The Fly-Tier's Benchside Reference to Techniques and Dressing Styles by Jim Schollmeyer, Ted Leeson (1998, Hardcover)

The book is a fabulous book, hard cover, wonderful pictures, with step by step instructions. As other book stores sell this book for $100 + and even with my book seller's discounts, I couldn't have gotten this book for less than what I paid for it on e-Bay. This book is a great item or gift for someone who is just learning fly tying; as it incorporates step by step instructions with pictures on each step. It also gives you the anatomy of your feathers, and other materials that you will be using; including your hooks, adhesives, furs and hairs. No to mention which flys to use for certain fish. As I said earlier, this is a hardbound book which does make it difficult at times to work with though. The other issue is that there is soooo much information in this book that the print is small, which when one is getting on in years, makes it difficult to see and read. I would have liked to have seen this book on a spiral bound and larger print, as this would have accommodated those of us with tired eyes. I bought this book for my husband who is just learning to fly fish and tying his own flies. He has always deep sea fished and thought this book would be a wonderful guide. I guess I kind of overwhelmed him with this information, but being the sport that he is; he is having no problems with this book. I would highly recommend this book to the novice or the experienced fly tier. This book is also the best I have seen on the market. I had looked at a lot of books in various stores and this one has the most information, easy to follow, and doesn't leave you hanging as to what to do on the next step. I have even tried to tie some of these flys; considering that I didn't know the first thing about it; I had no problem with the instructions.

This is a great book to complement the Beginners Guide from the same authors. The Reference has just about any technique you would use. The writing is clear, the pictures work and the organization is perfect. I'm glad I got it and recommend it to any flytier.

What a reference! Everything you need at your fingertips. An excellent guide for any tier, new and experienced.