I ran across this book on the NV TU site.  Dave is a little bit ahead of where I am in my journey into fly fishing and has already encountered many of the same basic issues that totally confuse us new fly guys.  The key thing he brings to the table is his detailed memory of those areas of confusion.

For example, I discussed fishing vests in an earlier post.  Dave ran into the same problem, discusses it and provides his advice on the solution.

Of course, the initial challenge we all have is "what to buy"?  You can buy a lot of extra stuff - I've already commented on things I bought and have never used.  Reading Dave's book would have saved me from some of this expense.  The problem for us new fly guys is when we are let loose in the store totally unsupervised.

It's easy to quickly fall victim to the advertising and the hypnotic lure of some of the packaging.  I am convinced that some flies are designed to attract more fishermen than fish!  If you take Dave's book to the store with you, you will walk out with what you need.

In his book, Dave shares his detailed notes from the various fly fishing training he attended.  Be thankful you are reading a book written by an engineer!  He is detailed in his reporting and you get the instant benefit of the class without going.  Obviously, there is a lot  more to this training than is captured in the note - so you do need to get some kind of training.

Dave recommends joining Trout Unlimited.  I agree with this.  Their publications have been very helpful to me and I have found the members I have spoken with to be very helpful with advice and locations.

Speaking of locations, Dave tips his hat to the dutiful bluegill.  These fish are great to hone your technique - or develop a technique in the first place.  You can splash a dry fly at the shore of any lake and pull in a dozen of these guys.  By working with the bluegills, you can refine your casting skills, learn how to set the hook and have a good time fighting some of these guys.  The bluegill in the rivers around here (Potomac and others) are huge!

I certainly do not want to repeat his advice in all areas - get the book and read it.  He covers equipment, flies, locations, techniques... the entire range of subjects you need to hear about.

If you are a really experienced fly guy who finds himself giving advice to use newbies, you may want to read it as well just to get clued back into the simple language a new guy can understand!

Here's the link to where you can order.