Hatch Guide for Upper Midwest Streams Paperback – December 1, 2011

I think a book of this sort is only as good as the author’s credentials. Ann Miller is an aquatic biologist and hails from the Midwest residing in Michigan. So she knows her bugs and is in the right area, but what about fishing? Ann appears to be a hardcore angler and shares her talents as the president of Flygirls of Michigan Inc. The book squeezes 348 pages into an easily portable package. It starts with insect anatomy, lifecycle and then dives right into the meat of the book. Insects are described by family, genus, species, common name, life cycle stage, size, emergence which is accompanied by general commentary. On the opposite page Ann provides a selection of flies along with description of insect behavior and recommended approach to fish the flies. This book will help you justify a large fly selection with page after page of bugs. To take things a step further Ann provides the recipe to all patterns pictured in the book. I see this traveling from bench to stream often. To add to its streamside friendliness there is a small ruler in millimeters on the back. It will quickly help you right size your patterns. As expected there is an excellent glossary to quickly locating the pattern or bug you are looking for. It concludes by consolidating all the data into an easily read hatch chart.

My boyfriend and I had bought kayaks and he loves being outdoors. He loves to fish and always is watching videos on youtube about different fishing techniques so I thought this book would be an easy stocking stuffer. He has read this book from cover to cover and marked it all up, he loves it and takes it with us kayaking every time! Would definitely recommend for someone interested in fishing!

Ann Miller, an aquatic biologist, has written a guide that will be a valued companion of flyfishers in the Midwest for years to come. She has found, photographed and provided scientific information for mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies. Opposite each of these photos is a photo of that insect as tied by some of the best known fly tiers in the region. Tips on how to fish the fly and specifications for tying are also in this treasure of a guide. She ends the Introduction with these words: "Some of us need to understand a little more about an insect's behavior, its life cycle, what it eats and where it lives, and how it emerges. This hatch guide is geared for those that want or need to know more." Bravo!

Ann Miller's pocket Hatch Guide is a great find, especially for those of us who need a pocket-sized reference we can throw in a zip-lock bag and slip into our waders. Word has it Ann set up tanks in her home to photograph hatches in a controlled environment. No where else could the photography have captured these aquatic insects in such detail. For those of us living or fishing in northern Michigan, we get an up-front and personal look at local insect varities - an added bonus. I recently took the book to the Smokey Mountains in NC and found it to be a great reference, even there. I highly recommend this hatch guide. Kudos Ann. This fisheries biologist appreciates the quality and efforts that went into this Midwest Hatch Guide.

Excellent little field guide-sized book. Small enough to be tucked in a beginner fisherwoman's fly gear bag to be used on the stream in ID'ing hatch. Perfect for the aquatic entomologist as well as fly tyers and fly fishers of the Upper Midwest. Great photos. I might have organized the fly guide in the back in a more user-friendly format but excellent book overall.

Have not read the whole thing yet but the members of the Michigan Fly Fishing Club told me to get this when I signed up and I have not been disappointed. Really gives you a proper picture of what's going on with the bugs you are trying to imitate when you go fly fishing.

How do you know when they are biting. Better yet, What is the best choice in fly fishing? You'll find out with the the best reference to the bites on bugs n the Midwest.

If you fish the Upper Midwest and are into fly tying and/or the entomology of that area this is a must have book. As a tier, I'd have preferred the patterns included on the pages where the insects are discussed and shown. My friend who does not tie flies prefers it as is--flies in their own section of the book. Regardless of your opinion on that, it has proven to be a great reference for me. I have tied a few flies from this book and found success.

I picked up this book on a recommendation from one of my guide customers and I am very happy with it. It's a great reference book for the sizes, colors and hatch times in the Southern Ontario area. Not all the insects listed we have here but the important ones where covered plus more. I think lots of work went into this little book as seen by the information, pictures and patterns. The patterns and recipes included where well done. As a fly fishing guide in Ontario the information and patterns in the book were very helpful.GrahamA Perfect Drift Guide Company[...]