What makes a well-rounded fly-tying instruction book? It must: (a) cover all the essential fly-tying styles for all types of flies, (b) provide clear instructions supplemented by photos with unambiguous captions where necessary, and (c) contain a fair-size photograph of the finished fly.

The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference
by Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer
Frank Amato Publications, 1998

Although expensive, no serious tyer can afford to be without this book. With more than 400 methods illustrated by some 3,000 color photographs, Leeson and Schollmeyer answer almost every trout-fly fly-tying question imaginable (the dust jacket suggests "all your fly-tying questions," but this is typical publicist hyperbole). Explanations of the methods (there are no patterns in the book) are expertly crafted and the contents will provide any fly tyer with many hours of enjoyable discovery.

Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple
by Skip Morris
Frank Amato Publications, 1992

Beginners may want to choose a solid, and inexpensive, introductory book that combines both instruction and patterns. Skip's effort is a full-color guide and covers the essentials with plenty of clear photographs. Technique instruction is based on some 15 popular patterns and an additional 27 recipes are provided at the end for additional practice. I'm told that it's presently the best-seller in this category.

Trout Flies
by Dave Hughes
Stackpole Books, 1999

Distilled to its essence, Trout Flies is an extended conversation with the author. Dave sits on the tailgate of a truck and opens all his trout boxes. Then, because you would like to know how he ties these proven patterns, it's off to a nearby picnic table. Out comes the vise and materials bag and Dave demonstrates.

During the lengthy sessions he talks about the styles and patterns and why he has confidence in them. Featured patterns include precise tying steps — thirty in one case — each illustrated with a clear color photo, some 1,500 in all. Variations are usually handled with a recipe and finished-product photo. If a variation requires a different tying technique, it is illustrated. Trout Flies contains more than 500 patterns and variations.

Fish Flies
by Terry Hellekson
Frank Amato Publications, 1995

This two-volume set is for pattern junkies. Tying its thousands of patterns would keep one busy at the vise for many years. It is not as popular as it should be because the fly photographs are multiple-pattern plates (so individual flies are a bit small) and not all patterns are included in the plates.

Folks seem to have come to expect a large color photograph of each fly although in most cases this isn't necessary. Some pattern-provenance errors crept in but that's only of concern to history buffs. Whenever a question concerning trout-fly recipes arrives via E-mail, Fish Flies is one of the first places I look for the answer.

So that's it. Build up my recommended library and you will have much of the best technical information available for catching river-dwelling trout on the fly. However, that is only my view; the trout may be harsher critics.