The Corona virus has afforded time for many of us to fish and to also catch up on reading and reflect. While on the water when I catch a fish using a technique or fly I read about years ago, I find myself reminiscing about the best books on fishing I have had the pleasure of reading. Some taught me a new technique like using a dry/dropper while others were fiction and just pure reading pleasure. If you search online, you will find numerous of lists of the Top 10, 25, and even 50 angling books. Of course these lists change from decade-to-decade as new works are published, older books fade out fashion, or interests change. For example, the 1970s and 80s saw a plethora of tomes like Swisher and Richards Selective Trout that embraced a more scientific approach to fishing. Once you were done reading some of these, you were nearly qualified as an entomologist. Far fewer of that genre have been published in the last decade. The list I offer here is entirely personal, and given my advanced age, I hope it introduces some of the best of past, especially pre-2000 publications, to the up and coming, energetic angling young bloods of today (AKA anyone under 60).
The format I have chosen is somewhat different than most other “best” lists. I find it hard to compare a serious literary work of someone like Tom McGuane’s The Longest Silence with a funny-bone tickling raucous tale such as Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen or a technical tome on caddis flies by Gary LaFontaine. So I have divided my list into a baker’s dozen categories with a few select books in each. I end with a category of books I have yet to read but are “musts.” I will be posting the list in a series of five installments. I hope you enjoy perusing my choices, and would welcome hearing of any additions you may have.
This installment covers three categories from the list below: History of Fishing, Fish That Shaped World History, and The “To Read” List:
Fishing is widely recognized as the sport with the longest and richest history. Indeed, Dame Juliana Berners wrote her Treatise On Fishing With An Angle in the late 1400s followed 150 years later by the iconic The Compleat Angler. Take that baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and even tennis! I find that fishing, like most endeavors, becomes even more enjoyable and satisfying if I understand the history behind it.
The Compleat Angler–Izaak Walton/Charles Cotton
The Compleat Angler is not only the classic, best-known book in fishing literature, but also one of the landmark exposition on the virtues of nature. Published in 1653, the book provides detailed instruction on catching and eating all sorts of fish from the lowly chub to salmon while urging the reader to enjoy the countryside and natural world. As writer Tom McGuane wrote, “The Compleat Angler is not about how to fish but about how to be.” The 1676 version added chapters by Walton’s fishing chum Charles Cotton offering fly fishing “Instructions how to angle for trout or grayling in a clear stream.”
American Fly Fishing: A History—Paul Schullery
Paul Schullery, the former director of the American Museum of Fly-Fishing in Manchester, Vermont, has written a magnificent book about the evolution of fly fishing in America from Colonial times to the present. It is fascinating read not only about the how techniques and tools to catch trout have advanced over the years but also the evolving values of the fly fishing tribe. Being from Colorado, I found especially intriguing how the sport changed as fly anglers discovered and explored waters in the West.
The History of Fly-Fishing in Fifty Flies—Ian Whitelaw
This book takes an fascinating approach to the history of fly fishing by focusing on the evolution of fly patterns over hundreds of years. In addition to being a looking glass into the development of the sport, fly tying is an art in and of itself. As a bonus, this coffee table quality book is perfect for just browsing through its elegant paintings of historical flies.
Fish That Shaped World History
Fish have helped shape the history of mankind, first for food and now for sport as well. These are some of the best narratives.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed The World—Mark Walker Kurlansky
Not strictly a book on sport fishing for cod, nevertheless this is an important story of man’s abuse of nature. The cod is a fish that for centuries fed the world and helped the human race explore the planet. Kurlansky documents the influence it had from the Vikings to Basque whalers to British fishermen. We learn how New Englanders’ huge appetite for cod chowder and the English hankering for fish and chips all contributed to the fishes decline. As one reviewer noted, with the development of “modern” fish-catching technology cod never had a chance. With the world’s oceans under siege from overfishing and climate change, this book is a timely reminder and call to action.
Shad: The Founding Fish—John McPhee
John McPhee is one of my favorite writers, having penned notable books on several of my pet subjects including nature, tennis, and fishing. In The Founding Fish, McPhee immerses the reader in the fascinating history of shad and its important role in American history. But he also fishes for the elusive critter, recounting humorous tales of his piscatorial outings over the years. They remind me of my days on the Rappahannock River when I lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia, trying to figure out how to catch the tricky creatures with flies, shad darts, spinners or anything else that would pique their interest. As is usual, McPhee covers the subject in great depth, even including recipes for cooking shad.
An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America And Overran The World—Anders Halverson
This book tells two parallel and equally fascinating tales. The first follows the spread by man of rainbow trout out of California and throughout the world—45 countries and every continent except Antarctica—and its implications. We also learn how rainbow trout genes have been manipulated by hatcheries to enhance certain “desirable” characteristics such as “angling susceptibility,” and “tolerance of crowds” and eliminate “undesirable” traits like “tendency to migrate.” More worrisome is how this spread contributed to the demise of native fish such as cutthroats.
