Flies for Atlantic Salmon & Steelhead

This is not a how-to book about tying flies in the textbook sense-although any reasonably experienced maker of working salmon or steelhead flies will gain a great deal of useful insight into fly design and function.

As Combs does so well, he has delved into history and given today’s anglers a broad, fascinating view of the long progression of how salmon and steelhead flies developed over hundreds of years. As with any evolution, there wasn’t always a  clear, straight line. There were many zigzags and fads; sometimes the flies stayed essentially the same for long periods. Tradition is stubborn.

To tell this story of transformation, the narrative needs storytellers. Trey Combs has rounded up a “who’s who” of supremely gifted fly dressers from the salmon rivers of Scandinavia and Scotland to the steelhead rivers of the Pacific Northwest. In stunning closeup photography of their remarkable creations, old and new, this beautiful, inspired book tells the tale.