Has anyone read "Matching Hatches Made Easy" by Charles Meck?

[likemike]

I'm looking to pick up my first book on choosing the right fly at the right time (my current struggle). There's a new book by Charles Meck called "Matchng Hatches Made Easy" that was released this year, but I can't find any reviews on it. Has anyone read it? And if so, would you recommend it? The alternative books I'm considering would be "Handbook of Hatches" by David Hughes or one of Meck's earlier books.

 

[sandfly]

My ?? to you is how well do you know the insects, can you tell the difference between a b.w.o. and a blue quill..reason I'm asking is if you can identify the insects at hatching time then what do you need to know match the fly and you should get into fish.. beginning of a hatch a nymph or flymph/wet fly will work best (only a few fly's hatching) when its full swing (fish feeding in the surface) then a emerger or dry will work. then later (usually during evening) a spinner should work.

 

[gfen]

likemike wrote:
I'm looking to pick up my first book on choosing the right fly at the right time (my current struggle).

its easy, its an adams.

the only question is how big is the adams? for that you look at the thing that flew by your head.

you're welcome.

 

[bikerfish]

if it's a brown bug, then tie on a brown bug, if it's a black bug, ya use a black bug, if it's a ..., well, you get the idea.
or like gfen says, use an adams and simply catch fish.
unless your on penns and the fish are being especially bitchy, and there are 7 different bugs hatching, then no fly you use will work, but the kid throwning a mepps spinner will catch em all day long. kinda pisses ya off when that happens.

 

[Volksnurse]

Damn....wasted all that time learnin me how to tie a Royal Wulff. Thanks Gary...

gfen wrote:


its easy, its an adams.

the only question is how big is the adams? for that you look at the thing that flew by your head.

you're welcome.

 

[rrt]

I think hatch matching is fun, and tho I am no Meck fan, he does know his bugs. I have not read the book in question, but of the many Meck books I've seen, the handbook of PA hatches he did in collaboration with Paul Weamer is the one I think would be most helpful to you. It covers mayflies, caddisses, stoneflies, and others. However, if you can find Ted Fauceglia's coffee table style book "Mayflies," I think it is a lot better, tho it does not discuss downwing flies. You ought to be able to find either of these in any fly shop or in many bookstores. If you have a significant other, perhaps you could suggest these books as Christmas gifts for you.

 

[afishinado]

rrt wrote:
I think hatch matching is fun, and tho I am no Meck fan, he does know his bugs. I have not read the book in question, but of the many Meck books I've seen, the handbook of PA hatches he did in collaboration with Paul Weamer is the one I think would be most helpful to you. It covers mayflies, caddisses, stoneflies, and others. However, if you can find Ted Fauceglia's coffee table style book "Mayflies," I think it is a lot better, tho it does not discuss downwing flies. You ought to be able to find either of these in any fly shop or in many bookstores. If you have a significant other, perhaps you could suggest these books as Christmas gifts for you.

Agreed. Pics of all the major PA hatches with some info about each,and fly pattern recommendations. It's small enough to be carried with you or kept in your vehicle. And, it deals only with hatches found in PA. Great first book (or even last book) on PA bugs.

G-man....ignorance is bliss (and you're the blithest guy I know!)

 

[troutbert]

It's good to learn the hatches, because when the hatches occur, you want to be ready.

But you should also learn effective flies and techniques to catch trout during the non-hatch periods, which are about 90% of the time. Those doing fly fishing instruction should teach this to students, in addition to the match-the-hatch info.

If you read the fishing reports, you'll see that people are catching many trout in non-hatch situations.

 

[afishinado]

troutbert wrote:
It's good to learn the hatches, because when the hatches occur, you want to be ready.

But you should also learn effective flies and techniques to catch trout during the non-hatch periods, which are about 90% of the time. Those doing fly fishing instruction should teach this to students, in addition to the match-the-hatch info.

If you read the fishing reports, you'll see that people are catching many trout in non-hatch situations.

Very true, the vast majority of the time, nothing is hatching. But, one of the keys to fly selection, IMO anyway, is to chose a fly that is likely to hatch given the stream and date. I often hedge my bet by fishing two flies, one a hatch-matcher, and the other a general pattern and reliable fish catcher.

Very true also about learning fishing techniques. The fly choice means little if you cannot present it well, and I'll add two things - not be able to detect strikes and not be able to read the water. The bugs are just one piece of the puzzle. Knowing the bugs is trumped by all of the above.

Gfen is right about his Adams fly. I would bet on him catching a whole bunch just using that fly (or some other old reliable pattern).

With all that being said, learning about the insects is fascinating and fun. And it's very exciting when things come together and you find a hatch on the water, can ID it, and fish flies that match the hatch.

 

[gfen]

afishinado wrote:
G-man....ignorance is bliss (and you're the blithest guy I know!)

I've long since transcended ignorance and bliss and now live in a state of muted greys.

Fish. Brain the size of a pea. They eat food. If it looks liek food, they eat it.

That said, I bought the Meck "field guide," and possibly even carried it with me for a month. Then I put it away and adopted the brown/yellow/grey fly approach.

Which is, for the record, usually an Adams when the water is flat and they're mayflies or midges.

 

[Chaz]

hatches II and Matching the hatch are the 2 boooks you need.