Fish never cease to amaze me. When The New Scientific Angling – Trout and Ultraviolet Vision by Reed F. Curry first came out, I was immediately intrigued. As the title suggests the book focuses on the what trout see and how we as fly fisherman can do to make our flies more attracting to fish. As you can see from the chapter titles, Curry goes to great lengths to talk about what ultraviolet light is and how it fits into nature.
Now, by no means am I a biologist or have any scientific background, but I found the whole discussion of trout vision and ultraviolet reflection fascinating. Curry goes through great length to photograph and document his findings while applying its impact on fly tying materials and fly fishing. Much of what I read here in The New Scientific Angling – Trout and Ultraviolet Vision was reminiscent of what Lafontaine investigated in his book The Dry Fly: New Angles. Both authors strive to understand what triggers fish to take our flies, and ultimately, why some flies seem to have such great success.
If you are interested in the nitty-gritty of fly tying and fly fishing, I think Curry’s book is worth the read. As an angler, I found the discussion of what trout see to be extremely interesting and enlightening.
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I am a biologist, and I’m most definitely intrigued. I hadn’t seen this book. Thanks for sharing.
It’s pretty interesting. I am no expert, but it definitely made me think about what type of materials I use to tie flies.
Ben