The fishing companion to Tying Small FliesInstructions and illustrations for tricky casts, including pile, reach, parachute, and downstream-and-across reachTechniques for dead-drift nymphing, freestyle nymphing, and fishing dry-fly and in-the-film plus how to fish tiny mayflies, Tricos, Pale Morning Duns, midges, microcaddis, terrestrialsMost small-fly books concentrate on the fly patterns, but presentation and tactics are just as important as the pattern itself. Small-fly fishers must carefully observe the trout and constantly adjust their techniques as they go. Engle covers the difficulty of detecting strikes and how to best play trout caught on small flies and gives advice on the aquatic insect orders and how to fish the hatches, depending on the water and the stage of the hatch. Covered too are special considerations for rods and reels for small-fly fishing and tactics for light tippets. Engle describes fishing specific waters, including tailwaters, freestone rivers, and spring creeks.

When fishing gets tough, fly fishers might be tempted to use bigger, flashier flies, but expert angler Ed Engle knows that tiny, sparsely dressed flies often work when nothing else will. With a little attention to tying the flies and fishing technique, fly fishers will take trout on flies as small as 24, 28, and even 30. Now combining his two classic books on small fly tying and fishing in one updated, second-edition volume, Engle covers the patterns and how to fish them. You’ll learn how to find and observe trout in small-fly water, how to evaluate the major small-fly hatches, how to fish the surface and below, and how to strike, play, and land trout on tiny flies. Engle deftly covers small-fly history and how the flies have developed. Tying tools, special materials, specific patterns for aquatic insects, tying techniques, and a full complement of patterns complete the book.

Midge larvae and pupae, tiny parachutes, floating nymphs, micro scuds, tiny ants Choosing the right hook, thread, wire, and amount of weight for small flies plus 75 patterns, including Brassie, RS-2, Renegade, Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear, Griffith's Gnat Foreword by John Gierach Taking trout on lightweight rods with flies as small as size 20 and 30 is a challenge. Learn to imitate midges' trailing shucks and drowned adults, tie tiny parachutes and white-winged Tricos, and create patterns that mimic microcaddis and micro scuds. Engle covers small-fly history, tying tools, and materials. Tips on fishing techniques come from Ed Engle's 30 years of experience fishing small flies on the South Platte River.