Fool's Paradise
by John Gierach
from Simon & Schuster
If John Gierach is living in a fool's paradise, then it's a paradise that his regular readers will recognize and new fans will delight in discovering. Laced with the inimitable blend of wit and wisdom that have made him fly-fishing's foremost scribe, Fool's Paradise chronicles the fishing life in all its glory (catching your biggest fish ever) and squalor (being stranded in a tent during a soaking rainstorm). In Gierach's world, both experiences are valuable, and both evoke humor and insight.
Fishermen everywhere will understand Gierach's quest to discover and explore new waters (and then not to divulge the best locations to anyone), the unlikely appeal of winter fly-fishing ("the ice fishing shanty served the dual purpose of group therapy and the neighborhood tavern"), how impossible it is to predict the best fishing ("Everything that happens is entirely familiar, but I don't always see it coming"), or even the absurdity of the entire exercise ("day after day, you're casting a fly that doesn't look like anything to fish that aren't hungry and may not even be there"). Braving trips on small prop planes and down "Oh-My-God" roads alike, Gierach and his fishing buddies pursue bull trout in British Columbia, steelhead in the Rocky Mountains, and pike so fierce that a wise fisherman wears Kevlar gloves for the obligatory trophy photo.
But as with any activity that depends on unspoiled wilderness, change is constant. Gierach sees this happening both in the landscape ("You never get to point at a meadow full of browsing mule deer and say, 'You know, all this was once condos.'") and at lodges that now require guests to sign liability waivers ("[I] had a brief vision of herds of lawyers coursing over the tundra in search of litigation"). Just the same, he is always awed by the experience of nature, or as he puts it: "You're on a lovely, remote wilderness river in the Alaskan backcountry. There are people who would make this trip and not even bring a fishing rod."
Musing on the enduring appeal of fishing, Gierach theorizes, "We're so used to the fake and the packaged that encountering something real can amount to a borderline religious experience." Equal parts fishing lore, philosophy, and great fish stories, Fool's Paradise may not be a perfect substitute for actually being out on the water, but it's surely the next best thing.
Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die
by Chris Santella
from Stewart, Tabori and Chang
Amateur or expert, every angler dreams of landing "the big one," but that's only part of the appeal of fly fishing. Because even when hours pass without a bite, nothing beats the rugged beauty of the surroundings. For both armchair travelers and avid outdoorsmen who may have already started a checklist of their own, Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die maps out the meccas of the fly-fishing world.
Through in-depth interviews with the sport's acknowledged gurus, author Chris Santella goes beyond standard guides to convey the very essence of the recommended locations. Readers can vicariously cast mouse pattners to fifty-pound taimen in the wilds of Mongolia, wrangle with wily permit off the Florida Keys, and match the hatch on Montana's Armstrong's Spring Creek. Jardines de la Reina, Cuba (tarpon), the Zhupanova River, Kamchatka (rainbow trout), and the Rio Negro, Brazil (peacock bass) are also included. The essays include a cultural and natural history of each site, along with colorful anecdotes based on the author's and authorities' experiences.
With breath-takingly-beautiful photos of the spots, many by celebrated fly-fishing photographer R. Valentine Atkinson, the book also provides adventurous anglers with enough travel-and-tackle information so that they, too, can start planning excursions to go fish around the globe.
LaFontaine's Legacy: The Last Flies from an American Master (Fly Tyer Books)
by Al Beatty
from The Lyons Press
Trout Flies for the 21st Century: Over 200 Essential Patterns That Catch Fish Anywhere, Anytime (Fly Tyer)
by Dick Talleur
from The Lyons Press
200 Essential Patterns that Catch Fish Anywhere, Anytime
Dick Talleur
Following in the footsteps of the highly touted Stewart & Allen fly-pattern series, and endorsed by Fly Tyer magazine, this extensive trout-fly pattern collection presents 200 recipes for everything trout love: wet flies, dry flies, emergers, nymphs, terrestrials, attractors, and streamers. Master tyer Dick Talleur has collected pattern recipes from across the country, many from professional fishing guides, and thrown in a ton of classic patterns as he ties them. With beautiful full-color photographs of each completed fly and, in some cases, technical photos of crucial tying steps, this book delivers a lifetime’s worth of must-do patterns for the trout chaser.
