The Orvis Fly Pattern Index

Rating:
Summary: Good Book for the Money
Review: Nice collection of patterns. Some generic instructions in the beginning. Good place to start for patterns.

Rating:
Summary: Reasonable reference with a few annoying quirks
Review: This is a comprehensive and well laid-out book for all fly tyers. There is some beginner and intermediate instruction on fly tying, but most of the book is a catalog of fly patterns with recipes for reference.

Three things annoy me about this book. First, the color photos are washed out and the flies are presented against dull pastel backgrounds (many different colors). At times, it is hard to see the real colors in each fly. Second, there is no fly pattern index, so if you are looking for a particular pattern, you have to thumb through the pages. Third, many recipes refer to Orvis hooks and materials using their reference system rather than using more common hook references.

Overall, I did find this to be a useful reference. For the money, it is a worthwhile purchase. But if you can spend a bit more, there are definitely better fly tying reference books out there.

Rating:
Summary: Reasonable reference with a few annoying quirks
Review: This is a comprehensive and well laid-out book for all fly tyers. There is some beginner and intermediate instruction on fly tying, but most of the book is a catalog of fly patterns with recipes for reference.

Three things annoy me about this book. First, the color photos are washed out and the flies are presented against dull pastel backgrounds (many different colors). At times, it is hard to see the real colors in each fly. Second, there is no fly pattern index, so if you are looking for a particular pattern, you have to thumb through the pages. Third, many recipes refer to Orvis hooks and materials using their reference system rather than using more common hook references.

Overall, I did find this to be a useful reference. For the money, it is a worthwhile purchase. But if you can spend a bit more, there are definitely better fly tying reference books out there.