FLY TIER'S BENCHSIDE REFERENCE TO TECHNIQUES AND DRESSING STYLES. By Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer.

(1998) later reprint. Large 4to (230 x 287mm). Pp444. Over 3000 colour photographs. Silver-gilt fly motif and titles to grey-blue boards, spine titled in gilt.

"There is no other work in the history of fly-tying or fly-tying literature that is as comprehensive". Encyclopaedic presentation of fly tying techniques, arranged according to a fly's body parts. Each section contains many different techniques for constructing the body part in question, with excellent step by step photographs in colour. The 444 large format pages have five to ten photographs per page, punctuating three columns of text. Selection of materials; hook preparation; thread handling; mounting and trimming materials; weighting hooks; underbodies, wiggle bodies, tandem hooks and weed guards; tails and trailing shucks; ribbing and gills; 150 pages on bodies; 100 pages on wings; 90 pages on hackles; heads, collars and eyes. The selection of materials covered is too long to list. "The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference is an incredibly detailed book that will no doubt be recognized for many decades as the definitive guide to tying anything on a hook to create any kind of trout fly. With in-depth discussions of over 400 tying techniques dealing with both natural and synthetic materials, and demonstrated with more than 3,000 color photos, there is hardly a question concerning tying trout flies that goes unanswered." (A.K. Best). "...if you are really serious about tying flies, then you cannot afford not to buy this. ...Every fly tying technique I can think of, and hundreds that I can't, are listed and pictured here and if you own this, you really won't have a good reason for buying any more fly tying books (but you will). The explanations are clear [and] the photos are wonderful... Beyond outstanding." (Andrew Herd).