Fly Fisherman's Guide to Saltwater Prey

Reviewed by Monica Mullen

Fly Fisherman's Guide to Saltwater Prey, subtitled How to Match Coastal Prey Fish and Invertebrates with the Fly Patterns That Imitate Them. Written by Dr. Aaron J. Adams, published by Stackpole Books. 224 pages in a 5 x 8 inch format. Over 450 color photos of prey and flies. $21.95 retail for paperback edition. Available in some fly shops and online (google title and author).

Images

Click thumbnail for enlarged image

n Fly Fisherman's Guide to Saltwater Prey, Dr. Aaron Adams discusses what saltwater fish eat and, more importantly, why they eat it.

Each section of the book is dedicated to a specific type of prey and describes primary habitats, geographic range, the size range of the prey, and the flies that will closely mimic them.

Dr. Adams is the manager of the Habitat Ecology Program in the Center for Fisheries Enhancement at Mote Marine Laboratory. He not only writes for magazines and other publications but has written other books including Fisherman's Coast, an angler's guide to marine warm-water game fish and their habitats.

This book delves deeply into the marine world and covers everything from crabs and baitfish to segmented worms and urchins. You'll find a color picture of the actual specimen being discussed, so you clearly see what you're imitating when tying your flies. Each of the fly patterns includes a color photo as well as a pattern recipe. Many of the fly patterns also include detailed tying instructions and/or comments from the fly tier or inventor of the fly.

A Facinating Book

This is a facinating book, and the first fly tying book that I have actually sat down and read rather than using merely as a tying or pattern guide.

The wealth of knowledge contained is astounding and should be required reading for any angler that is planning on saltwater fly fishing, or any fly tier that is striving to achieve a more realistic fly.

Bottom Line: Informative and entertaining with good videography.  Reviewer Rating: 5

Monica Mullen and her husband Moon live in Springfield, Oregon, where they can often be found fly fishing the Middle Fork of the Willamette River.

Uploaded 04/29/2008.

User Reviews

5=tops  3=average  1=low

No user reviews have been submitted yet.

You must be registered and logged-in to submit review comments. How to do this.