At the same time it tells the absorbing and often detestable history of fish hatcheries. Hatcheries rose to prominence in the 1800s as heavy industry and pollution swept through the eastern United States. They were seen by many at the time as the salvation of sport fishing as toxic wastes and overfishing decimated salmon, brook trout, and other species . Over time many anglers, especially fly fishers, realized the threat to wild trout and native species. These concerns led to the formation of Trout Unlimited in the 1950s to oppose stocking rainbows over healthy wild trout populations. Michigan and Montana went so far as to stop completely the stocking of hatchery trout in streams. Unfortunately others like Colorado resisted and followed up with huge mistakes such as in the 1990s stocking hatchery rainbows infected with whirling disease over wild trout which decimated trout fisheries throughout the state. With notes, bibliography, and index running almost 70 pages, the book is well-documented to say the least, reflecting the author’s academic background.
The “To Read” List
Always more good books and tales to read. These have been recommended by friends or are on other “best books” lists. Let me know what you think of them.
River Music—James Babb
One of the best nature writers around, in this book Babb weaves nature with his fishing expeditions. The book has been included in several “best” fishing book lists.
Fishing For Buffalo—Robb Buffler and Tom Dickson
One of my early memories of fishing with my Dad for catfish and bullhead on the Little Arkansas River in Kansas was the day I hooked into a big carp. He ran upstream and down and finally broke my line. I had never experienced such a powerful fish. Fast forward a few years and I was sight fishing for monster carp in the shallows at a local reservoir with my fly rod and garden hackle. I managed to hook and land a couple. My Dad wanted nothing to do with them so they were released. Today of course, carp are legitimate targets for fly anglers, with the South Platte through Denver producing some big specimens. So it was good to see that there is actually a book on the subject of fishing for rough fish. It’s on my Christmas book list!
Fifty Women Who Fish—Steve Kantner
It’s wonderful to see so many more women getting hooked on fly fishing compared to earlier generations. This book introduces us to fifty who are deeply involved in the sport, many through guiding. I’m hoping my little munchkin four-year old granddaughter will join their ranks someday. She’s already caught her first trout on garden hackle!
Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey—Linda Greenlaw
Not strictly an angling book, the author of Hungry Ocean chronicles her experiences as swordfish captain on a boat that was a sister ship to the ill-fated Andrea Gale of The Perfect Storm fame. A New York Times national bestseller.
Cutthroat and Campfire Tales: The Fly-fishing Heritage Of The West—John Monnett
I recently stumbled on this book, published in 1988, that recounts stories of nineteenth and early twentieth century fishing expeditions. Monnett demonstrates how the native cutthroat population was soon depleted and gave rise to early stocking efforts and eventually to conservation.
The Corona virus has afforded time for many of us to fish and to also catch up on reading and reflect. While on the water when I catch a fish using a technique or fly I read about years ago, I find myself reminiscing about the best books on fishing I have had the pleasure of reading. Some taught me a new technique like using a dry/dropper while others were fiction and just pure reading pleasure. If you search online, you will find numerous of lists of the Top 10, 25, and even 50 angling books. Of course these lists change from decade-to-decade as new works are published, older books fade out fashion, or interests change. For example, the 1970s and 80s saw a plethora of tomes like Swisher and Richards Selective Trout that embraced a more scientific approach to fishing. Once you were done reading some of these, you were nearly qualified as an entomologist. Far fewer of that ilk have been published in the last decade. The list I offer here is entirely personal, and given my advanced age, I hope it introduces some of the best of past, especially pre-2000 publications, to the up and coming, energetic angling young bloods of today (AKA anyone under 60).
The format I have chosen is somewhat different than most other “best” lists. I find it hard to compare a serious literary work of someone like Tom McGuane’s The Longest Silence with a funny-bone tickling raucous tale such as Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen or a technical tome on caddis flies by Gary LaFontaine. So I have divided my list into a baker’s dozen categories with a few select books in each. I end with a category of books I have yet to read but are “musts.” I will be posting the list in a series of five installments. I hope you enjoy perusing my choices, and would welcome hearing of any additions you may have.
This installment covers three categories from the list below: Science and Entomology, Travel/Guidebooks, and Saltwater.
Before 1970, just as I was beginning to really delve into fly fishing, aside from Ernest Schweibert’s classic Matching The Hatch, there was very little written of consequence about the wide variety of insects trout prefer, their life cycles, and how to tie flies that mimicked the various stages of their development. Many flies bore little resemblance at all to anything a trout might actually eat. All that changed in 1971 with Selective Trout, a 184-page tome that stressed the importance of collecting insect samples on the stream, surface and subsurface, with small nets then taking them home in little bottles to be examined under a magnifying glass or microscope followed by tying flies that were true to the natural. Over the next 30 years more weighty works were written that went into even greater detail about caddis, may, and stone flies, the three principle insects trout dine on. This more methodical, scientific approach to trout fishing spawned a revolution among fly anglers and an entire new catalog of artificial flies. As one observer quipped at the time, if you finished one of these detailed books you were on the verge of a degree in entomology. Now there are literally dozens of books on what might be categorized as fly fishing entomology. In this section I focus on several of the early iconic books that changed the course of fly tying and fly fishing and others of more recent vintage I found to be of most practical use. For a more detailed list of fly fishing entomological books, see the website at www.flyfishingentomology.
