other books out there will help you. This one will give you a half dozen ways to practice thread control. This is the only book I've read that actually teaches you about hooks. He doesn't just tell you there's a lot of hooks out there and to figure it out, but rather he goes into the sizing conventions used and why you might choose one over another. If you're truly looking for a path that will take you from knowing nothing to working with a fly that contains a half dozen materials or more, this is the one that will take you down that road.The book is laid out in a very intelligent way. It first discusses the tools of the trade, arguably the most important topic to getting started. He'll not only provide his recommendations, but explains why he recommends what he does. From there, he discusses some, but not all of the materials and techniques out there. After that, he jumps into some basic flies. Start there. I didn't, struggled with beginner mistakes and realized it was because I didn't have the appropriate foundation of knowledge. I finally saw the light of Charlie's introductory methods. After you practice some of the basic flies, he goes into more materials and then finally provides a structured path to fly tying mastery with more patterns, each progressively more difficult. While he teaches you how to tie specific flies, more importantly, he's teaching you the skills to tie alternate patterns that use the same methods. He even shows you the pictures and materials needed to tie those alternate patterns.The pictures in this book may not be award winning, but they are certainly the most thorough. While other books might give you six or so steps in visual form, Charlie's book practically shows you every single step. While the text is dense, especially in the first few chapters, there are many golden nuggets of information contained within that you will experience depth of knowledge. This book doesn't just stand as a beginner's book to fly tying, it's practically a reference you could use your entire life. This book isn't a book of patterns, although it certainly provides that purpose. It's probably the best introduction to fly tying that a reader could use to teach themselves the skill, beginning to end.I highly recommend this book if you're seeking to teach yourself the craft behind fly fishing.

This is a great book for the new fly tier covering materials, tools, and technique. It walks you through a nice sequence of patterns to hone your skills, has lots of pattern variation, and great photos. It is good to learn fly tying in a class like the Orvis free fly tying 101 course and there are great YouTube videos so you can see and learn but a solid book provides a richer reference and better depth. The hardest part of this book is that you will want to press forward, tie a few of the first fly, go to the next, on to the next, and really if you want to get good you need to tie a LOT of each pattern and really master it in particular the dimensions. If every fly coming off the vise looks a bit different in size and proportion, you still don't have it down. The book does do a good job of leading you from material to material and controlling what you need to have on hand. This is probably the best way to keep you from rushing forward. Me, I go to the shop, see something cool and want to add it to my kit and figure out how to use it later. Follow the book and life will be happy. And there is nothing like catching a fish on a fly you tied, unless it is catching a fish on a fly you tied and a rod you built.

There is no dearth of excellent fly tying books for beginners. "The Benchside Introduction to Fly Tying [Spiral-bound] by Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer; David Hughes "Trout Flies: The Tyer's Reference"; Rosenbauer's "The Orvis Fly Tying Guide are my staples. Craven's book has earned a place in my "go-to" library.His photo's are glorious and the large illustrations of proportions are simply the best. His instructions are detailed enough for beginners yet he includes production tips that can make life easier for more experienced fly tyers.One gripe. There are many ways of tying even standard patterns. Craven sometimes belittles methods used by others and doesn't appreciate the fact that some his methods aren't necessarily better, they're just different.I frequently will look at several videos or printed methods and more often than not, combine different tricks and approaches from different tyers when I tie the pattern. This is called personalization and all tyers will adopt methods as they grow and gain experience. Othewise, they are just cooking by recipie.I will hasten to add that Charlie justifies most of his opinions and I am convinced that his approaches are better than most, most of the time. In particular, his approach to tying parachutes is paricularly effective.

Charlie ties flies for the S Platte. He strives for perfection which has made myself a lot better tyer. Charlie has many tips and pointers that he has accumulated over his many years of experience that he shares. I got the hardcover edition 3 months ago and it is showing wear from referencing.