Book excerpt: Every fly fisher wants bragging rights about landing a 32-inch behemoth of a carp. Even better? Adding extra colour to your tale by hooking the monstrous fish with a fly tied from a tuft of your golden retriever’s fur. These are just some of the tips, tricks, and fishing anecdotes packed into Stu Thompson’s illustrated fly-pattern book. Thompson, who has been fishing in the province of Manitoba and beyond for more than 55 years, has smartly grouped flies into categories such as chironomids, wet flies, dry flies, and streamers. Every fly pattern is accompanied by detailed photographs and step-by-step instructions for tying flies that work for multiple species of fish. From simple to more difficult (but always effective) the 101 fly patterns in this book were developed, tested, and proven—not only by Thompson but also by his friends across North America and Europe.