Pheasant Tail Simplicity: Recipes and Techniques for Successful Fly Fishing

Together, these anglers have nearly 200 years of fly-fishing experience. They've tried—and refined—it all and share their knowledge here, demonstrating how you can catch fish—anywhere, any time—with just one type of fly.

Angling aficionados and authors Chouinard, Mathews, and Mazzo come together again, this time to reveal the many wonders of 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 additional experience, they offer the next step: the feather that can be used to tie flies from nymphs and dry flies to emergers, soft hackles, and beetles. Pheasant Tail Simplicity, conceived as an advanced follow-up to Simple Fly Fishing, explores the techniques required to tie and present these flies to trout and anadromous and saltwater species. More than just a guide, it challenges the norm that thousands of fly patterns are necessary to catch fish successfully.

Pheasant Tail Simplicity includes step-by-step illustrated instructions for tying 18 flies, along with materials lists and tips on how to use them. In concise text, with QR codes that link to how-to videos, this colorful book distills fly fishing to its core: one primary fly-tying material, a handful of techniques, and a mindset that prioritizes knowledge, craft, and creativity over all else.

• About the Authors

  Yvon Chouinard is the founder of Patagonia and a lifelong conservationist. He is a noted fly fisher and was named Angler of the Year by Fly Rod & Reel in 2009. He cofounded, with Craig Mathews, 1% for the Planet, a group of businesses giving back to the environment. He lives in Ventura, California.
  
  Craig Mathews is a Montana-based author and conservationist and cofounder, with Yvon Chouinard, of 1% for the Planet. He and his wife, Jackie, founded Blue Ribbon Flies, a fly shop and outfitter in West Yellowstone, Montana. Craig has authored and co-authored nine books on fly fishing in the western United States and Yellowstone National Park. He was chosen by Fly Rod & Reel as Angler of the Year in 2005. He and Jackie live in the Madison River Valley of Montana.
  
  Mauro Mazzo is a Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Master, a Two-Hand 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 and from Cuba to the Kola Peninsula. He lives in Milan, Italy.

• From Yvon Chouinard

  "Pheasant tail feathers can be used to tie nymphs, dry flies, emergers, and beetles that are equally as or even more effective than the thousands of flies in the fly shop."

• From Craig Mathews

  "I already knew the material I would use to imitate those partially emerged and impaired dun bodies: male ring-necked pheasant center tail fibers. These fibers imitate the natural brown and reddish color of the most important species of mayfly nymphs."

• From Mauro Mazzo

  "Limiting your options forces creativity and learning. Do it right and you can achieve spectacular results. Discovery and practice, then mastery and perfection, all through simplification. Isn't that the goal of practicing any craft?"

• Specifications

  Paperback book with 168 pages; printed in full color with over 200 photos; 8.25" x 11"

• Publisher

  Published by Patagonia

• Features

  The book includes 18 step-by-step fly patterns, QR codes that link to how-to videos for fly-tying and fishing, and tactical guidance for multiple water types and species. A companion fly box (available separately) features all 18 of the book’s patterns in a variety of sizes; it's produced in partnership with Umpqua Feather Merchants

• Country of Origin

  Made in Canada.