Matching The Hatch: A Practical Guide to Imitation of Insects Found On Eastern and Western Trout Waters (1955)—Ernest Schweibert
Matching The Hatch was a book that was far ahead of its time, providing trout anglers with their first useful guide to identifying streamside insects and flies that matched them. Penned by Ernest Schwiebert, one of the most prolific authors of fly-fishing tomes of all time, Matching The Hatch was such a hit in the fly-fishing community that soon after its publication he was profiled in Life magazine. Schweibert, an architect with two doctorates who specialized in planning airports and military bases, is considered by many as the leading modern-day angling author. In this book and others that followed such as Nymphs and the two-volume Trout, Schweibert exhibited his rare gift of being able to take a technical subject and translate it into readable, enjoyable prose. He also wrote a series of entertaining, engaging collections of short stories such as Remembrances of Rivers Past.
Selective Trout (1970)—Doug Swisher and Carl Richards
One would hardly guess that a revolution in fishing was started by a plastic salesman and a dentist, but that’s Swisher and Richards. I remember plunking down the princely sum of $6.95 in the early 70s to purchase their book that was being widely hailed as “a dramatically new and scientific approach to trout fishing.” And it was. Angling icons like Art Flick, Joe Brooks, and Dan Baily sang its praises. Their volume is chock full of hand-drawn illustrations of bugs and artificial imitations plus color photographs of the hatches across the country. In the wake of the book, like many other anglers, I started carrying glass vials to keep the bugs I found on a stream as well as a net to catch them on the wing and another to seine with. While a good number of us have become a tad less dedicated to a meticulous entomological approach when we hit the water, Selective Trout forever changed the sport of fly fishing and has withstood the test of time.
Stoneflies (1980)—Carl Richards, Doug Swisher, and Fred Arbona, Jr.
This is one of my favorite entomological works because it focuses on an insect I love to imitate, particularly using nymphs, one that many anglers overlook. Co-written by the authors of the landmark Selective Trout, this book is one of the few that provides an exhaustive examination of stoneflies, often overlooked as one of the big three of insects savored by trout alongside mayflies and caddis. It is a weighty tome in the style of LaFontaine’s Caddis, but presents information on habitat, hatches, and imitations in a clear, readable fashion.
Caddisflies (1981)—Gary LaFontaine
This book started the caddisfly insurgency, first by demonstrating that on many waters caddisflies are the predominant aquatic food eaten by trout, then by presenting a painstakingly detailed study of the biology of caddisflies, and finally offering savvy, practical insights on tying and fishing caddisfly imitations. At 336 pages, LaFontaine’s treatise isn’t exactly a book one might carry on the stream, but back at home and on the fly tying bench it is an essential reference.
The Complete Book of Western Hatches (1981)—Rick Hafele and Dave Hughes
Although almost 40-years old, this book is one that I still refer to from time-to-time. Its focus on western hatches is especially valuable to Colorado anglers. Combining for the first time the scientific knowledge of an aquatic entomologist, Rick Hafele, and the extensive hands-on experience of a noted fly fishing practitioner and author, The Complete Book of Western Hatches is organized in a highly practical and readable format. For each aquatic insect if sets out the common name, emergence and distribution, physical characteristics, habitat, habits, appropriate flies, and presentation tips. In 2004 the authors followed up with another excellent book, Western Mayfly Hatches.
Guide To Aquatic Trout Foods (1982)—Dave Whitlock
Most anglers know Whitlock through his many innovative fly patterns such as the venerable and still effective Dave’s Hopper. He has also written several excellent books on fly fishing. This is one of my favorite “bug” books mainly because Whitlock covers the eight major kinds of trout food including not only insects but also crayfish, leeches, and forage fish in a practical fashion with just the right amount of detail for the average angler. Then in his patented practical, easy-to-read fashion Whitlock discusses best flies and fishing technique for each. I met Whitlock in the early 1990s when I attended one of his presentations at a fly fishing show in Denver. My autographed copy of his book is one of my prized angling library possessions.
Mayflies (1997)—MalcolmKnopp and Robert Courmier
This book has been called “the mayfly bible for serious fly fishers.” Written by two Canadians from Alberta who had never authored any serious fly fishing publication before, Mayflies at almost 400 pages, is definitely the weight of authority and the book to have for those looking to take their game to the next level.
