Pheasant Tail Simplicity: Recipes and Techniques for Successful Fly Fishing

(Paperback)

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Together, these anglers have nearly 200 years of angling experience. They've tried -- and refined -- it all, so you can catch fish -- anywhere, any time, with just one type of fly.

Angling afficionados and authors Chouinard, Mathews, and Mazzo join together again to reveal the secret to successful fly fishing: the pheasant tail fly. In Simple Fly Fishing (Patagonia,2014; 2018), they made the case for replacing unnecessary gear with knowledge and technique. Now, after years of continuing to experiment and simplify, they offer the next step: the feathers that can be used to tie any kind of fly: nymphs, dry flies, emergers, and beetles. Conceived as an advanced follow-up to Simple Fly Fishing, Pheasant Tail Simplicity focuses on essential fly patterns that all share one critical ingredient-pheasant tail. The book explores the techniques required to tie and present these flies to trout, anadromous, and saltwater species. More than just a guide, it challenges the industry norm that thousands of fly patterns are necessary to catch fish. Instead, it distills fly fishing to its core: one shared fly tying ingredient, a handful of techniques, and a mindset that prioritizes knowledge, craft, and creativity over all else.

The book includes 17 detailed fly recipes, with ingredients lists and step-by-step photos. Then they tell how to use this one type of fly to catch any kind of fish. In concise text, with instructional photos throughout and QR codes that link to how-to videos for tying and fishing with these flies, this book and its techniques force you to rely on your skills and to be creative to be successful. You will catch fish as you never have before.

Author Bio

Yvon Chouinard is the founder and former owner of Patagonia. He is a world-recognized fly fishing expert. He is the author of several books, including Simple Fly Fishing: Techniques for Tenkara and Rod and Reel (Patagonia, 2016)and Let My People Go Surfing (Penguin Press, 2006, 2016, and 2025). His home waters are Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Ventura, California. Craig Mathews, with his wife, Jackie, is the owner and founder of Blue Ribbon Flies, a retail fly fishing outfitter base in West Yellowstone, Montana. Craig has authored five books on fly fishing in the western United States and Yellowstone National Park and is renowned as an expert fly fishing guide. Mauro Mazzo is an FFF Certified Master and THCI Casting Instructor, and he writes and photographs on a regular basis for European fly fishing magazines. He has fished around the globe, from the Italian Alps to Himachal Pradesh, from Cuba to the Kola Peninsula. He lives in Milan, Italy. Samantha Aronson is an illustrator specializing in the art of fly fishing, including flies, fish, and techniques. Her work is displayed in the American Museum of Fly Fishing, and has been featured in numerous fly fishing publications. She lives in Northfield, Vermont.