TIME FLIES WHEN TYING FLIES...FOR TROUT
A Review of Tying Flies for Trout
by Brad Jeske
"For over five centuries, men and women have been trying to deceive trout. Some used natural baits to lure a trout to their hook, while others applied their wits and imagination to craft imitations of insects. Their frauds then, as now, were constructed using thread, feathers and hair. These many years later little has changed - but then again much is different. The definition of artificial fly has been broadened to incorporate imitations of insects other than flies, as well as most other forms of aquatic life - indeed, virtually any animal form upon which fish feed."
The above is from Elkwing's CD production, Tying Flies for Trout by Dick Stewart and Farrow Allen. This interactive CD runs the gamut in the fly tying arena. Equipment, flies, materials and history are covered with the help of 250 full screen photos. Full motion video is used to show how to tie five specific patterns, narrated and tied by Allen. Along with that is a step-by-step instruction on tying eight other patterns in a slide show type presentation.
The program is divided into three main sections: Strategy, Patterns and Tutorials.
Strategy begins with a preface about fly-fishing. History goes back to the earliest beginnings of fly fishing, what was used, how it was made. And the last section deals with Entomology (the study of insects) In this section photographs of insects, such as the Blue Dun, Caddisfly, Stoneflys and the Midges are shown in their different stages of their life cycle, accompanied by text information.
Patterns is divided into eight sections starting with All-Purpose flies, Mayflies, Caddisflies, Stoneflies, Midges, Aquatics, Terrestrials and Other. These are further divided into sub-categories specific to each of the patterns. For example the Caddisfly are divided into larvae, pupae and adults; each one of these sections contain approximately forty types of flies. Along with the fly comes with a listing of size of hooks, thread type, what the body, wing and tail, consist of for hackle used. You can click on the photo of a particular fly, to get a detailed enlargement, or print out any of the flies using the print menu at the bottom of the screen.
Tutorials cover the rest of the fly tying world. What type of tools are needed, types and sizes of hooks, what materials are needed. The Nomenclature sections gives a breakdown of specific names for the parts of flies, arranged by Wet, Dry, Nymph, and other classified sections. There is a glossary of fly tying terms. It is here in this section that contains the step-by-step, detailed instruction for eight flies, plus full motion video for five flies. It is important to note that if you are running a computer with less the 8MEG of RAM don't expect to get too much from the videos, they will be choppy, grainy, the narration will skip and lose sync with the video.
The Step-by-Step section, breaks down the making of eight different patterns. With the use of text and single framed shots, and narration, a person could set up their fly-tying vise in front of the computer and follow the on-screen instruction and put together a fly. The narration is well-paced, and easy to follow. The graphics can, at times, be difficult to decipher detail from the images, as at times the shots are grainy which resulted in lost detail. It would be important here that before you use this CD to set your graphics to the highest resolution possible for the best effect.
Tying Flies for Trout is designed for the beginner to intermediate fly tier. Many of the information contained within this CD would probably be redundant for the advance person, unless you are searching for new patterns to try out. This is a useful program for those who are interested in learning to tie their own flies, or finding out what it takes to get started. Stewart and Allen do a good job of covering it all from history to equipment, to giving personal instruction to help tying you tie your own flies.
And from there it's all up to you to experience the thrill of catching that trout on your own hand-tied fly.
Multimedia Cafe Scorecard
| Product: |
Tying Flies for Trout |
| Company: |
Elkwing Production
|
| Cost: |
$34.99 |
System Requirements:
WINDOWS
PC with 386 CPU or greater
2x CD-ROM drive and Hard Disk
8 bit Graphic Card (16 bit recommended)
Microsoft Windows 95 (3.1 or later)
Mouse or other pointing device
MACINTOSH
Mac or Power Mac
2x CD-ROM drive and Hard Disk
Min. 4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended)
256 colors (thousand of colors recommended)
System 7 or Higher
Breakdown:
Entertainment Value 3
Educational Value 3
Concept 4
Depth 4
Interface 3
Overall Score:
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