EXPERT FLY-TYING. By Paul N. Fling and Donald L. Puterbaugh.

(1982) later reprint. 4to paperback (209 x 279mm). Pp159. Colour photographs of materials, b/w illustrations, bibliography.

"Rather than assume the specific needs of the reader, doling out information with pontifical authority, [the authors] have compiled a fly-tying how-to volume which simply and directly tells it A-L-L. ...It is up to the individual reader to develop the attitudes, incorporate methods, and select pertinent detail regarding everything in the realm of fly-tying from the bewildering array of sadistic appearing hardware to the inevitable brain damage inherent in seeking professional status as a fly tyer. They have made it possible to cultivate and hone his skills by referring to a single, all-encompassing, source book rather than a helter-skelter gathering of magazines, books, periodicals, pamphlets, bulletins, lectures, and dogma expounded by self-aggrandizing experts." From the foreword by Don Roberts, perhaps overstating it somewhat but a good book nonetheless. Chapters include: The tyer's tools; Hackle; Synthetic materials; Hooks; Tailing; Bodies; Wings and wing cases; Hackle, heads, and legs; Judging quality; Beyond the amateur.