A Concise History of Fly Fishing

This morning I finished reading “A Concise History of Fly Fishing” by Glenn Law. I like small books. I’ll never tackle “War & Peace.” I like to read but I don’t like to read the same thing for weeks so this book quickly got my attention.

Law’s “Concise History…” is exactly that, a great overview of the history and literature of fly fishing from it’s earliest days to current angling personalities. As a bonus, unlike many books on the subject it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a must have for any angler’s library.

“A Concise History of Fly Fishing” by Glenn Law with an Preface by Lefty Kreh. The Lyons Press, 2003. Available from Mad River Outfitters. Click here to enter the online store.

Perspective

Keeping things in perspective is important. Especially when it come to our angling lives that can often take us away for the people and places that are important to us.

Perhaps one thing that I love almost as much as fishing is reading about fishing. One recent evening I finished the book I was reading and went to the shelf to pick another. I chose Steve Raymond’s The Year of the Trout.

The Year of the Trout is the sequel to The Year of the Angler both of which I’ve read before. I enjoy coming back to angling books I’ve not read for several years. I particularly enjoy Raymond’s writing style. His prose often verges on the poetic and reminds me more of works from the nineteenth century than the here and now.

But it wasn’t Raymond’s prose that immediately struck me when I sat down to read the book. It was the short, simple inscription on the front page signed by my wife …

”To Graham on your 30th birthday. I love you more than you love fishing. - Ellen.”

Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout

Big fish, big fly! Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout by Bob Linsenman and Kelly Galloup changed the way I think about and fish streamers. Almost every day at the fly shop I see people pick up large streamers and set them down saying something like “I couldn’t cast that, it’s too big.”

Modern Streamers will show you that you can indeed cast large streamers by re-thinking your leaders and line choices. I can’t say that reading this book will put you onto monster trout but it will have you casting and fishing streamers more effectively. The fish will follow.

Fly Fishing Small Streams

It’s February so it must be time to re-read John Gierach’s book, Fly Fishing Small Streams. First published in 1989 by Stackpole Books, “Fly Fishing Small Streams” quickly made it into my library as a go-to, how-to book. It’s a small easy to read volume that fits nicely into the glove box of the car. I’ve read the book or parts of it over and over, each time re-learning some valuable lessons.