Several individuals have mentioned that this series
is a good substitution for formal fly tying lessons or a
good fly tying book. I can’t agree with that thought.
In my opinion, there is no substitution for formal lessons
if they are taught right. Likewise, there is no substitution
for a good fly tying book. This series is designed to provide
a detailed map to fill the gaps that those two methods
don’t have the time or space to fill.
To keep the costs affordable, books must be limited to a
certain amount of pages. And, the time allowed for formal
tying lessons limits the scope of those lessons to the bare
necessities and basic patterns. Hopefully, for those of you
who don’t have access to formal lessons, this will do the job
for now, but I would encourage lessons for those of you who
can obtain them.
Authors like Randy Kaufmann, Skip Morris, Jack Dennis
and Dick Talleur to name a few, lend worlds of information
to your skills that can be found nowhere else. I personally own
and refer to books by these authors and many others. I also
subscribe to every fly tying magazine I can find.
There is no substitution for a good reference manual. There is no
substitution for quality instruction in any of its forms.
Originally published c. June 23, 2008 on Fly Anglers Online by Al Campbell.