I’ve stayed out of this conversation due to the fact that my PHENOMENAL angling library was whittled down due to my moving to DC this past summer. I made an agreement with my girlfriend that for every 3 books I got rid of, she’d get rid of a pair of shoes. The up side is brought them to the store so I can always look through them unless the book is sold, the down side is I no longer have my great collection. I wound up saving the research and reference books so I can use them for information when I need it, and a few books that are really worth money.
Back to the topic – old classic books, whether literary or instructional, can be worthwhile to occupy our time and minds during the winter doldrums when we can’t get away, as well as give us ideas and insights to what we may be doing wrong, or what we wish to be doing in the near future. Here are some great books that I think are worthwhile reads:
Literature:
· The River Why, David James Duncan – has been mentioned already, but if you take the time to read it is less of a fishing tale and more of a lesson on life
· The Alaska Chronicles, Miles Nolte – I’ve known Miles for a long time. Indeed the Drake version is less PC, and you can see photos of how everything progresses, but not everyone has the patience to go through the entire post and catch up week by week. I did both. I like the Drake post more than the book, because it’s the original, it’s less PC, and it was before the guiding operation files a lawsuit against him because of what he wrote. I like raw and unedited. The book is toned down a little.
· Catskill Fly Tyer, Harry Darbee & Austin Mac Francis – The Catskills are the birthplace of fly fishing in the United States and fly tying tradition is no more fabled than here. Learn about the original inventors of the Catskill style of flies.
· Land Of Little Rivers, Austin Mac Francis – If you like pretty coffee table books like I do, and are also into the fabled waters of the Catskills, this book is the one to have. Great photos of all the major rivers and tributaries with a history of the rivers, the men that fished them, and the people that made it all famous.
· Northwest of Normal, John Larison – This is not a fishing book. Well, it’s partly a fishing book, but more a story about a fisherman and his way through life and troubles.
· ANY BOOK BY JOHN GEIRACH – There are too many books to mention, but all of them are decent, even though he insulted NYC in its entirety a long time ago and I’ve both never forgotten and never forgiven him for it.
· ANY BOOK BY NICK LYONS – Nick was the head of the English dept at Hunter College of NYC and I have always liked his writing. He owned the Lyons Press book publishing company, and I’ve always been super fond of him, mostly coming from a New Yorkers perspective. He also was the first person I remember coining the phrase “green trout” for smallmouth bass.
Instructional/Educational:
· Advanced Custom Rod Building, Dale Clemens – if you want to learn how to wrap a rod, this is the bible.
· An Entirely Synthetic Fish, Anders Halverson – Great book on how rainbow trout stocking throughout the world has been both common and controversial. Good read to learn about something we take for granted.
· Fly Fishing In Salt Water, Lefty Kreh – You could say that Lefty wrote the book on fly fishing in the salt, and you’d be right. A little dated, but it has a little bit of everything, and was the first saltwater myself and lots of others picked up to read about the briny side of fly fishing.
· Bonefish, Dick Brown – This is the bonefish primer that you need to read if you know nothing about bones.
· Prospecting For Trout, Tom Rosenbauer – This changed the way I thought about trout fishing. Great book. Sure, catching fish when they’re up top is fun, but there are times where you need to find them when you can’t see them, and that’s MOST of the time.
· Steelhead Guide, John Nagy – Someone mentioned this and I’m glad. This is the book that got me interested in steelheading. The Lake Erie tribs are the fish you want to learn on.. super plentiful and easy to find.
· Trout Flies of the East, West, Schollmeyer & Leeson – These books put together the most popular and used flies of the east and west coasts in a concise book with sizes and fly recipes to keep handy. I have both of these at home.
· 100 Best Saltwater Flies, Deke Meyer – Like the book above, this is for the saltwater.
· ANY BOOK BY A.K. BEST – Anything you can get anything written by A.K. Best, grab it. There are 2 titles that I kept at home – Production Fly Tying and Dying and Coloring Natural Materials. Learn how to buy and dye your own stuff. Really important if you want to really get good at tying.
· The Flyfishers Guide to the Upper Delaware, Paul Weamer – There is no river like the Delaware River. I love the upper river more than any place on the planet. It is my home river, where I’ve spent most of my time fishing (and learning) and I would like to retire with a house there sometime. And it’s a place I miss most dearly, second only to the neighborhood I grew up in. The book talks about each pool, bend, access, shows parking, and breaks down what I think is the absolute finest trout fishery on the east coast.
· Hatches, Al Caucci & Bob Nastasi – If you want to learn about the entymology of mayflies, this is the book. The new version, Hatches II is the most comprehensive book that lays out the insects in a concise manner explaining the most important aspects of their lives.
· Instant Mayfly Identification Guide, Al Caucci & Bob Nastasi – A small pocket-sized book to ID insects. It’s out of print, but is THE BEST book to bring with you to identify all the mayflies you find streamside. I have found NOTHING better in over 10 years. There’s a new version out, but I still prefer the old standby.
