Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptrera
by Malcom Knopp and Robert Cormier
Illustrations by Robert Cormier
Foreword by Gary LaFontaine
Greycliff Publishing Company, $49.95, 384 pages
ISBN 0-9626663-8-6
This is the new textbook on mayflies, the standard against which all future works on trout stream insects will be measured. It combines rigorous science with a well illustrated, pleasing design and straight forward, readable style. To put it quickly to the point -- this book is easy to use and precise.
The first two chapters present valuable background information on the life cycle and anatomy of mayfly nymphs and adults as well as their imitations. The discussion of imitations covers excellent dressings of nymphs, emergers, stillborns, duns and spinners. Additionally, there is an interesting historical overview on the origins of fly fishing in the early chapters.
Chapter three starts the core of the book with the swimming nymphs (olives, sulphurs, . . .) followed by chapters on burrowing nymphs, clinging nymphs, and crawling nymphs. Each of these chapters breaks down into detailed coverage of each bug (by life stage) and its appropriate imitations with specific tying recipes. It simply could not be better presented, nor easier to use. The drawings are exact and the photography is crisp and clear.
The appendices are extremely helpful and include a nice guide to mayfly identification and the most detailed and useful hatch charts yet published. As an example, the hatch charts for the west include specific information for major river systems with separate coverage for Paradise Valley, the Big Horn, the Henry's Fork, Yellowstone Park, and more. The Great Lakes basin has its own chart, as do Quebec, the Catskills, Pennsylvania, and New England. The book is a bargain at $49.95. If you like to fish the hatches, buy it. RWOL
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