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Best FF book

2K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Sprocket 
#1 ·
Here is a topic of conversation, what is the best FF book ever on salt or Fresh water
 
#2 ·
Depends on your level of skill and where you want to fish. Some books inform reader re tackle. If you're beyond that, buy area or fish specific. I just bought two books today : Fisherman's Coast by Aaron J. Adams - good info for Southern waters where I live. Fly Rodding Estuaries by Ed Mitchell - looks like mostly for the N.E. (stripers). I have "False Albacore by Tom Gilmore. Also good are Stripers on the Fly by Lou Tabory and Saltwater Fly Fishing by Capt. Mike Starke. And don't forget, most of these books are subjective and only reflect one fisherman's ideas. I think fishing books are like cook books; if you can get one good recipe (one good idea) from a book you're ahead of the game.

Now if you ask which is the best fly fishing instruction book of all time I would have to say (hands down) George Roberts book-"Master The Cast". To me this is the ultimate text for fly casting. You can read this book 10 times and come away with actionable ideas and remedies each time.
 
#4 ·
Like John, its hard to pin down any single work. I guess that's why there are so many fly fishing books on my shleves :smokin:

Falkus on Salmon remains a great piece of work which turned a lot of traditional ideas upside down. Lefty, Jack Samson and Trey Combes have each contributed works that impart saltwater knowledge through real-life adventure ....
 
#5 ·
Good February topic.

Depends upon the topic: instructional or narrative; fiction or non-fiction, fresh or salt...

That said, W.D Wetherell has written two of my favorites ("Upland Stream", "One River More"), Abrames "Stripermoon" is an annual read for me, as is Kaminsky's "The Moon Pulled Up an Acre of Bass"; Schweibert's (sp?) "A River for Christmas" always amazes me.

Just read Dave Hughes' "Taking Trout". Essentially a compilation of lots of mag articles he's written. As the subtitle says, it's full of really good, practical advice...

Bates' "Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing" is a terrific how to/narrative/kitchen sink book for both fresh & salt.
 
#9 ·
Tom McGuane - "The Longest Silence"

Non-fiction, but not How-to. Some of the funniest, most poignant and clever prose I have ever read on any topic. This guy is a master novelist on top of being a huge fly-fisher who writes non-fiction in an entertaining way. I cannot reccomend this book enough for fishing people.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Chiming in late...

I've found Fly Rodding Estuaries and Fly Fishing the Saltwater Shoreline, both by Ed Mithcell, to be very informative books for fishing tactics, though I'd choose the former over the latter if I had to pick one to bring with me on the plane. I picked up Fisherman's Coast by Aaron Adams a couple of weeks ago and have gotten about 1/2 way through it; being a marine scientist, myself, I can appreciate his writing style and the scope of the information he presents. I have plenty of other saltwater ff books, but I find those mentioned to stand out from the rest. As for patterns, Veverka's book is nice for photos and Klausmeyer's book on Contemporary Saltwater Flies is another of note, but honestly I find better representations of patterns and tying them on the web!

General reading: The Moon Pulled Up an Acre of Bass by Peter Kaminsky; great read!
 
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