Hatch Guide For Western Streams/Hatch Guide For Lakes (1995-7)—Jim Schollmeyer
As noted above, most of the revered trout entomological books run into the hundreds of pages and are hardly tomes that the aspiring angler/ entomologist might carry on the stream for instant reference. In contrast, Schoolmeyer’s Hatch Guide series is in a compact 4” X 6” format that is eminently portable on the water and is easily digested by novices–they remain one of the most useful of all guides in my library. Each guide opens with a section on understanding the type of water body being fishing followed by one on tackle and technique. The final section focuses on the main insects and other food such as beetles and leaches trout will likely be dining on. It features clear color photographs of the insect and naturals plus three suggested flies to match the hatch. The guide for lakes is particularly valuable as lake fishing for trout is often more challenging than in streams, each body of water seemingly inhabited by fish that can be maddingly selective. Indeed, the last time I was skunked a few years ago it was on an alpine lake where after four hours of fishing for giant cutthroats cruising the shoreline in clear view, I managed only a couple of bites.
The Bug Book: A Fly Fisher’s Guide To Trout Stream Insects (2015)—Paul Weamer
This excellent book provides an up-to-date guide to aquatic trout food, hatch charts, fly pattern recommendations, and fishing technique tips and strategies. As a reviewer in Fly Fisherman magazine wrote, The Bug Book “breaks down the barriers between amateur and entomologist in a conversational tone, and explains when and why identifying insects can be fun and practical. This is no snobby book.”
Travel/Guidebooks
I’m not a big fan of the average fishing guidebook or fishing travel account—they are usually superficial on most levels, and the authors often are not intimately familiar with the waters they write about but relay second-hand information. But there are a few exceptions. Those that have caught my attention inevitably have a personal touch rather than just where to go and how to fish once you get there. Moreover, I find that if the author has actually fished the waters he writes about more than once or twice, explores the colorful characters and culture of the region inhabited by their finned quarry, and puts some of his personality on the pages, the book is likely to be more useful from a piscatorial perspective and definitely more enjoyable to read.
Fly-Fishing The 41st –Around The World On The 41st Parallel–James Prosek
This is my favorite fishing/travel book by a substantial margin. Prosek is more widely known in the angling world for his artwork. Indeed, the New York Times has called him the Audubon of the fishing world. You will find some of his beautiful images illustrating this wonderful book, but it is much more. Proseck sets off to fish around the world, following the 41st Parallel. Along the way he meets and has amazing adventures with a host of memorable characters like Johannes, a baker in France, who takes him on harrowing quests for rare species of trout in places like the war zone of southeast Turkey. Along the way you will come to the conclusion that angling is indeed as close a universal language as there is. Be sure to have a world map handy so you can follow his peregrinations around the globe.
52 Rivers: A Woman’s Fly-Fishing Journey—Shelly Walchak
Shelly Walchak quit her job as a librarian in 2013, bought a camper, and challenged herself by taking off on an incredible year-long journey through seven Rocky Mountain States to fish 52 rivers in 52 weeks. , She recounts her adventures in 52 chapters, one for each river with great stories about fly-fishing, people she meets along the way, and her own personal joys and fears. Each chapter is accompanied by beautiful photographs. An incredible journey!
The Hunt for Giant Trout: 25 Best Places In the United States to Catch a Trophy—Landon Mayer
The smiling face of peripatetic fly fisherman Landon Mayer is well-known to most western anglers through the many articles he has written and seminars he has conducted at major angling shows. Mayer, a resident of Colorado, has put together a winner with his The Hunt For Giant Trout. Mayer first discusses strategies and techniques for the leviathans, then takes the reader on a tour of 25 locations, most in the western United States. The book garners more cred because Mayer is joined by locals who frequently fish the chosen sites.
49 Trout Streams Of Southern Colorado—Mark Williams and W. Chad McPhail
This is one of my all-time favorite guidebooks, authored by two anglers from Amarillo, Texas. Williams and McPhail have a friendly, engaging style as they cover most of the major rivers and streams south of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. While they fish the well-known rivers like the Gunnison, Arkansas, and Rio Grande, the real value in the book for many anglers, including me, is the little-known small creek gems they have uncovered like the Lake Fork of the Conejos and La Jara Creek. Two pages are devoted to each water including beautiful color photos, directions to access the creek or river, a description of the water (e.g., riffles, plunge pools, meanders), and tips on best flies.
Fly Fishing The Gunnison Country—Doug Dillingham
This is a guidebook that in exhaustive fashion covers virtually all the main fishable rivers, streams, and mountain lakes in that trout mecca,Gunnison County, Colorado. Dillingham is intimately familiar with each, and his extensive knowledge and unique personality comes shining through on every page. He goes into detail regarding access points, types of fish present and data on each, hatches, and recommended flies with additional tips from local fishing guides. All-in-all, a model of what a guidebook should be.
Central Colorado Alpine Lakes Fishing And Hiking Guide–Tom Parkes
If good stream fishing guidebooks are relatively few and far between, those that cover alpine lakes are even rarer. This one that focuses on 21 high country lakes in central Colorado is a model of what a good guidebook should be. Written by Colorado native Tom Parkes, it has clear directions regarding trailheads and access, advice on the best flies and lures, specific areas of each lake that are productive, and gorgeous photos to boot. You can readily tell that Parkes actually fished each water, often several times, over the ten-year period it took to research and write this book. I found several of my now-favorite lakes through Tom’s little gem.
