Not very often i buy a contemporary books on fly fishing or tying
However Having seen many recommendations for Ed Engle's "fishing small flies" and "tying small flies" Around christmas time, i ordered the pair.
I've just finished reading them again
,fantastic books.
Although they are about tying and fishing small flies for Western streams in the USA the actual information in them is probably the most comprehensive and accurate guide to fishing rivers I've read.
The "Fishing" book has a brilliant guide to reading the river and finding the fish, recognising riseforms and different casts to help you reach the fish and present the flies in the correct way. It also has a section illustrating the life cycles and the positions in the water that various basic species of insect occupy. Although the reference is for Micro flies it applies to standard size insects as equally.
The "Tying" book has some of the best patterns and easy to understand tyings i've seen.
Great modern flies that are fun to tie and will catch fish, some great ideas to adapt to other patterns too. My kind of flies
I just thought i'd share that with you, so if you are looking for a great reference to learn more about the river or want some great ideas for some new flies then i thoroughly recommend both books.
I got them as a pair from Amazon, it was significantly cheaper than some of the more specialised bookshops
Sandy