The Orvis Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing: Secrets from the Orvis Experts (Orvis)
from The Lyons Press
Essential Trout Flies
by Dave Hughes
from Stackpole Books
If fly-fishing were run like baseball, at the entrance to every river, stream, lake, and pond you'd find a vendor with a stack of Essential Trout Flies shouting, "You can't tell the flies without a scorecard." Since it's not, you'll just have to pick up a copy before your next outing on the water. Given that even seasoned sophisticates have trouble telling their pale morning sparkle duns from their cream sparkle duns without some reference, Essential Trout Flies is as essential as its title promises--both for fishing and for tying.
The author of numerous books on angling tactics and equipment, Dave Hughes has assembled a color-filled collection of what he calls the 31 pattern styles and the most useful variations that no fly-fanatic can do without. After a general section on fly-tying materials and techniques, he considers the flies themselves, separating them into three chapters: dries, nymphs, and wet flies and streamers. Then the fun starts. For each of his 31 basic patterns, he provides a history of the pattern and an entomological introduction, a photo of the fly followed by detailed instructions--via continuous text and an accompanying series of color photos--for tying it, pictures of six useful variations, and some notes on the best strategies for fishing them--e.g., when should you use a stimulator, a hopper, or a wulff?
For an experienced tyer, this is a terrifically handy and easy-to-use reference; with variations, the 31 patterns multiply to more than 200 proven trout flies. If you just like to fish, Essential Trout Flies is just as handy. It will help you identify flies, understand their entomological basis, sort them into easy-to-recognize categories, and select what you need to carry on-stream at different times of the year. Unfortunately, actually finding the fish is something you'll still have to do yourself. --Jeff Silverman
323 color photos 1 drawing 8 x 11
* How to tie the 31 most effective trout patterns and selected variations-more than 200 recipes in all
* Step-by-step color photos and fishing notes "Essential Trout Flies will help you assemble, in just two fly boxes, the flies you need to catch trout anywhere. That makes it essential reading in my book."-Rich Ostoff, professional fly tier and author of
Fly-Fishing the Rocky Mountain Back-Country A core list of flies that will catch trout anywhere, in every season, this collection includes the most important patterns in a wide range of styles, from dry flies to streamers. The tying steps for each pattern are illustrated in step-by-step photos with detailed captions, followed by photos and recipes for the six most useful variations-217 patterns in all. Each chapter features a description of the insect the pattern imitates as well as expert information on how and when to fish the fly. Dave Hughes is among the most widely published authors in fly fishing. He writes a column for Fly Rod & Reel and contributes to all the major fly fishing magazines. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Trout Rigs & Methods: What You Need to Know to Construct Rigs that Work for All Types of Trout Flies & the Most Effective Fishing Methods for Catching More & Larger Trout
by Dave Hughes
from Stackpole Books
Gearing up for all types of trout fishing on creeks, rivers, tailwaters, and lakes
Casting, selecting a fly, and reading the water and finding trout
Dave Hughes's clear and simple instruction and explanation describes 18 trout rigs and 81 methods to fish them. In moving water: rigs and methods for dry flies and emergers, nymphs, wet flies, streamers, and dry flies and droppers. In stillwater: dry flies and sunk flies.Fly fishers learn the specifics of the rig--types of fly line, lengths and tapers of leader and tippet, the flies, and split shot, putty weight, strike indicators, droppers, point flies, and indicators--and the full array of methods to present the rig to the trout. Hughes's lucid text is teamed with hundreds of instructive illustrations, including those showing how the trout views the fly. The more rigs you learn to construct and the more methods you learn to apply, the more situations you'll solve, and the more trout you'll catch.
