ADRIAN V W FREER
Adrian Freer is the author of books on reservoir fly fishing, fly dressing, trout fly patterns, religious topics, children's stories and poetry.
FLY FISHING BOOKS BY ADRIAN V W FREER 1
Adrian Freer is the author of books on reservoir fly fishing, fly dressing, fly patterns, religious topics, children's stories and poetry.
Below is a selection of his FLY FISHING books currently available (Page 1).
SUCCESSFUL RESERVOIR FLY FISHING TECHNIQUES
A Trout Angler’s Guide to Improved Catches
Adrian V W Freer
Written in an easy to understand style and beautifully illustrated in full colour throughout. It is essential reading for all those trout anglers who wish to improve their catches.
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Answers the question ‘Why fly fish for trout?’
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Considers the choice of tackle and examines knots, leader materials and leader construction.
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Discusses the choice of flies, fly casting, fly dressing and patterns.
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Analyses the food of trout, tactics, the weather and fishing conditions.
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Covers bank and boat fishing.
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Includes over 100 colour photographs and thirty diagrams.
Includes: 109 photographs, 30 diagrams & 14 tables
Published by: The Crowood Press ISBN 978-1-86126-930-0
Hardback 192 pages 246 x 189mm
RESERVOIR TROUT FLIES
An Angler’s Guide to Successful Fly Patterns
Adrian V W Freer
The purpose of this invaluable and comprehensive book is two fold. Firstly, to discuss the design and dressing of reservoir trout flies with a view to understanding how they actually appear to the trout. Secondly, to provide a reference guide to the most popular and successful reservoir fly patterns in use today.
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Discusses the design of artificial flies with supporting photographs showing their appearance and behaviour beneath the water.
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Presents the dressings over 270 fly patterns divided into nymphs, wet flies, lures (including fry patterns), dry flies & emergers, and terrestrials.
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For ease of reference a photograph of each fly, the dressing menu, a list of variants and comments on each individual pattern are all shown on the same page.
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Provides a comprehensive ‘on the bench’ reference handbook for both the amateur and professional fly tyer.
Offers helpful advice to anglers contemplating tying their own flies for the first time.
Includes over 380 colour photographs together with diagrams and tables.
Published by: The Crowood Press ISBN 978-1-84797-20-8
Hardback 192 pages 235 x 165mm
RESERVOIR TROUT AUTOPSIES
Valuable Information Straight from the Fish’s Mouth
Adrian V W Freer
Employing imitations of the natural creatures that the trout are targeting is undoubtedly the most satisfying and rewarding method of fly fishing for reservoir trout. On many occasions it can be by far the most productive.
In order to choose the correct artificial the angler needs to be able to identify the creatures that the fish are feeding on, know which patterns imitate them, and understand how each one should be presented.
Performing an autopsy is a quick and straightforward procedure that enables anglers to identify positively, without any doubt, precisely what the fish have been ingesting in those vital few moments prior to capture. More than fifty large scale autopsies are reproduced in full colour to assist in identification.
This volume will help anglers perform autopsies for themselves and in addition there are suggestions of what artificial flies might be employed to copy all the reservoir creatures likely to be encountered.
Includes 144 colour photographs and 6 line drawings
Published by Welford Court Press
ISBN: 978-0-9520304-2-3
Available from Amazon and from bookshops
DR BELL OF WRINGTON
Pioneer of Reservoir Fly Fishing
Adrian V W Freer
This book is dedicated to the life, the artificial flies, the pioneering techniques in stillwater nymph fishing and ultimately the angling legacy of Dr Howard Alexander Bell (1888-1974) of Wrington, Somerset. Dr Bell regularly fished Blagdon Lake in the years following WW1 where he sought to devise better methods of catching reservoir trout.
As a result of his enquiring and scientific mind Dr Bell did not follow the standard practice of the day of employing 'attractor' patterns but rather he studied the creatures that the fish were targeting and endeavoured to design artificial patterns which replicated them, and retrieved them in a manner which mimicked their progression through the water.
He was probably the first angler to implement such an imitative approach to reservoirs and his Blagdon Buzzer is the forerunner of the multitude of buzzer artificials employed today.
Contents include:
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A biography of the doctor.
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Timeline of events in his life.
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A history of the development of reservoir fly fishing in England.
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Information about Wrington village.
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Blagdon Lake which he fished.
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The doctor's celebrated Alvis.
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Reminiscences written by those who knew him.
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References gleaned from books.
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Some brief but endearing memories of the doctor.
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Visits to the River Spey.
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Catalogue of patterns.
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Facsimile pages from the doctor's fishing notebooks.
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Images of flies.
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The only article known to be written by Dr Bell.
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Bibliography.
