A deeper look at what trout eat

For someone whose family invented an insect repellent, Ralph Cutter is strangely attracted to bugs. But creating and properly presenting a fly that will fool a trout requires knowing some entomology.

This illustrated guide is intended to help fly-fishers catch more trout by understanding what trout eat and how to match it with a fish-fooling imitation.

Adapted from his columns written for Californian Fly Fisher, this lively and entertaining book is for anglers who can appreciate sentences like, “The sex life of these moths is wonderful.”

Few anglers have gone deeper -- quite literally -- into the streams and lakes that trout inhabit. Cutter has spent hours underwater with mask and fins observing and photographing trout food.

He explains how to identify insects, how trout see them and how to make imitations with thread, fur and feather. He covers trout food from ants to mice and leeches.

Cutter suggests setting up an aquarium full of bugs for study and admits that you will look like a geek if you pursue flying aquatic insects with a butterfly net as he advocates.

Geek or not, this book will help you catch more fish and achieve the satisfaction of solving the natural puzzle that’s at the heart of the joy of catching a trout on a fly.

-- Bill Becher