Saturday, 22 September 2012

{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Classic Books

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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