Fly-fishing Pressured Water

Book excerpt: As fly fishing increases in popularity and rivers and streams become more congested, anglers must come up with strategies to fool the bright and finicky fish. Through years of experimentation both on the water and at the vise, Lloyd Gonzales has developed techniques for tying artificial mayflies, sedges, stoneflies, and baitfish that focus on general styles of flies and variations to deal with specific challenges to catch tricky trout. This modern fly-style approach, focusing on a fly's design and construction rather than on a specific pattern, is applicable to more situations and more easily adjusted to match local species than the traditional pattern approach. The fly-style approach is orderly-styles progress through the book, establishing a framework that can support any skill level and type of water-and fluid, allowing for experimentation and a personal flair, a key to tying flies that bring success on fly-saturated pressured water.