Here is my humble opinion on the writing of Dave Hughes. He has the ability to take something a little mysterious to most of us and to reduce it to something so simple that the most novice among us can understand.
Hi Doug,
I am also a great fan of David Hughes writing. His book "Trout Flies, The Tier's Reference" is one of my favorites. When Wes cited his book with regard to Wulff flies, my impression was that Wes was intrigued as to how Dave Hughes organized the book by grouping pattern styles as well as the Natural Fly Types. This is also what intrigued me about Dave's book, too. For instance, his Quill-Winged Traditional Wets section highlighted a Royal Coachman but also showed pattern variations that resulted in the McGinty, Black Gnat, Leadwing Coachman, and others.
I have a background of working with Taxonomic keys of Plants. Alas, I tend to look at the world within this type of "Tree-type" organization. It's been the bane of me. A reference that I would love to read would be a type of "Connections" of fly patterns. I wonder if one could put together a type of genealogical tree showing how certain patterns have evolved and whom were the tiers that influenced those changes. Certainly, Gary Lafontaine, Polly Rosborough, and Lee Wulff would have to be included among those tiers.
Steve Schalla
