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BOOK REVIEW –by Jon Deal Fishing Small Flies by Ed Engle. Stackpole Books, 2005. Reviewed by Jon L. Deal Ed Engle is
well known to readers of John Gierach because he is so often a central figure
in Gierach’s stories. However, Ed Engle
is an author in his own right and this most recent book is a natural companion
to his previous Tying Small Flies and
Fishing the Tailwaters. In Fishing Small Flies, Engle has laid it all out for us. In chapter 1, he dissects small waters, including tailwaters, spring creeks, freestone streams, and still waters. He covers tackle for small flies in Chapter 2, including leader formulae by George Anderson, A.K. Best, and George Harvey. Chapter 3 concentrates on how to find and spot fish when they are there. Nymph, dry fly, and emerger fishing are covered in chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4, on nymphing techniques, covers use of indicators and freestyle nymphing and multi-fly rigging. Chapter 5 includes a section on how to detect a strike when you can’t see your fly – important information, especially for those of us who have trouble finding our large flies on the water. Chapter 6 covers how to strike, play, and land big fish on small flies and fine tippets. In Chapter 7, he discusses fishing the major small fly hatches and provides some excellent color picture of small fly patterns. The last chapter is entitled “Elements of Style” and is an insightful way to close the book.
Anglers new to small fly fishing, as well as accomplished small fly fishers, will find useful information in these chapters. We can all benefit from his discussion of rigging up for nymphing and how to fish with more than one fly. His many illustrations are simple and clear. His writing style is easy to read and he illustrates his points with descriptions of specific fishing situations that make you feel as if you were standing on the bank watching him fish. Engle is a Western fly fisherman who still guides on the South Platte in Colorado. But what he has to teach us about small fly fishing is certainly applicable to the fishing we do in Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Think of Taneycomo, the White/Norfork Rivers in Arkansas and remember that even Bennett Spring is a spring creek with a healthy midge population. I strongly recommend that you add Fishing Small Flies (and Tying Small Flies) to your library. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
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