Over the past year I have become very deliberate about fly box building. So much so, that I completely rebuilt my entire fly collection. In years past I’ve had the typical collection of assorted flies and fly boxes. When I started years ago, it probably made some form of sense, but over the years of fishing trips and collecting flies my boxes had gotten out of hand. When you add in all those little plastic cups you get from the fly shop, my fly organization, boxes and pack had become an organized chaos at best.
I decided that in order to be a better angler on the water, I need to be more organized before I hit the water. I researched and deliberated about what fly boxes I wanted to be the foundation of this process. I settled on the Orvis Tacky collaboration fly box with the cool silicone slits. Done. I went with three boxes: Drys, Nymphs and Caddis. My steamer box is already in good shape.
When I had the chance to interview Eric Nagusky for the podcast at The Fly Fishing Show in Lancaster, PA, he was kind enough to give me a copy of his book. Upon quick thumb through, and what I had said to him, these are great flies for well outside the borders of Pennsylvania. As a matter of fact, many of these flies made the list of my newly organized fly boxes. Some of the names are easily recognizable like, LaFontaine Emergent Sparkle Pupa, Sexy Walt’s Worm and the American Pheasant Nymph. Other names are going to be new or there are variants so you will get some nice additions to your fly box.
Eric Nauski has a Bachelors in Biology with a focus on aquatic entomology and aquatic equology. This knowledge came out in both the podcast we recorded as well in his book. He has dedicated his life to studying bugs and trout feeding behaviors. Eric lives in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania which is a town in south central PA, outside Carlisle, PA. This entire Cumberland County region is known as a trout lover’s paradise. In addition to his education, Eric is clearly from the George Harvey, Vince Marinaro Joe Humphries school of fly fishing. The knowledge laid out in this book comes from this foundation. Eric is a guide and owner of Riseforms Fly Fishing, and he guides for Jake Villwock’s company, Relentless Fly Fishing. In his book, he combines both the knowledge he has learned from his predecessors with the newest methods and flies used today.
Favorite Flies for Pennsylvania is another in the long line of quality Stackpole books. Each book is unique, but the brand and the display definitely shows through. This is a hard back and not a huge book. Coming in at 128 pages, the book is printed on glossy stock paper with the following dimensions: 7.32 x 0.52 x 9.41 inches. There’s a nice introduction that talks about the freestone, spring creeks and the tailwaters around Cumberland County that served as the proven ground for these flies. That leads to a historical review of some of the area’s classics that came before the “50 Flies” like Letort Cricket, Clouser Minnow, Shenk’s Cress Bug and the Henryville Special.
Then we get into the 50 Flies and start off with one of my favorites: Tom Baltz’s ParaNymph. Not a dry, not a nymph, kind of an emerger but a MUST HAVE for your fly box. I can’t tell you how many times the ParaNymph has bailed me out when nothing else was fishing well. The biggest question I have with this fly is: do I wait for everything else not to work or do I just start with it? Find the FFJ Tom Baltz podcast here.
Each of the 50 flies is a short chapter. You get beautiful, color photos of the finished flies with a description of the pattern originator (if known), who tied the fly in the photo, along with a complete material recipe, a secondary photo, some commentary on the fly and fishing techniques. As I proceeded, I really enjoyed how the fly patterns and main chapter photo start and are displayed on the left page. I guess that’s a bit OCD of me, but that consistency makes using the book that much more enjoyable. One thing to note, this is not a step-by-step book, so you are not going to get the tying instructions. As mentioned, you do get the recipe but if you need tying instructions, you’ll need to head over to YouTube or other tying resources. Check out Tim Cammisa and Tim Flagler.
The flies captured in the book Favorite Flies for Pennsylvania are great in PA, Iceland and anywhere trout live around the world. Grab a copy, enjoy the read, and put a bunch of these patterns in your box.
About the book:
The second in a new Stackpole Books series featuring 50 important flies from a particular region, tied by anglers with close ties and local knowledge of the place.
Pennsylvania has 86,000 miles of rivers and streams, including freestone streams, tailwaters, and spring creeks, flowing through 46,000 square miles of diverse country ranging from mountainous terrain to farm land. This volume, by Pennsylvania angling expert Eric Naguski, showcases flies that work well on the diverse waters there and pays tribute to the region he knows so well. Though not a tying manual, each fly is featured in a spread that includes a large, easy-to-see image, recipe, and tying notes.