Saltwater
Before recommending any books in this category, I have a confession to make with regard to saltwater sport fishing. I am relatively new to the chase, having lived in Florida part of the year only since 2006. Also, my fishing has been mostly inshore and backcountry, not blue water. What is surprising is that there are relatively few books on saltwater fishing, and even fewer on saltwater fly fishing. Saltwater fly fishing was in its formative years in the 1950s, with renowned anglers like Ted Williams, Joe Brooks, and Stu Apt leading the way. There were few publications of any real consequence until the 1960s. Here is a sampling of those that I have found valuable.
Before recommending any books in this category, I have a confession to make with regard to saltwater sport fishing. I am relatively new to the chase, having lived in Florida part of the year only since 2006. Also, my fishing has been mostly inshore and backcountry, not blue water. What is surprising is that there are relatively few books on saltwater fishing, and even fewer on saltwater fly fishing. Saltwater fly fishing was in its formative years in the 1950s, with renowned anglers like Ted Williams, Joe Brooks, and Stu Apt leading the way. There were few publications of any real consequence until the 1960s. Here is a sampling of those that I have found valuable.
SaltWater Fly Fishing (1950)–Joe Brooks
Joe Brooks was the prime mover in the 1950s in creating the sport of salt water fly fishing. He wrote this seminal book on the subject in 1950. It has been updated several times since. Brooks was perhaps the most famous fly fisherman in the 50s and 60s, helping Curt Gowdy to create the first television hunting and fishing show The American Sportsman in 1965. One of the first fishing books I purchased in 1966 as a teenager in Kansas was his Complete Guide To Fishing Across The United States, stoking my angling wanderlust.
Salt-Water Fly Fishing (1969)–George X. Sand
Sand’s book, published in 1969, was one of the first to popularize salt water fly fishing. A true pioneer in bringing saltwater fly fishing to the masses, he writes in an engaging style, adding history to the narrative, and doesn’t overload the reader with technical information and advice. One of the most serendipitous events of my life has been to cross paths with Sand’s daughter, Gayle, and her husband Tom Norton this past year in the Everglades where we all spend the winter. As Gayle recounts, she often went with her father on his Florida fishing expeditions when she was a teenager. She tells a hilarious story of how Sands managed to get such wonderful photos of leaping fish like the barracuda on the book’s cover. According to Gayle, who is a tall lovely lady, her father would catch a fish then make her wade out into deep water and toss it in the air to be photographed as if he was in the middle of a pier six brawl with his quarry. That’s just too absurd of a story not to be true!
Fly Fishing In Salt Water (1974)—Lefty Kreh
The inimitable Lefty Kreh moved to Miami, Florida, in the mid-1960s and began to fly fish saltwater in the Keys. By 1974 he shared his knowledge about how to catch a range of saltwater sport fish like bonefish, tarpon, snook, and permit in this book which has been updated several times and has sold thousands of copies. He covers a range of topics such as best flies, how to wade the flats, and salt water casting techniques. Sadly for the angling world, Krey passed away in 2018
Complete Book Of Saltwater Fishing—Milt Rosko
First published in 2001 and updated several times since, Rosko’s book is a comprehensive guide to all types of salt water fishing including from bridges, surf, flats and off shore. He covers a wide range of topics from tackle to technique to how to cook your catch, all in plain English. This book is a good one for beginners and those wanting to involve the entire family in the sport.
Blues—John Hersey
John Hersey was a ground-breaking journalist/writer who first made his mark at the end of WWII with a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Bell For Adano, a story about the Allied occupation of a town in Sicily. He soon followed with a magazine-length article in the New Yorker titled “Hiroshima” that recounted the impact of the first atomic bomb on six Japanese citizens. Hersey went on to write numerous other books and articles and teach writing courses at Yale. He is probably the only angling writer who has been honored with a Postal Service stamp in his name. Somehow in the midst of all this prolific production, he penned a book of angling for Bluefish, a quarry prized by saltwater fishermen for their aggressive fighting spirit. As one reviewer noted, it is a paean to Bluefish that is chummed with “gobbets of ichthyology, oceanography, seamanship, and fishing lore.” The organization of the book is rather artificial—a sage old fisherman and neophyte angler meet serendipitously then spend a summer on 12 fishing trips chasing Blues. For each trip Hersey weaves in fishing tips, thoughts on what motivates anglers, random ocean tidbits, recipes for preparing Bluefish dinners, poems from poets who wrote about fish, and an eloquent, prescient warning about the coming environmental disaster for the seas. Eclectic indeed, but a good read.
