Streamer Flies for Trophy Trout

Kelly Galloup, author of "Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout", brings us a new DVD where he ties some of the flies from his book. With each fly, Kelly takes the time to explain the materials and techniques used to construct the fly, and we see every step along the way. The camera work is very good, with the angle from over the right shoulder of the tyer as if the viewer was standing behind as if at a tying demonstration. The background is usually uncluttered, although I wish he would have moved the bobbin cradle arm out of the way most of the time, and occasionally his head got in the way.

The five flies he ties are all large sized streamers made popular in his book - Wooly Sculpin, Stacked Blonde, Twin Tail Madonna, Zoo Cougar, and Galloup's Craw. He did repeat himself a bit when describing the sort of deer hair required for spinning a hair head and collar for both the Wooly Sculpin and the Zoo Cougar, but that's a nit. It's an important point and it's probably not overkill to emphasize how important the selection of deer hair ease to the success of the fly.

The tying skill on display is excellent, as you would expect, and the techniques are sound and reasonable, meaning no unique procedures are required to tie these flies. The flies also do not require anything exotic in the way of materials. If you've got some deer hair, marabou, bucktail, rabbit strips, hackle, and a bit of chenille of flashy body material, you've got just about all you need. These are not complicated or complex flies, but rather simple fishing flies with a solid fish-proven design with few extraneous parts.

All in all, this DVD is an excellent companion to his book.