Mike Valla's Founding Flies

[golden beetle]

Mike Valla sent out a public invitation to NEFF a few days ago to drop by and say hello at the Fly Tying Symposium.

Mike obviously didn't ask me for advice, because I never in my life would want to be surrounded by losers like we have here asking for autographs....

But in the crowd of folks that asked Mr. Valla to sign his book, there was not one NEFFer.

Why?

I suppose if ya can't read, you don't buy books.

NEFFers show up in face paint and ask for autographs on their chests...

Mike has written another beautiful book.

I now own two of his books, and am proud to be the only NEFFer to own a book.

Of any sort.

Please take a moment to read his kind inscription. It is in block letters to make it easier for you.

 

[Trout Guy]

Book?? Never heard of them..

Is that like a Kindle made from trees or something???

 

[GARYB]

Beetle do you get a percentage of sales??

 

[MACFLY]

Hmm that can be taken any number of ways

 

[CTobias]

Beetle......we all know you just look at the pictures. You probably had to have someone read what he wrote in there for you. Heck, you probably have a student of yours type here on the forum for you.

 

[golden beetle]

Beetle......we all know you just look at the pictures. You probably had to have someone read what he wrote in there for you. Heck, you probably have a student of yours type here on the forum for you.

You ain't too far from right, Tobias.

 

[NJpatbee]

So how is the book?

 

[golden beetle]

So how is the book?

A good book is like a fine wine.

Which means it is in my basement, and won't be read any time soon.

 

[NJpatbee]

I checked out the table of contents on amazon and I will definitiely be buying the book. As you would expect, I did not find A couple of my favorites covered. Leonard Wright and his couple of books on the Fluttering Caddis and downstream presentation havw been a major influence and has increased my catch dramatically from the Spring through Fall - always my number 1 producer. I tie 10 different variations and use smaller hooks to allow for a match of the body size and more wing for twitching. I also would have expected to see John Baar since his Copper John, Vis-a-Dun, and other patterns are original, uniuque, and effective.


That being said I look forward to reading the book by the fire this winter.

 

[MikeValla]

I checked out the table of contents on amazon and I will definitiely be buying the book. As you would expect, I did not find A couple of my favorites covered. Leonard Wright and his couple of books on the Fluttering Caddis and downstream presentation havw been a major influence and has increased my catch dramatically from the Spring through Fall - always my number 1 producer. I tie 10 different variations and use smaller hooks to allow for a match of the body size and more wing for twitching. I also would have expected to see John Baar since his Copper John, Vis-a-Dun, and other patterns are original, uniuque, and effective.


That being said I look forward to reading the book by the fire this winter.

NJPatbe,

First, thanks for your comments--and thanks for thinking of picking up the book. Much appreciated.

>You mentioned Lenny Wright. If and when you get the book, you'll find the introduction is largely devoted to explaining how individuals were selected. Among a lot of other things, the era that I covered was between the late 1800's and around 1969. That was the primary criteria---the era. Some individuals that were selected continued their craft beyond 1969, but they were already making their names by the late 1960's. I made that point in the introduction. But, as you'll read, other factors entered into selections.

Many individuals who were not given entire chapters were at least mentioned and appeared in other chapters; Lenny Wright is an example. He appears in the late Buz Buszek's Chapter. Buz was a California tier. His Kings River Caddis, a very early caddis pattern, is archetypal of many other caddis patterns that followed--including Lenny's.

As Niemeyer wrote in his 1977 Fly Fisherman magazine piece ("The Caddis Explosion"), "The evolution of
caddis fly patterns is unusual in that it has not followed the geographic romance of the mayfly. Mayfly patterns developed in Europe were sent to America, then spread from the East coast to the West Coast, changing in style in various stops along the way." His point was many Caddis patterns were developed on the West coast, and those patterns eventually colonized the East. That's where Lenny (and his Fluttering Caddis)---and others---enter the picture.

Anyway, Wright and his caddis contributions gets ample acreage in the book, as do other caddis patterns that pre-date Wright (Don Hager and Chauncy Lively).Lenny's "caddis era" was in the early 1970's. Similarly, there's mention of "Comparaduns" in Fran Betters's chapter; Betters's patterns were archetypal of similar flies that came decades later---in the mid- 70's

Thanks again,



MV

 

[NJpatbee]

NJPatbe,

First, thanks for your comments--and thanks for thinking of picking up the book. Much appreciated.

>You mentioned Lenny Wright. If and when you get the book, you'll find the introduction is largely devoted to explaining how individuals were selected. Among a lot of other things, the era that I covered was between the late 1800's and around 1969. That was the primary criteria---the era. Some individuals that were selected continued their craft beyond 1969, but they were already making their names by the late 1960's. I made that point in the introduction. But, as you'll read, other factors entered into selections.

Many individuals who were not given entire chapters were at least mentioned and appeared in other chapters; Lenny Wright is an example. He appears in the late Buz Buszek's Chapter. Buz was a California tier. His Kings River Caddis, a very early caddis pattern, is archetypal of many other caddis patterns that followed--including Lenny's.

As Niemeyer wrote in his 1977 Fly Fisherman magazine piece ("The Caddis Explosion"), "The evolution of
caddis fly patterns is unusual in that it has not followed the geographic romance of the mayfly. Mayfly patterns developed in Europe were sent to America, then spread from the East coast to the West Coast, changing in style in various stops along the way." His point was many Caddis patterns were developed on the West coast, and those patterns eventually colonized the East. That's where Lenny (and his Fluttering Caddis)---and others---enter the picture.

Anyway, Wright and his caddis contributions gets ample acreage in the book, as do other caddis patterns that pre-date Wright (Don Hager and Chauncy Lively).Lenny's "caddis era" was in the early 1970's. Similarly, there's mention of "Comparaduns" in Fran Betters's chapter; Betters's patterns were archetypal of similar flies that came decades later---in the mid- 70's

Thanks again,



MV

Thanks for the clarification and I look forward to enjoying the book.