The Fly-Tying Bible: 100 Deadly Trout and Salmon Flies in Step-by-Step Photographs
by Peter Gathercole
from Barron's Educational Series
Avid sport fishermen will treasure this book—which is nearly as beautiful as the objects it describes. Fly-tying is a highly prized fisherman’s craft, but it’s also an art form, wonderfully captured in this volume’s hundreds of color photos. Each of 100 fly patterns is presented in a two-page spread: an enlarged photo and textual description on the left-hand page, complemented with a set of step-by-step, clearly captioned photos on the facing page. In addition, fishing enthusiasts will find sections on fly-tying tools and materials plus general instructions for getting started. The author, a well-known fly-tier and sport fisherman gives instructions on making traditional trout and salmon flies—all of them fish catchers of proven effectiveness in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Examples vary in complexity, with patterns to fit every skill level from novice to expert fly-tier. Here are dry flies, nymphs and bugs, wet flies, streamers, and hairwings—a virtually complete selection of traditional and up-to-date examples of the art. The book’s hidden spiral binding keeps its pages opened flat, which makes it ideal for reference at the workbench. More than 600 color photos.
Fly Fishing for Dummies
by Peter Kaminsky
from For Dummies
For the unschooled, fly-fishing can appear impossibly difficult and otherworldly, the province of tweedy sportsmen with enough time and money to look credible on the water. But as Peter Kaminsky explains in the opening chapter, this graceful method of catching fish doesn't require "the touch of a surgeon, the body mechanics of Tiger Woods, and the spirit of a Zen master." What it does require is a little dedication and good instruction--and Fly Fishing for Dummies delivers on the latter. This crash-course tutorial removes the mystery with chapters on gear, flies, casting, and fishing strategies. There's even a chapter on some of the great North American trout rivers. And the tone is far from tweedy, with plenty of good humor and trivia mixed into the excellent info. --Langdon Cook, Sports & Outdoors editor
If you believe what you read, fly fishing requires the touch of a surgeon and the spirit of a Zen master. Forget about what you’ve heard about f ly fishing in the past, if you really want to learn how to fly fish all you need are the right tools, proper technique, and a positive attitude. With these essential elements you can begin to enjoy the sport of fly fishing in no time.
For those of you who have never held a fly rod, you will find enough information here to get you started. You won’t be forced to discover everything all at once. If you’re already a fly rodder, you’ll find plenty of tips and techniques that you can turn to right away without going through the basics all over again. And if you’re a master angler, you will find this book a handy reference for all kinds of questions.
Fly Fishing For Dummies explores the fun and fundamentals of fly fishing—from tying flies to reeling in your catch. Whether you’re a novice or a veteran angler, here you? 8217;ll find all the tips and tricks for choosing the right kind of gear; how and where to catch freshwater and saltwater fish; visual examples of the art of casting; and how to read the water, wade, cast, and (finally) land yourself a whopper. You’ll also find out how to:
- Identify the best fish to fly fish for—from rainbow trout to black marlin
- Improve your catch and release techniques
- Continue your education through recommended references and online resources
- Choose the right rod, reel, and gear to land the fish you are after
- Master all the casting styles you’ll ever need
- Tie your own flies or choose pre-made ones proven to get results
Where the Trout Are All as Long as Your Leg
by John Gierach
from Simon & Schuster
Fly-fishing's finest scribe, John Gierach, takes us from a nameless stream on a nameless ranch in Montana to a secret pool off a secret creek where he caught a catfish as a five-year-old, to a brook full of rattlesnakes and a private pond where the trout are all as long as your leg. As Gierach says, "The secret places are the soul of fishing." Hearing about a new one never fails to entice us.
And so Where the Trout Are All as Long as Your Leg transports the reader to the best of these places, where the fish are always bigger and the hatches last forever. After all, it's these magical places that Gierach so vividly evokes that remind us how precious -- and precarious -- are the unspoiled havens of the natural world.
+++
