The complete angler is a well rounded and proficient study of the river and its inhabitants. The complete angler knows where the fish will be, what they will be doing, and how to fool them. Much like a successful CEO is familiar with all levels of their company, the most successful fly anglers understand all levels of their sport. To be “The Complete Angler”, one needs to work at the base level of fly fishing; the flies. To many of us, fly tying and fly fishing are two sides of the same coin, and for some, to remove one from the other would border on Blasphemy. A proficient fly tyer will almost always be a more proficient fly fisher, and the best fly anglers are almost always also very proficient at tying flies. Hopefully the following preliminary note will aptly highlight the importance and benefits of tying the patterns that this book will focus on. If you want to be the most familiar and successful that you can be at all levels of the sport of fly fishing, you simply cannot avoid the need to tie your own flies.