Welcome to Volume 4 of “The Book Shelf”, a Big Sky Anglers original blog series dedicated to shining some new light on the works of the old masters.  In the spirit of the modern era, these pieces may be quick vignettes, half baked and composed at the last minute.  They may be poorly edited and rambling.  But they will hopefully inspire some of you to visit a library, a used bookstore, or the basement shelves at Big Sky Anglers, pick up an old fly fishing book, and soak up a bit of old knowledge and be inspired by words and images once, but no longer, forgotten. 

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Wait a second, you are probably wondering, “I though the bookshelf series was about old fishing books, and Pheasant Tail Simplicity is a new release.”  Well, you got me.  But, I already wrote the review, and, if you reread the intro, technically it says “The Book Shelf” series is dedicated to the works of the old masters.  It doesn’t say anything about the works needing to be old, so a new release from old masters like Yvon, Craig, and Mauro should be fair game, right?  Right?

So… onward!

Inspired in part by their previous collaboration, Simple Fly Fishing, Pheasant Tail Simplicity chronicles an ongoing angling experiment conducted by three well known and well-traveled angling personalities/practitioners/authors – Yvon Chouinard, Craig Mathews, and Mauro Mazzo.  The experiment?  To explore the world’s trout, grayling, anadromous, and bonefish flats fisheries with a simplified fly box, filled with patterns tied using the fibers from a male ringneck pheasant’s tail, thereby placing more of a focus on angling observation, presentation, and deliberate time on the water.

I won’t give away the punchline here, but I’m sure that you can guess at least some of it.  Pheasant Tail flies catch fish!

The book is very approachable and easy to digest, thanks in part to its layout.  Organized as a collection of vignettes, anecdotes, and fly recipes with beautiful accompanying photography and graphics, Pheasant Tail Simplicity is both a fun cover-to-cover read as well as a quick and useful reference book for the angler or fly tier.  An interesting feature of the book is that, sprinkled throughout the pages, the reader will find scannable QR codes, linking the reader to instructional videos on how to tie and present pheasant tail flies.  This feature bridges the gap between the medium of the written/printed word and the more modern trend towards online blogs and video instruction.  The reader can certainly get a lot out of this book without taking advantage of the linked videos, but there is no doubt in my mind that those who choose to ignore the linked videos (as I did the first time I read through the book) are really missing out a bulk of the value of this multimedia book experience.

In both the printed paper and the video elements of the book, each of the angler/authors covers their own specific area and style of angling interest.  Yvon Chouinard – Fishing and tying wet flies and soft hackles for trout, anadromous species, and even bonefish.  Craig Mathews – Fishing and tying dry flies and emergers in hatch matching scenarios.  Mauro Mazzo – Fishing and tying technical nymphs for trout and grayling.

The fly patterns presented in the book range from classics dating back to the 1800s, to variations of important hatch matching dries with Yellowstone Country origins, to modern competition-style jigged nymphs, and even to variations of trout patterns tied and sized for fishing for bonefish on the flats.  The book also includes some great technical writing and graphics describing preferred rigging methods and how to most effectively present the fly or flies to the fish.  While the focus is on simplicity, many of these techniques are deceptively simple, having been honed over decades of angling experimentation and observation.  While seemingly basic in concept, like most things, they may also be difficult to master.  This is a great reminder to all of us that we should never overlook the obvious, and always strive to improve at whatever we are doing. As I mentioned earlier, the linked videos are also fantastic and provide the reader with another way to better understand the nuances of these presentation techniques.

While not an extremely deep dive into any one specific topic, or an opus like Lafontaine’s Caddisflies, Pheasant Tail Simplicity is a really packed with quick reads and lots of brainwave triggering tidbits.  Both during and after my own journey though the pages I found myself trying to add depth to the discussion based on my own experiences tying and fishing with pheasant tail.

“Perhaps pheasant tail works well as a dry fly body material precisely because it

DOES NOT float that well compared to modern synthetic dry fly dubbings. 

Maybe the low riding, partially sunken dry fly is a big part of the secret to its effectiveness.”

My greatest criticism of this book is that, on page one of the introduction, the authors explain that this book is not written for beginner fly anglers, gear junkies, and those anglers who do not tie their own flies, but that it is written for anglers who understand that self-imposed limitations and focus on skill and technique can be very rewarding.  I don’t consider these demographics to be mutually exclusive, as it is implied.

Furthermore, after reading Pheasant Tail Simplicity a couple of times, I would argue that this book is indeed something for beginner and experienced anglers alike.  The beginner might actually be rather happy to learn that a simplified approach can be effective, and therefore not be as likely to become frustrated or intimidated by the thousands of options in flies, tackle, and techniques that are often presented to new fly anglers.  The beginner might also find themselves inspired to read the works of maters like Syl Nemes, G.E.M. Skues, Art Lee, James Leisenring, John Juracek, and others who are all cited throughout the text of Pheasant Tail Simplicity.

Similarly, the gear junkie may be thrilled to know that they have been greenlighted by Yvon Chouinard to research and purchase a sweet 10ft 2wt for wet fly fishing, and by Craig Mathews to find themselves the perfect, full-flexing graphite dry fly 5wt.  The fly tying gear junkie will also need to stock up on new styles of hooks, some no-flash black beads in brass and tungsten, and probably a few more pheasant tails, both natural and some dyed ones too, for experimenting!

Those anglers who do not tie their own flies may first become frustrated that some of the patterns in this book are not readily produced by the thousands of dozens by the large fly companies, but then realize that they can most certainly contact their local fly tier and support one of the sports longest lasting cottage industries that often hides in plain sight.  Maybe they will even watch the linked tying videos and be inspired to take up fly tying and add another layer to their own enjoyment of fly fishing.

To me, this book is for any angler or fly tier who enjoys reading about the angling experiences of other, whose mind is open to inspiration, and who would like to learn about different ways to not only catch fish, but also ways to enjoy their time on the water.