No one knows more than Dave Whitlock about trout behavior, the great variety of foods trout eat, and how to imitate these foods effectively. His years of world-class experience—as fisherman, writer, artist, and instructor—have earned him the respect and affection of anglers everywhere. Yet until recently, only readers of Trout Magazine have been able to benefit from his most up-to-date work: clear, complete, and practical wisdom about the life cycles and behavior of mayflies, caddis, stoneflies, scuds, sowbugs, crayfish, grasshoppers, moths, aquatic worms, minnows, and dozens of other trout foods. With Dave’s help, you’ll learn how to make your fly flutter, wiggle, dart, crawl, or dead drift just like the real thing.

This book gathers the best of Dave’s lively Trout columns and beautiful illustrations into a single, well-organized, indispensable volume. Beginners and seasoned fly anglers alike will find something useful here, from tips on reading the water to tying flies to recognizing rise forms. It’s the next best thing to a one-on-one lesson with Dave himself, and the results are simple: you’ll catch more fish.

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for fishermen. Our books for anglers include titles that focus on fly fishing, bait fishing, fly-casting, spin casting, deep sea fishing, and surf fishing. Our books offer both practical advice on tackle, techniques, knots, and more, as well as lyrical prose on fishing for bass, trout, salmon, crappie, baitfish, catfish, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Preface by: Nick Lyons