I want to add to my collection of fly tying vidoes/dvds and in particular ones that focus on dry flies. I see that AK Best has one titled Tying Dry Flies. For those who have seen the dvd, can you comment on it?
It’s the best I’ve seen. Mr. Best takes every component of a dry fly and every material you could use for that component and shows you how to do it with each of the materials. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.
Joe
TyroneFly,
What types of dry flies do you want to tie? Broadly speaking, A.K. Best’s comes close to Catskill-style dry flies.
If you like that style of dry flies, then, A.K. Best’s is good. Particularly, I found two good things. First, A.K. Best is very passionate and engaging, so he will make you want to tie flies. Second, his DVD used so-called POV (Point of View) camera, so you can see the minute detail of fly tying exactly the way A.K. views the fly.
Joe and adso4,
Thank you for responding. I don’t have a preference for a particular style of dry fly in mind, but Catskill style is one that I have enjoyed every since I received a 4 volume series on tying Catskill style flies.
You captured my interest with the so called POV camera.
Again thanks.
I concur with the other recommendations. I have the DVD and many of his books too. They are great references. You will enjoy the DVD and learn a lot from fly tyer view used in his demonstration.
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John
TyroneFly,
Concerning the POV camera, Bill Wells, head of Video Ventures, used the POV camera for all the fly tying videos and DVDs he produced, such as A.K. Best, Harrison Steeves, and Shane Stalcup. Particularly, if you love fishing terrestrials, Harrison Steeves’s videos, especially the one on beetles, are really good.
If Rene Harrop is one of your fly tying heroes, then, I strongly recommend “A Letter From Henry’s Fork Vol. 2” by Rene Harrop. Actually, it is a Japanese video, but for the most part, narration is done by Rene himself in English and it is available in USA although only in VHS. This is one of the two best fly tying videos on dry flies I have seen in the past three years.
In it, Rene demonstrates how to tie PMD No Hackle Dun (#16) along with his other mayfly and caddisfly patterns like Henry’s Fork Caddis, Trusty Rusty Paraspinner, PMD CDC Last Chance Cripple, Flav CDC Biot Dun, and New CDC Thorax Dun. Actually, Rene ties three of them including No Hackle while his family (The House of Harrop) ties the others. The video does not use the POV camera, but it has the same viewing effect. You see exactly what Rene views.
For your information, “A Letter From Henry’s Fork” is in fact the three-volume video set. Masaharu Katsumata and his staff produced the set in 2002-2003 for Japanese audience as the ultimate final version that epitomizes Rene Harrop’s fly-tying and fly-fishing techniques. Volume 1 covers where to fish in Henry’s Fork and what fly patterns Rene used during Masa’s fishing trip with him. Volume 2 demonstrates how Rene and his family tie six fly patterns including No Hackle Dun - mostly less frequently published ones. Volume 3 shows how Rene presents his flies. I got my set from ‘The Riverkeeper Fly Shop.’ Call Todd Smith (208-344-3838) or visit his website ( http://riverkeeperflyshop.com/ ). He carries a lot of the House of Harrop products, and he must be a really good point of contact as I heard from him that he married Rene’s daughter.
It is not a sales pitch. Rather, as a big fan of Rene, I think it is too bad that Rene’s new fantastic video is little known in the US.
I hope this helps.
adso4,
Wow! Great info. I will check out the website.