Paperback 126 pages, includes 95 black & white illustrations and 5 maps
Published by Welford Court Press ISBN 978-1798530146
THE FLY FISHING LEGACY OF T C IVENS
​Reservoir Nymph Patterns, Techniques and Tackle Innovations by Tom Ivens
Adrian V W Freer
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The development of reservoir fly fishing in England has provided a small number of notable innovators who have changed the way that stillwater anglers fish forever, and within that select company must surely be included the name of Tom Ivens.
It is impossible to over-emphasize the influence that he had on the development of reservoir fly angling which came as a result of the publication of his classic book, Stillwater Fly-Fishing. The ideas he proposed at that time quickly became the benchmark for tackling reservoirs.
He invented many new fly patterns, popularized double-haul casting, designed a range of fishing rods, introduced a range of shooting heads, perfected tapered nylon leaders and devised alternative methods of recovering his flies.
This present volume is intended to provide an insight into this influential angler and his considerable achievements.
Chapters include:
1 Biography of T C Ivens
2 Impact of the publication of Stillwater Fly-Fishing
3 Traditional flies, deceivers and flashers
4 Distance casting and retrieve methods
5 Fly dressing
6 T C Ivens’ original (1952) series of fly patterns
7 Ravensthorpe and Hollowell Reservoirs
8 T C Ivens’ second (1970) series of fly patterns
9 Grafham Water
10 T C Ivens’ river patterns
11 References to T C Ivens
12 Changes in reservoir fly fishing
13 Fishing tackle innovations by T C Ivens
14 Books and articles written by T C Ivens
15 Postscript
Format: Medium Paperback 102 pages
Includes 67 photographs, 2 diagrams, 4 maps and 1 table
Published by Welford Court Press ISBN: 978-0-9520304-3-0
Distributed by Amazon Fulfilment
Available from Amazon and from bookshops
DR BELL'S TROUT FLIES
The Stillwater Nymph Patterns of Dr Bell of Wrington
Adrian V W Freer
Dr Howard Alexander Bell of Wrington was the most important and influential pioneer in the development of imitative nymph fly patterns and flyfishing techniques on the English reservoirs. Despite the fact that he was such a significant figure in the history of angling relatively little is known about him.
During research for a biography of Dr Bell, a number of previously unknown patterns designed by him came to light and it was therefore decided, before this valuable information was lost forever, to remedy the situation with the publication of the dressings of every fly attributed to him. There are thirty five patterns listed, more than half of which have never previously been published.
This book details the dressings of all of Dr Bell’s patterns, with each one illustrated in colour. It describes how he conducted autopsies on all of the trout he caught and the parameters he followed in fly design. It gives suggestions on when and where these patterns should be fished, and how they should be retrieved.
Looking at the innovations introduced by the doctor in the early years of stillwater flyfishing makes it possible to have a clearer grasp of how reservoir methods evolved during the twentieth century, largely as a result of Dr Bell’s revolutionary advances.
Contents include
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Introducing Dr Bell
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The reclusive doctor and his passion for fishing
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Dr Bell’s revolutionary nymph fishing techniques
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The importance of autopsies
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Dr Bell’s approach to fly design
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Catalogue of Dr Bell’s fly patterns
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Grenadier patterns
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Buzzer/midge patterns
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Daphnia patterns
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Damsel pattern
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Bug patterns
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Fry and small fish pattern
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Dayfly pattern
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Sedge/caddis patterns
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Terrestrial pattern
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General purpose deceiver nymph patterns
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Multi-hook patterns
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Fly patterns to imitate reservoir creatures
76 colour and 13 black & white illustrations
Paperback: 120 pages, page size 165mm x 242 mm
Leather cover oatmeal cloth hardback: 120 pages, page size 165mm x 242 mm
Published by Coch-y-Bonddu Books Angling Monograph Series ISBN 978 1 904784 94 4
A BIBLICAL DEFENCE OF THE SPORT OF ANGLING
What the Bible says about Fishing
Adrian V W Freer
This volume has been written in response to the unfounded and unwarranted attacks upon angling by those determined factions who are opposed to our gentle and contemplative pastime. Contrary to their misguided thinking, as this book will make evident, fishing is a perfectly acceptable, lawful and honourable occupation.
It is the intention that this discourse will assist those who need a little scriptural guidance as they seek to respond to our ill-informed critics in a good-natured, logical and balanced manner.
It is the author’s sincere prayer that our sport will continue to give pleasure, satisfaction and tranquillity to its many devotees, both in the perilous times that we live in and in the generations to come.
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What the Bible says about Fishing
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The Legitimacy of Leisure Activities
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God's Commands
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‘Animal Rights’
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Fishing with Nets
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Fishing from the Earliest Times
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Fishing in the Old Testament
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Rights Bring Responsibility
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The Allegation of ‘Cruelty’ Refuted
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Anglers are Under Scrutiny​
Paperback 56 pages, includes 17 colour illustrations, 8 line drawings and 1 map
Published by Welford Court Press ISBN 978 09520304 5 4
Also available as an Amazon Kindle e-book ASIN: BOOCPJNFYC
