Secret Weapons - Gray's Sporting Journal

By A Mystery Man Writer

The two books I reach for to help me concoct some sort of Water Boatmen pattern were both written by Dave Hughes. Readers here know how much I admire Hughes, not only because he, along with John Gierach, are the only two writers from my generation who, from what I can tell, actually made a living writing about the sport of fly fishing, but also because, like most of his many books, Hughes’s Trout Flies and his Pocketguide to Western Hatches will remain relevant as long as trout and trout angling exist. The bugs don’t change. The essential patterns, say what one will, look much the same as they did a hundred years ago. Presentation is nearly always the answer, and Hughes has faithfully woven together both flies and fishing tactics that reflect his close attention to the behavior of trout, the things trout feed on, and how to go about fooling these loveliest of creatures.