Ninety Two In the Shade—Tom McGuane
When I became a snowbird and took up winter residence in Florida in 2006, I began casting about not only for how-to books but also novels involving salt water fishing that would be a good read. One of the first that I stumbled on was by my favorite fishing writer, Tom McGuane, titled Ninety-Two In The Shade. Set in the Keys, it is a tale about a spoiled, profligate young man who decides to get his life together. He makes a fateful decision to start a fishing guide service and immediately runs aground on the shoals of a couple of crusty, older guides who resent his competition. That’s when the fireworks begin. The book was made into a movie starring Peter Fonda as the young guide and Warren Oates and Harry Dean Stanton as his antagonists. Oddly, the movie, which was directed by McGuane and received modest reviews, was reportedly filmed mainly in England.
The Corona virus has afforded time for many of us to fish and to also catch up on reading and reflect. While on the water when I catch a fish using a technique or fly I read about years ago, I find myself reminiscing about the best books on fishing I have had the pleasure of reading. Some taught me a new technique like using a dry/dropper while others were fiction and just pure reading pleasure. If you search online, you will find numerous of lists of the Top 10, 25, and even 50 angling books. Of course these lists change from decade-to-decade as new works are published, older books fade out fashion, or interests change. For example, the 1970s and 80s saw a plethora of tomes like Swisher and Richards Selective Trout that embraced a more scientific approach to fishing. Once you were done reading some of these, you were nearly qualified as an entomologist. Far fewer of that ilk have been published in the last decade. The list I offer here is entirely personal, and given my advanced age, I hope it introduces some of the best of past, especially pre-2000 publications, to the up and coming, energetic angling young bloods of today (AKA anyone under 60).
The format I have chosen is somewhat different than most other “best” lists. I find it hard to compare a serious literary work of someone like Tom McGuane’s The Longest Silence with a funny-bone tickling raucous tale such as Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen or a technical tome on caddis flies by Gary LaFontaine. So I have divided my list into a baker’s dozen categories with a few select books in each. I end with a category of books I have yet to read but are “musts.” I will be posting the list in a series of five installments. I hope you enjoy perusing my choices, and would welcome hearing of any additions you may have.
The first installment in the series focused on those I consider the Best Literature. This installment covers three categories from the list below: Funny Bone Ticklers, The Zen of Fishing, and How-To/Technical Expertise
Maybe because we take our sport so seriously, there are very few books involving fishing that really tickle our funny bones. That’s not to say we don’t smile and laugh when we recognize ourselves in the stories from witty books like Trout Magic, and Trout Bum. But I’m talking about the kind of books that will have you laughing out loud when you’re on an airplane. But here are several exceptions:
Double Whammy and Skinny Dip –Carl Hiassen
Carl Hiassen is an award-winning journalist from Florida and accomplished salt-water fly fisherman who holds several IGFA records. One of his first books, Double Whammy (1987), is a murder mystery that revolves around skullduggery in professional bass tournaments. It features a host of memorable characters and a byzantine plot that is guaranteed to have you guffawing throughout. In 2004 he followed up with Skinny Dip, another crime novel that has been included in several lists of the best comedic books of all time! This one involves a crooked biologist in cahoots with agribusiness interests who are polluting the Everglades who throws his wife overboard from a cruise to keep his secrets. This one really is a gut-buster. Oddly, it was banned from prisons by the Texas Department of Corrections. Another of Hiassen’s books, Strip Tease, was turned into a movie starring Demi Moore.
True Love And The Woolly Bugger—Dave Ames
Written by an outfitter, guide, and self-described itinerant fishing bum who averaged 150 days of fly fishing a year, this book was praised by Tom McGuane as a “thoroughly amusing, manic, and perversely informative book about fishing in several of its most mutant forms. This is another read that non-anglers will enjoy as much as the angling tribe. It is chock full of interesting characters like a Bahamian fishing guide who searches for gourmet food for his clients and a tattooed, motorcycle-driving, fly-fishing babe who teaches the hero about life and love. Need I say more?
So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish (Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Book 4)—Douglas Adams
A United Press International review called this “A madcap adventure . . . Adams’s writing teeters on the fringe of inspired lunacy.” For you youngsters, the first volume of Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy was a cult sci-fi hit back when published in 1979. It and successor volumes have been translated into 30 languages. The broad theme of the Hitchhiker series involves the tale of last surviving human, Arthur Dent, following the demolition of the Earth an alien highway construction crew. In this fourth volume, Dent is back on Earth trying to figure out whether his misadventures are just a dream. However, when he finds a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription along with the mysterious disappearance of Earth’s dolphins he deduces something is amiss. Cosmic bedlam ensures. The Boston Globe summed up the book well: “The most ridiculously exaggerated situation comedy known to created beings . . . Adams is irresistible.” Now admittedly, the link to angling is tad tenuous, but I guarantee you will enjoy this bizarre fishing trip.
THE ZEN OF FISHING
Definition of Zen: A state of calm attentiveness in which one’s actions are guided by intuition rather than by conscious effort.
Perhaps that is the Zen of fishing—you become one with the water and fish, lost in the rhythm of the task before you. Volumes have been written about why we fish…and many come to the conclusion that it’s not at all about catching fish, but everything that goes into the act as well as the environment that fish often inhabit. For me, it is understanding the world of the fish so when I am on the stream I fish with intuition grounded in that knowledge. A select few angling books could qualify here, for example, the insightful vignettes of John Gierach. There are actually several with the title “The Zen of Fishing,” that didn’t make the cut. Here is my short list.
