In this intriguing look at his many hours at the tying bench, John Gierach focuses on the trout flies he has found most successful and tells how he ties them. He began as a hopeless tinkerer who tried to tie every pattern in existence, but eventually settled on a large handful of favorite patterns - "good flies" - with which he catches most of his trout. Gierach analyzes the tools he uses for tying and advocates those patterns that are simple and basic (and few), and he also makes his case for the use of natural materials. He then goes on to discuss the flies themselves - small, medium, and large mayfly imitations (which is how he arranges them in his fly boxes), spinners, midges, caddis, hoppers, nymphs, and streamers.Good Flies is enriched with fishing stories and observations from days astream and days at his vise, all in Gierach's inimitable style: rambling a little, following this thread and that, always full of wit and deft experience, with a plain-spoken style that has made him America's favorite fly-fishing author. Every John Gierach fan will appreciate this delightful book, and every trout angler can base a successful approach to the fish on what the author offers here.