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Book Review: The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference
By: Cameron Larsen

The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference was written by Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer, and published in 1998 (wow time flies) by Frank Amato Publications. It contains 444 pages of which 7 make up the index.

When this book first came out ( I honestly thought it was just a couple of years ago) it cost exactly $100.00, now I have seen new ones for $68.00, and used ones for less than that. The book was billed as the holy grail of fly tying and with good reason.

The book simply covers every technique known to fly tying, and usually gives you more than one technique to accomplish a fly tying feat. For example, if you want to have a woven body (something I avoided in my twelve years of commercial fly tying), Leeson and Schollmeyer show you in great detail, 'The Banded Weave', 'The Parallel Weave', 'The Mossback Weave', 'The Overhand Weave', 'The Pott's Weave,', 'The Half-Hitch Weave,' 'The Criss-Cross Weave,' 'The Spotted Strip Weave,' 'The Mottled Weave,' and 'The Crochet Weave'. Not only does the book describe how to do them, with very clear descriptions and more importantly pictures, but it will also tell you what the purpose of each technique is, including the materials it is used for, and the effects of each different weave.

And so it goes detailing each technique, how to tie parachute hackle, how to mount the posts, how to tie split hackle tails, biot bodies, hair wings. Nine pages on spent wings, 33 on downwings, 17 on legs. You get the idea. If there is ever a daunting fly tying procedure that you have never attempted or have attempted only to be frustrated so much you went straight back to the first fly you ever tied for reassurance your coordination hadn't left you altogether, then this book WILL help you. And it will help you immensely.

The book is different than many fly tying books, in the way it is organized. Not by fly or type of fly. In fact it isn't a book of patterns or about insects or even frankly about flies. It is a book of techniques and it is organized as such. It has 15 chapters and begins with a very brief summary of fly tying materials. Something that the reader of this book should already have well versed. However it does have a few handy charts and pictures. And gives a very brief explanation types of hair and feathers etc. . It then goes on to give you several methods of de-barbing hooks and then sharpening them, (yes even chemically sharpened hooks need to be honed at some time.) Then Leeson and Schollmeyer go into thread handling, again it seems perfunctory. But finally the fun starts. With 21 methods of mounting and trimming materials. One thing about how-to books, I always find interesting is the author's ability to breakdown and name procedures you probably discovered all on your own, and never thought twice about them. This books is no different, but it does force you to think about fly tying, taking it off auto-pilot here and there is always a good way to question and improve.

The book takes us on a journey following the same map you follow when tying a fly. From thread handling to trimming heads. Along the way we look at bodies, tailing, wings, hackling, and legs. The organization is nice, so when you are referencing a particular technique, you can find it quickly in the book, by where you are in your fly.

Which brings us to the best part of the book, in that is it will be undoubtedly the most referenced book in your library. You will use it no matter what types of flies you tie. Whether they be #26 Tricos are #2/0 Saltwater patterns, or the whole gamut, there is stuff in here for you. It rarely will make it back on your shelf.

The only real drawbacks to the book are #1, price, although more affordable now if you shop around, it will still set you back. And #2 it is not for beginners, nor does it pretend to be., While it does give plenty of basic advice, one must have a general working knowledge of fly tying to really get use out of this book.

It also adds to the growing trend of spelling tyers, tiers. I wonder if the magazine will ever switch, I have always preferred tyer, but I seem to be in a shrinking minority. And it always comes up as a mistake in my spell checker.

About the Author

Cameron Larsen is a retired commericial fly tier and fly fishing guide. He now operates The Big Y Fly Company. http://www.bigyflyco.com/flyfishinghome.html He can be reached at info@bigyflyco.com. This article will appear in the Big Y Fly Fishing E-Zine at Http://www.bigyflyco.com/Bigyflyfishingezine.html
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