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      Nymphs Nymphs
      Volume I: The Mayflies
      by Ernest G. Schwiebert

      The Lyons Press, 2007

      Volume II: Stoneflies, Caddisflies, and Other Important Insects: Including the Lesser Mayflies
      The Lyons Press, 2007
       
      First published in 1973, Nymphs is a classic reference on the entomology specific to fly fishing for trout. The first edition has recently been revised and significantly broadened in a new two-volume set of nearly 1,500 pages filled with taxonomic details pertaining to nymphs and instructions for making fly patterns that imitate them.
        
      Breakfast time was bitter cold, with a delicate rime of ice in the shallow margins of the lake and plenty of frost in the sedges along the river as a rigged my tackle. The river currents flowed smooth and silent, undisturbed by the bulges of rising fish. I could still see my breath, unless I was standing in the sun, and was too impatient to wait for the hatch of fly. I slipped into the water and started to fish blind, placing a big Carmichal variant in parallel lines of drift...
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      Encyclopedic entries for nymphs ranging from the Green Drake Nymph, the Little Morning Claret, the Leadwing Coachman, the Light Yellow Cahill and a host of other mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, damselflies and other insects consumed by trout are preceeded by articles on the history, theories and modern-day applications of "nymph fishing." Extensive chapter notes and the author's illustrations (reproduced on color plates) substantiate the years of painstaking research that went into this angler's reference.  

      For the author, Ernest Schweibert, the new edition is the culmination of a life's work that began with a discussion among colleagues at the "21" Club in New York City in 1965. As he recalls in the introduction to his book, Schweibert was asked what kind of book was needed by truly dedicated trout anglers. "We need a comprehensive book on nymphs," he replied. "Most stuff on the subject is focused on techniques and tactics, and not on imitations of specific species." That discussion led to a 40-year project that concluded with completion of the final drafts shortly before his death in 2005.
      The mature nymphs of Stenacron interpunctatum heterotarsale will average 11 to 13 millimeters in length, excluding the length of their three tails. Their background color is deep oliveaceous brown. Thr frontal margin of the head is steeped in such hues, with a pair of large cream spots ahead of each antennal root, and a small axial medallion of whit and the anterior midpoint. Pale trapezoidal areas are found at the extrolateral margins of the compound eyes. Tny pepperings of cream are found along their intralateral margins and at the cervical cornice.


      A natural storyteller as well as an architect, urban planner, artist and sportsman, Schwiebert loaded his text with stories and commentaries, asides and anecdotes, that make these volumes a delightful read as well as a helpful resource.

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