Save 10% when ordering the new Patagonia Pheasant Tail Simplicity Book and Fly Assortment together!
The Patagonia Pheasant Tail Simplicity Fly Box is a curated assortment of 30 flies hand-selected by Yvon Chouinard, Craig Mathews and Mauro Mazzo who have spent years perfecting the best flies and techniques for any situation that make flies irresistible to fish. Produced in conjunction with the book "Pheasant Tail Simplicity" by Yvon Chouinard, Craig Mathews and Mauro Mazzo.
The Pheasant Tail Simplicity Fly Box includes:
Pheasant Tail Emerger BWO (#18)
Pheasant Tail Emerger PMD (#14)
Pheasant Tail Sparkle Dun Baetis (#18)
Pheasant Tail Sparkle Dun PMD (#16)
Pheasant Tail X Caddis Olive (#14)
Pheasant Tail X Caddis Tan (#14)
Pheasant Tail Trico Spinner (#18)
Pheasant Tail Zelon Midge (#18)
Pheasant Tail Mayfly Spinner (#16)
Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle Dry Fly (#12)
Pheasant Tail Iris Caddis (#17, #15)
Pheasant Tail Foam Beetle (#12)
Classic Pheasant Tail Nymph (#16, #14)
Pheasant Tail Flymph (#16, #14)
Classic Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle (#16, #14)
Pheasant Tail Bead Head Flymph (#16, #14)
Pheasant Tail Bead Head Nymph (#16, #14)
Pheasant Tail Red Tag (#16, #14)
Pheasant Tail Jig (#16, #12)
Pheasant Tail Caddis (#14, #12)
Pheasant Tail Bonefish (#8)
Thirteen dry flies specially designed by Chouinard, Mathews and Mazzo: 10 nymph flies; 6 soft-hackle, unweighted flies; and 1 saltwater fly
Dry fly patterns: one each of Pheasant Tail Sparkle Dun Baetis, Pheasant Tail Sparkle Dun PMD, Pheasant Tail Trico Spinner Chouinard, Pheasant Tail Zelon Midge Mathews, Pheasant Tail Mayfly Spinner Mathews, Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle Dry Fly Chouinard, Pheasant Tail Foam Beetle Mathews; two each of Pheasant Tail Emerger Mathews, Pheasant Tail X Caddis Mathews, Pheasant Tail Iris Caddis Mathews
Soft hackle/unweighted patterns include: two each of Classic Pheasant Tail Nymph Mazzo, Pheasant Tail Flymph Chouinard, Classic Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle Chouinard
Nymph patterns include: two each of Pheasant Tail BH Flymph Chouinard, Pheasant Tail BH Nymph Chouinard, Pheasant Tail Red Tag Mazzo, Pheasant Tail Jig Mazzo, Pheasant Tail Jig Caddis Mazzo
Includes one saltwater pattern: Pheasant Tail Bonefish Chouinard
Made in Thailand
Together, these anglers have nearly 200 years of fly-fishing experience. They've tried—and refined—it all and share their knowledge here, demonstrating how you can catch fish—anywhere, any time—with just one type of fly.
Angling aficionados and authors Chouinard, Mathews, and Mazzo come together again, this time to reveal the many wonders of the pheasant tail fly. In Simple Fly Fishing (Patagonia; 2014, 2018), they made the case for replacing unnecessary gear with knowledge and technique. Now, after years of additional experience, they offer the next step: the feather that can be used to tie flies from nymphs and dry flies to emergers, soft hackles, and beetles. Pheasant Tail Simplicity, conceived as an advanced follow-up to Simple Fly Fishing, explores the techniques required to tie and present these flies to trout and anadromous and saltwater species. More than just a guide, it challenges the norm that thousands of fly patterns are necessary to catch fish successfully.
Pheasant Tail Simplicity includes step-by-step illustrated instructions for tying 18 flies, along with materials lists and tips on how to use them. In concise text, with QR codes that link to how-to videos, this colorful book distills fly fishing to its core: one primary fly-tying material, a handful of techniques, and a mindset that prioritizes knowledge, craft, and creativity over all else.
Yvon Chouinard is the founder of Patagonia and a lifelong conservationist. He is a noted fly fisher and was named Angler of the Year by Fly Rod & Reel in 2009. He cofounded, with Craig Mathews, 1% for the Planet, a group of businesses giving back to the environment. He lives in Ventura, California.
Craig Mathews is a Montana-based author and conservationist and cofounder, with Yvon Chouinard, of 1% for the Planet. He and his wife, Jackie, founded Blue Ribbon Flies, a fly shop and outfitter in West Yellowstone, Montana. Craig has authored and co-authored nine books on fly fishing in the western United States and Yellowstone National Park. He was chosen by Fly Rod & Reel as Angler of the Year in 2005. He and Jackie live in the Madison River Valley of Montana.
Mauro Mazzo is a Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Master, a Two-Hand Casting Instructor, and he writes and photographs on a regular basis for European fly-fishing magazines. He has fished around the globe from the Italian Alps to Himachal Pradesh and from Cuba to the Kola Peninsula. He lives in Milan, Italy.
"Pheasant tail feathers can be used to tie nymphs, dry flies, emergers, and beetles that are equally as or even more effective than the thousands of flies in the fly shop."
"I already knew the material I would use to imitate those partially emerged and impaired dun bodies: male ring-necked pheasant center tail fibers. These fibers imitate the natural brown and reddish color of the most important species of mayfly nymphs."
"Limiting your options forces creativity and learning. Do it right and you can achieve spectacular results. Discovery and practice, then mastery and perfection, all through simplification. Isn't that the goal of practicing any craft?"
Paperback book with 168 pages; printed in full color with over 200 photos; 8.25" x 11"
Published by Patagonia
The book includes 18 step-by-step fly patterns, QR codes that link to how-to videos for fly-tying and fishing, and tactical guidance for multiple water types and species. A companion fly box (available separately) features all 18 of the book’s patterns in a variety of sizes; it's produced in partnership with Umpqua Feather Merchants
Made in Canada.