R
Richard Farino
Urban Angler VA | 108 N. Washington Street 2nd Floor | Alexandria, VA 22314 
(703) 527-2524 | fax: (703) 527-3313 | richard@urbanangler.com
From: tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com [mailto:tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Swiggy
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2012 3:04 PM
To: tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com
Subject: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Classic Books
I meant "rich" literary tradition... please forgive any other typos, my first post...
On Saturday, September 22, 2012 3:01:42 PM UTC-4, Swiggy wrote:
thanks Dan for flagging this thread, I don't know that there's a sport with such a right literary tradition, here are some of my favorites (pardon the overrepresentation of soft-hackles:-),
practical and dry,
Greased Line Fly Fishing for Salmon by Jock Scott (not the original Jock Scott of the legendary fly... suspect he's lost to history)
practical & entertaining,
What the Trout Said by Datus Proper (conversations with trout, some quite funny)
The Practical Angler by W. C. Stewart (I think the copyright has long expired and this is available online)
Catskill Flytier by Harry Darbee (tips, tricks, and tales from the good ole' days in the Catskills)
Streamers and Bucktails by Joseph Bates (the classic on streamer fishing)
Night Fishing for Trout by Jim Bashline (not my cup of tea, but some awfully big PA browns in this book)
A Guide to North Country Flies and How to Fish Them by Mike Harding (best how-to guide I know of with most of the old patterns and great photos)
The Soft-Hackled Fly Addict by Sylvester Nemes
Trout by Ray Bergman (perhaps too obvious, probably on the Orvis bookshelf)
Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream by G. E. M. Skues (like Stewart, an apostle of the wet fly, these guys made some real enemies from the dry fly fishermen of the south)
Nymphs and the Trout by Frank Sawyer (from the creator of the Grayling destroying killer bug made with the now mythical Chadwick's 477 yarn)
Salmon Flies by Poul Jorgensen (there are so many on salmon flies, but this is a good one)
history
Land of Little Rivers by Austin Francis (beautiful coffee table book on the Catskills, outstanding photos)
Trout: An Illustrated History by James Prosek (pantings all manner of trout including some that are now extinct, I think this one may also be on the Orvis bookshelf)
Atlantic Salmon: An Illustrated Natural History by Malcolm Greenhalgh (coffee table book on the king of game fish)
pastoral
The Well Tempered Angler by Arnold Gingrich (great short stories on fishing and gear from the co-founder of Esquire magazine)
Fishless Days, Angling Nights by Sparse Grey Hackle (must read, especially The Lotus Eaters chapter, Sparse wrote for the Journal back in the day)
Trout Magic by Robert Traver (lyrical prose from a modern trout fishing great)
The Seasonable Angler by Nick Lyons
The Sweet of the Year by R. Palmer Baker, Jr.
Golden Days by Romilly Fedden (fly fishing in and around the Great War, striking contrast between the gentility of the subject and author and the savagery of the world at the time this was written, available free online)
The Earth is Enough by Harry Middleton (fly fishing the Ozarks, heartbreakingly beautiful and possibly my favorite author on fishing)
Spine of Time by Harry Middleton (fly fishing the Smokies, a life changing book -- at least for me it was)
Early Love and Brook Trout by James Prosek (same guy who painted the trout book above in the history section, a short and fun read with great watercolors)
Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan (a beatnik classic and pretty obscene in parts, but enough trout fishing to make the cut and lots of memorable lol moments)
Voelker's Pond by James McCullough (about Traver's/Voelker's [same person actually] favorite brookie pond in northern Michigan, postcard-like photos and ponderable quotes)
I like the idea of a TPFR library, but perhaps a lifetime reading list might be a good start. Also, some may enjoy this blog a professor friend of mine in NC write, he actually taught a college class on fly fishing and I think the syllabus is posted somewhere, http://theliteraryflyfisher.com/
On Wednesday, September 19, 2012 11:15:51 AM UTC-4, Mike D. wrote:
In my opinion, the best part of this group is the access to instant feedback. If someone's heading to a new area or trying for a new species on the fly, everyone does a fantastic job of chiming in and offering advice. Before message boards were the wealth of information that they are today, we chatted it up at the local fly shop, or we read magazines and books to acquire essential information. When I first started fly-fishing when I was a kid, I read books because they kept me connected to the water when I wasn't standing in it with a fly rod in my hand. "Matching the Hatch" by Ernie Schwiebert, "Trout Tactics" by Joe Humphreys, and "A Modern Dry-Fly Code" by Vince Marinaro were just a few of the books that taught me almost everything I needed to know about fishing for trout in central PA. Fast forward a few years, and my job has landed me in DC - only a few hours from the Atlantic surf. After fishing for trout all my life, saltwater was totally foreign to me. Since I felt like a beginner again, I picked up a few books to help me figure out what to do while standing knee-deep in the brine. "The Fisherman's Ocean" by David Ross has given me a solid scientific understanding of the ocean and its fish while "Inshore Fly Fishing" by Lou Tabory has filled in some gaps regarding technique.
I'm sure I'm not the only one that picks up a book when I venture into a new area of fly fishing. So I wanted to ask the group for feedback regarding their favorite books. Fly-tying, casting, fishing, destinations, etc. I'm curious which books have left a mark on all you TPFR'ers.
- Mike
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http://www.tpfr.org
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