I don't often get fly fishing books written by British anglers to review and when the publishers offered me a chance to review this book I was intrigued by the idea. The author is well-known in British fly fishing circles and is a certified casting instructor and guide. He is a photographer and graphic designer and those skills are obvious in this book.

In this column I shall endeavor to pass along some of the intimate knowledge about Mayflies that I have acquired. You might say that this information is straight from the trout's mouth!  My friend the Yellowstone Fly Tyer will also be explaining the technical side of the fly tying. He might also comment on various presentation methods. However we will try to limit his rambling. Anyhow, who understands presentation methods better than "Bugzy"? Oh the stories I could tell you! I have seen it all!

It was the only day of the week that lots of rain was not forecast. That seemed to be a good reason to head for a pond. I don't mind fishing in the rain, but thunderstorms are a different thing. I grabbed a fiberglass rod that I inherited, and another graphite that I had not used this year. I had two fly boxes with lanyards on them. That, along with the fish basket was all that I took with me. The skies were cloudy and I was not sure that it might not start raining.

One of the most popular species of saltwater gamefish that tops the saltwater fly fisher's dream list are bonefish. Though I have been told that during the months of summer bonefish occasionally move through the inlet and into the Indian River system generally you need to travel a little further south to get reasonable action on this highly sought after fish. 

"The journey is the destination," is a statement that I heard somewhere, a quote from some unknown author. [Even a Google search did not produce a certain source] Whatever the original source that the idea rings true, but unfortunately in this day of instant gratification we are quickly forgetting the truth of this maxim.

Having chased trout and their species on both coasts and various points in between, it is easy to see why images of rising trout drive so many of us to the water. The romanticists add their spin as well, by setting prose to print and further that drive with vivid descriptions of pristine waters and the grace of a mayfly taking flight.

He was "The Man," at least in his own mind. In fact, being "The Man" was the most important thing in his life. He was "The Man" at the work place, at home, but mostly he was "The Man" when it came to fly fishing. He could cast farther than his friends, he always had the latest and the best equipment, he always caught the most fish and, of course, the biggest ones whenever he went fishing. If you had just met him you would soon come to understand that he was "The Man." As a result he did not have any real friends, but he did have a cadre of followers that hung around basking in the glow of his ego.