The Longest Silence—Tom McGuane
First published in Sports Illustrated in 1969, this article about permit fishing has many devotees like me. I will let the words of the opening paragraph speak for themselves:
“What is emphatic in angling is made so by the long silences—the unproductive periods. For the ardent fisherman, progress is towards the kinds of fishing that are never productive in the sense of the blood riots of the hunting and fishing periodicals. Their illusions of continuous action evoke for him, finally a condition of utter, mortuary boredom. Such angler will always be inclined to find the gunnysack artists of the heavy kill rather cretinoid, their stringerloads of gaping fish appalling.”
Goodbye To A River—John Graves
As I age, this paean to an angler’s favorite river as he canoes down it one last time before a series of big dams forever submerges its wild nature under the sheen of still waters becomes more and more personal. Too often in my 70-plus years I have witnessed one after another of my home waters transmogrified sadly into something I no longer recognize. In the case of the Arkansas River near my cabin in the Colorado mountains, it’s not a dam but death by a thousand cuts by rafters, placer miners, float fisherman, wildfires, developers, and more lately paddleboarders. When he penned this wistful book in the 1950s full of zen-like reflections, Graves launched his career as a well-known writer. In it he weaves accounts of a three-week trip down the Brazos River in North Central Texas with fascinating stories of the history and settlement of the area and his experiences on it as a kid. Goodbye To A River became so successful that it helped stop most of the 13 dams planned for the river. One of the earliest voices against big dam foolishness of that era, the book became a landmark in conservation and has been compared to Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. Graves followed it with award-winning books including Hard Scrabble: Observations on a Patch of Land, published in 1974, and From a Limestone Ledge (1980).
The Zen Of Fish: The Story Of Sushi—Trevor Carson
How can a book with a title like this not make a list of publications that capture the Zen of fishing?
Published in 2007, this is definitely the complete work on sushi, from its history, through a sushi chef’s education, to how it is prepared. As one reviewer noted: “To the uninitiated, few things can be more intimidating than a sushi bar. Corson has created what could be the definitive work on the topic, enabling customers to comfortably and confidently stride into a sushi restaurant and order omakase without trepidation.” No longer need we proletariat anglers be so intimidated when entering a sushi restaurant having an understanding of the Zen of fish.
The trend in angling books to the technical and how-to started in the 1950s and exploded in the 1960s-80s period. It was very good in some ways, establishing a more scientific, thoughtful approach to angling, but in my opinion soon became overdone and started to take the fun out of the fishing experience. However, I find the “how-to” books that follow are still valuable references.
Streamside Guide To Naturals And Their Imitations—Art Flick
Published in 1947, this was the first blue-collar guide to fly fishing which heretofore had been the domain of private clubs and the wealthy. Packed full of good tips, the book also broke ground with color photography and being small and portable so it could be carried on the water. Just as importantly, it is fun to read as well–being, as one reviewer put it, “interspersed with quaint homilies and entertaining anecdotes.” Fortunately before he passed away recently, Flick updated his book with a new edition that is just as valuable, particularly to novice fly anglers.
Fishing Different Types of Water—I learned a lot from these books when venturing out on challenging alpine lakes and small waters.
Fly Fishing The Mountain Lakes—Gary LaFontaine
Gary LaFontaine, who passed away in 2003, wrote several landmarks books such as Caddisflies. But for my money, l learned more valuable tips and techniques from his guide to fishing alpine lakes. Any angler who has hiked miles to a remote mountain water only to be skunked by finicky trout knows how different, difficult, and unique mountain lake fishing can be. It is definitely a highly specialized pursuit, but this book helps unravel the mysteries. Like Caddisflies, LaFontaine goes into astounding detail based in nearly fanatical efforts such as carrying four fly rod outfits, scuba gear, and a float tube miles to thoroughly research his topic. He was one of the first anglers to use a pack goat to haul his heavy loads up to tree line! The book deals with topics from when to go to what to use. The good news is that it is also very readable, chock full of stories and anecdotes that capture LaFontaine’s humor and warmth.
Small Stream Fly Fishing
As our major rivers in Colorado and elsewhere, like the South Platte and Arkansas, become more and more crowded, more and more anglers like me are retreating to small streams and creeks seeking solitude as well as fish. One book I wished I had had two decades ago when I began exploring smaller, more remote waters is David Hughes’ Trout From Small Streams, published in 2014. Hughes discusses everything from the right tackle and flies to casting and different approaches for meadow, freestone, and mountain creeks. Another good choice is Tom Rosenbauer’s The Orvis Guide to Small Stream Fly Fishing. It’s illustrated in greater measure than Hughes’ book and in a coffee-table style format that is easy on the eyes.
