Book review: Advanced Flytying Techniques

There’s a saying, which goes something like “if you have a great recipe, why change it?”, and that can be said about this latest book from British Barry Ord Clarke, who has written a follow up volume to his previous title “The Feather Bender's Flytying Techniques”.
As the title of this book implies, it’s a continuation of the previous concept, and the added word “advanced” indicates that we have stepped up the level a bit. Even though the previous book wasn’t exactly a beginner’s book, it was a great introduction to some basic techniques coupled to patterns, which demonstrated their use.
In the book the concept is the same. There’s a row of patterns, and each shows how to utilize a certain material or technique – or three, actually, because each pattern covers exactly three techniques.

The book starts out with some basic knowledge, but luckily not too basic (because I deplore when advanced books cover simple subjects!). In this case these basics are a bit above the banal, and you can read about buoyant feathers, varnishing heads, using wax and more, so something that is rarely covered in tying books. It’s not rocket science and the chapters are not that long, but it’s a pleasant divergence from the chapters about bobbin holders, bodkins and how to start and end thread on a fly, which is found in way too many tying books.

Pages from the book

Barry Ord Clarke

The meat and potatoes in this books is the fly patterns, and like the first book they are varied and useful, and they are again mainly trout flies for stream and lake use, even though you will find a clam worm and a small fry/baitfish pattern.
But as was the case with the previous book, the techniques shown are useful for many other flies, and some of these flies could also be used for other species than stream trout even though the vast majority is nymphs, dry flies and terrestrials.

And as already mentioned the recipe is the same for each fly: an intro, a materials list, link to an online video (with a QR-code) and then several pages of step-by-step images of the tying sequence.
In usual Ord Clarke style it’s meticulously done, very well written and photographed and beautifully laid out.

There are 28 patterns spread out on more than 200 pages, so ample space for both text and pictures. A little math also tells us that that means that the book covers 84 different specific techniques or ways of using or handling material. Some of these can hardly be called techniques as such (trailing shuck of Krystal Flash or Antron), some are quite common (dubbing hare’s ear fur, ribbing with the tying thread), but all are useful, and even though you may know many of them already, it’s always great to see them described and illustrated in detail, and I don’t doubt that most fly tyers will learn quite a lot from reading through the book.

Pages from the book

Barry Ord Clarke

As you may sense, I regard this book much as I did the first volume, and it’s a perfect continuation, and does exactly what it promises: adds “advanced” to the techniques and the flies, also making it a perfect follow-up to the first title.
So if you gave “The Feather Bender's Flytying Techniques” to someone for Christmas last year, you have the perfect gift for this year: the sequel!

The book is the same format, large, 250+ pages, extremely well illustrated, laid out and printed. The price is 30 UK£ or about 40 USD, so a bit more expensive than the first one, but still well worth the price.
And it easily scores a Global Class rating just like the first one.