A Guide to North Country Flies and How to Tie Them

Book excerpt: Mike Harding, broadcaster, comedian, experienced fly fisherman, and author of a monthly column in Fly Fishing & Fly Tying magazine, has written a guide to tying one of the most well-loved and beguiling traditions of fly: the Northern Spider. These designs of fly, conceived in the north of England around Bolton Abbey in the Yorksire Dales near Skipton, are renowned for being both simple to tie and excellent for catching fish. They are characterized by using brightly colored silk threads, and the feathers of birds like snipe, woodcock, and pheasant. Mike Harding covers some 50 variants of fly, as well as the techniques of tying and the history of the North Country tradition. The book features his own superb close-focus photography, and is laid out in the same style as The Fly-Tying Bible.