Growing up with a well used copy of Ray Bergman’s Trout I have always had a soft spot for books dealing with wet flies. Mike Valla is filled with great photographs of some of the deadliest wet flies of the twenty century; however not all the patterns listed are the bright and gaudy wet flies often associated with the old wet fly patterns. Rather the patterns chosen for this volume are among the most effective used and if you agree that the trout are the final judges of effective patterns then a great many brown, rainbow and brook trout would approve of the patterns listed in this book.
However this is a book with a difference; each of the selected patterns is nicely photographed and some information on the fly is given, but the recipes are all listed in the back of the book. This is a delightful and much needed book on the effective wet flies of yesteryear.
Mike Valla is also the author many other excellent volumes and this work adds another excellent book to his impressive body of work. My personal copy already has many notes in the margins and high-lighted passages for future reference.
The Classic Wet Fly Box
Author: Mike Villa; 113 pages, $29.95
Published in 2012 by The Whitefish Press of Cincinnati, Ohio
ISBN 978-1-936702-17-6, 113 PAGES
WWW.WHITEFISHPRESS.COM OR WHITEFISHPRESS@YAHOO.COM
Enjoy & Good Fishin’
Tom Travis
Montana Fly Fishing Guide
Originally published May 21, 2013 on Fly Anglers Online by Reviewed By Tom Travis.