What should be my next book?

[rawfish]

So I just finished going through Al Campbell's Beginners Lessons and Skip Morris Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple and I think I am doing pretty well.
What should be my next book?

[Bugsy]

What about Al's Intermediate Lessons?

Otherwise, I think Jack Dennis' Western Trout Fly Tying Manuals I & II are pretty good. Also, Richard Talleur's Mastering the Art of Fly Tying and The Versatile Fly Tyer have lots of good information. Others, if you can find them, are Art Flick's Master Fly Tying Guide and Randall Kaufmann's Tying Dry Flies and Tying Nymphs.

Have you checked the local libraries?

[nick0danger]

Try this list
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/tyingchat/books.html

Ladyfisher and castwell's pics, so you know there accurate

[bowfin47]

Don't worry about what others tell you, or what someone placed on a "list."

It all depends on YOUR interest.... trout nymphs, drys, midges, or streamers; warmwater poppers, hairbugs, streamers, nymphs, or classic; saltwater - inshore or deepwater; salmon flies; spey flies; Alaska; or etc.

What do you want/like? What "floats your boat?"

Think about that and then research the books and find what makes YOU happy!

[ashbourn]

We need to know your biggest weakness or what you want to learn more about before we can give a proper suggestion.
Joe

[Bear742]

It depends on which side of the Divide you are on.

I have come to see that size 10 forms a natural divide between trout flies and so called "Warm Water" flies. With the exception of streamers, trout flies run toward 12 and smaller while WW flies run 8 and up. 10 is the tweener. There may be another diivde between Fresh and Salt around 2/0.

As most Midwesterners I think of the West Coast as another world and, perhaps unfairly, categorize its fish as I do its human population. Both fall outside of my schema.

That being said, my first statement should make sense. I will not speak to the trout fly issue. For trout George Leonard Herter's manual was the only reference I used for a long time. If you are on the WW side of the divide, I have to say that I am just getting into Bob Clousers new (2006) book and can easily recommend it for both photography and text based on my first scan.

[EdD]

Bear742, the only reason that I don't use midges for sunfish more often is that they tend to take them too deeply for me to extract cleanly, even with forcepts.

[whatfly]

Rawfish,

I would argue that after mastering the basics, most subsequent tying books are just pattern collections more than anything else. This is not a bad thing because you develop your skills by selecting new and more challenging patterns. There are only a few books that I've encountered that really delve into more intermediate/advanced topics, and those are fairly specialized titles. Of the books Nick's page cites, Stewart and Allen's Flies for Trout is one of my favorite pattern books and if you are looking for new techniques and a bit more challenge, Oliver Edwards' Flytyers Masterclass will introduce you to a bunch of new materials and interesting techniques. Edwards' book is out of print but there are copies still floating around.

Of course you can best hone your skills by tying more flies...lots of them. It didn't really start making sense for me until after the first couple of hundred. YMMV.

[dmdmd]

As I have said you cannot go wrong with AK--I have learned a lot from AK's Fly Box and Production Tying.

Good instruction in basics and LOTS of time tying has served me well. Above all else, enjoy your time at the vise and then on the water

[ScottP]

As mentioned, get Production Fly Tying by A.K. Best. Might as well learn from someone who cranks out thousands of perfect flies every year. Flytyers Benchside Reference is a great book too. Although list price is kind of steep, you can find it for 1/2 price if you do a little digging

Regards,
Scott