The Founding Flies: 43 American Masters: Their Patterns and Influences by Mike Valla

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Mike Valla has penned several books and has come to be known as a trustworthy source for fly tying history. The book is beautifully written and includes 40 chapters covering 43 historically important American fly tyers. Each chapter bring focus to one or two of these masters and highlights their career achievements, milestones and a selection of fly patterns that helped cement their names into modern fly tyer nomenclature.

The book is wonderfully adorned with color photos of the flies and includes pattern recipes for nearly 300 flies. Included among the famous tyer profiles, past and present, are Art Flick, Ray Bergman, Lee Wulff, Don Gapen, Len Halladay, André Puyans, Cal Bird, Lew Oatman, Dave Whitlock and 34 other influential anglers who made their mark in fly tying.

Author: Mike Valla
Format: Hardcover-spiral 320 pages
Publisher: Stackpole/Headwater (August 1, 2013)
ISBN: 0811708330

An excellent review by Bob Petti can be found at Global Fly Fisher