Casting—Whenever I foolishly agree to take friends fly fishing who are total beginners, I am always immediately reminded there a many moving parts to the art of catching a trout with a fly rod. Perhaps the most challenging is casting. I have entertained notions of strangling my dear pupils as they ignore every bit of sage advice and guidance I have given them and end up snagging me, every bush in sight, and themselves as fish rise all around us. Fortunately, the grand dame of fly fishing has provided us with a how-to book that is not only perfect for beginners but also us old codgers who need to brush up on specialty casts in special situations like brush-infested small creeks.
Fly-Casting Techniques—Joan Wulff
First published in 1987 and since followed up with New Fly-Casting Techniques in 2012, this book stands alone as the best guide to casting ever. In the original edition, Wulff delved into the physical aspects of casting as well as clear, simple explanations of the key elements of a successful cast. The result was a revolutionary book that made fly casting understandable. When coupled with her instructional video, Dynamics of Fly Casting, both beginners and old coots like me can learn the basics as wells as advanced techniques.
What Fish Actually Want—The avalanche of technical fly fishing books in the 1960s-90s, such as Selective Trout, by Swisher and Richards and Mayflies, a 366-page tome by Knopp and Cormier, introduced a more scientific approach to trout fishing. They also practically guaranteed a degree in entomology to any angler willing to actually read them through to the end. I bought every one I could get my hands on. No doubt they were valuable and helped put fly fishing on a sounder technical basis. They also led to a rush to tie flies to match the hatch that were more often more realistic than the natural! Eventually I and some of my brethren wearied of the movement that threatened, at least for us, to take the fun out of fly fishing and make it a job. Fortunately, I discovered several authors who shared my perspective and led a revolt against the overly technical trend that had gripped my beloved sport, also helping many of us lesser mortals to shed our guilt and angst at not having PhDs in fly fishing, bugs, and the like.
What The Trout Said About The Design Of Trout Flies And Other Mysteries—Datus Proper
“Innocence is a wild trout. But we humans, being complicated, have to pursue innocence in complex ways.” That quote captures the gestalt of Datus Proper’s book. As one reviewer observed, his message is essentially to have us forget all the fancy stuff and listen to what the trout said. Proper, an American Foreign Service officer, undertook exhaustive observation of trout in their habitat, their stomach contents, and other aspects of their feeding habits. His basic conclusion is that for most waters, flies that are general imitations of the food trout are consuming are just as if not more effective that exact copies and that color is rarely as important as overall design. This comports with my own experience except on still waters or slow-moving meadow or spring creeks where the trout have plenty of time to examine their quarry. His book helped me breathe a huge sigh of relief and off-load a half-dozen fly boxes from my fly vest—leaving only another half dozen just in case. Proper died in 2003, drowning in a Montana trout stream near his home while fishing after his retirement. Not a bad way to go.
In The Ring Of The Rise—Vincent Marinaro
The same year What The Trout Said was published (1976), another landmark angling tome appeared that rocked the fly-fishing world. Marinaro took a startling for the time approach to exploring feeding patterns and behavior of trout—he actually utilized high-speed color photography to capture unexpected and surprising responses of trout to food. His conclusion was similar to that of Datus Proper: Because the floating fly is the form least accurately perceived by the trout, presentation is far more important that imitation. As esteemed angler Leonard Wright, Jr., observed, this book helped pull trout fishing literature off the “exact imitation” merry-go-round. The first chapter of the book, “The Anatomy of the Rise,” with its incredible analysis of a variety of rise forms through color photographs, is worth the purchase price alone.
Through The Fish’s Eye—An Angler’s Guide To Gamefish Behavior—Mark Sosin and John Clark
Published three years before Proper’s and Marinaro’s landmarks, this book broke new ground by pairing a well-known angler and a fisheries biologist as authors. It was the first to combine insights from ichthyology and fish biology to explain why fish bite and why the don’t. Because Sosin was a renowned salt-water angler, there is more emphasis on saltl-water fishing than the other two. On a personal note, John Clark, a brilliant practical hands-on fisheries biologist and certified character, was a colleague of mine in the 1970s at the Conservation Foundation (which later was merged into the World Wildlife Fund). When we first met in 1975 he was tremendously impressed that I knew his name from this fishing book which was in my library rather than through his scientific and conservation accolades.
Award For The Most Practical And Useful How-To Fishing Book
The winner is, hands-down, Lefty’s Little Fly-Fishing Tips: 200 Innovative Ideas To Help You Catch Fish by Lefty Kreh. I first met the iconic Lefty in the 1990s at a fly fishing show in Denver. He delivered one the best practical and most entertaining sessions I have ever sat in on where I learned, for example, to sharpen your fly hook early and often. I’ve come to find that I miss more strikes because of a dull hook than practically any other reason. Now that hook hone hangs at the ready on my fly vest. Lefty expanded his practical tips in this book based on his over five decades of fishing to include topics such as how to rescue a fly that is stuck in a log and how to cast easily in tight quarters. Get a copy today!
Off-The-Beaten Path Adventures and Eclectic Musings Of An Itinerant Angler 