French Fishing Flies: Patterns and Recipes for Fly Tying

Cul de Canard (Duck’s Rump), Farefelue (The Crazy One), Plantureuse (Buxom Gal), Peute (The Ugly One)—the names are deliciously French but one would make a terrible mistake to think that only French-born trout like these fishing flies. “Design,” said Datus Proper, “is why this book has as much to do with the Henry’s Fork as with the Risle.” At least one of the flies introduced by French Fishing Flies more than twenty-five years ago, the Cul de Canard, has long since become a true staple in fly boxes around the world. Others will surely follow. This fascinating book is bound to be of great interest to fly fishermen everywhere.

Dr. Jean-Paul Pequengnot is the most highly respected fly-fishing author in France today. He has fished for trout, grayling, Atlantic and Pacific salmon, and steelhead in many countries; his books reflect his wide experience. A successful doctor in Besançon, France, he manages to find time not only for his fishing and writing but also for fly tying and bamboo-rod making.

Robert A. Chino is a Chicago boy who went to Europe with the Japanese-American combat team during World War II and stayed on, learning fly fishing from such French masters as Colonel Vavon, Maurice Bousquet, Burnand, and Charles Ritz. His articles and letters have appeared in Fly Fisherman, Fly Typers’ Rod, Fly Tyer, and Gordon’s Quill.

The late Datus Proper was the author of the path-breaking What the Trout Said, one of the most interesting and challenging books on fly-pattern design. He was an American Foreign Service Officer.