Spey Flies and How to Tie Them

Spey Flies and How to Tie Them by Veverka, Bob. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780811700320.

Elegant and graceful, Spey flies originated on the River Spey in northeastern Scotland and are well over 150 years old. Author Bob Veverka, passionate about Spey flies, gives us the history and background on classic Spey, Dee, Don, Eagle, and Steelhead Spey patterns, including step-by-step instructions for tying the Lady Caroline, White-Winged Akroyd Dee, and Orange Heron. The chapter on materials is loaded with insights from decades of tying and the descriptions of salmon fly materials will quickly become a standard reference for all those who tie salmon or steelhead flies. The special challenges of tying Spey and Spey-style flies--winding the long body hackles, wrapping the collars, mounting the unique wings, finding substitutes for materials no longer available--are explained and solved. Although the original patterns from the River Spey and River Dee have fathered a large, varied, and ever-growing family, a common theme ties all these flies together. "The essence of the Spey style remains the same," Bob Veverka writes, "a body of silk and fur; a long, mobile body hackle; a set of low-set wings; and a small, neat head."