A running, permanent list of good books?

[Andrew]

I was thinking that maybe it would be useful if we could somehow set up a thread that is permanent that lists favorite books of board members. If you read a good book, add it to the list with the title, author and maybe a sentence or two (or three or four) about the book so other's will know if they might be interested. This could cover fly fishing "literature", how-to books, etc. Sometimes I am interested in finding something to read, and I recall somebody discussing a book, but don't remember the details. This might help.

Is there a way to set this up so that it won't disappear if it has periods of inactivity? Sort of like a sticky, but one that people can continue to post to? Todd?

[BRK TRT]

A good idea.


Thanks


- Brk Trt

[Jon]

Yes please.

JA

[leadwingcoachman]

you could link it into amazon somehow and generate some captial for the addict and maybe some charity or local conservation groups...

[Catch 22]

Great idea. I love to read, and sometimes just don't know what to get.

[Rich Strolis]

Great idea. I have a couple to post to get things started, and must reads in terms of solid fishing information.
1. Trout Tactics Joe Humphreys
2. Presentation Gary Borger.

Start with those two books and you will have a solid foundation of the ins and outs of the sport

[Andrew]

Todd has been kind enough to set up this thread as a sticky, so it will always be active and visible, even if it goes some time without additions.

So, I'm going to go ahead and paste some of my older posts here to start things. Please, feel free to add any book recommendations to the list, and if possible, offer a few comments so others will know if it's a book of interest to them. Possible suggestions for comments might include what the book covers (if it's a how-to book), or for other types, a "If you liked so and so's book, you might like this as well."


"Crazy for Rivers", by Bill Barich: I've just started this one, just this morning, so I can't comment extensively, but I like the writing style. If you like some of the others on this list (below), you probably will like this one. It seems as if this little book could probably be best described as a memoir.

"To Know a River" and "A River Never Sleeps", both by Roderick Haig-Brown: The first title turns out to be selected chapters or sections from some of Haig-Brown's other books, so it's a nice intro to his writing. I hadn't realized this when I requested it, but it's a nice book by itself or as an entry point. "A River Never Sleeps" is one of his more famous books. Haig-Brown was an Englishman, originally, who moved to British Columbia when he was fairly young and developed a real taste for Pacific salmon and steelhead fishing, and trout. His writing is highly descriptive, of nature, fishing, etc., and full of nice little nuggets of wisdom but never preachy. This particular book, written in the 1940's, I think, follows a year, month by month, in the life of a river, where he describes not only the fishing but also just what is going on in the river. It's considered a classic.

"The Habit of Rivers" by Ted Leeson. I loved this book, or at least parts of it. It wasn't easy reading, and a few sections I slogged through and was relieved to reach the end. But others were great, and on occasion Leeson turns a phrase that I had to read two or three times because I couldn't get over how great it was. The book is, basically, just a narrative of some fishing experiences he has fishing for trout (mostly) in various parts of Oregon. He gets philosophical here and there, and in my opinion these were the best and the worst parts of the book. All in all, I highly recommend this one.

"On the Spine of Time" by Harry Middleton. I was reading this book when another book came in through inter-library loan, and because the latter have short borrowing periods, I set down Middleton's book and haven't picked it up again. But I was enjoying it and will return to it. Middleton writes about trout fishing small streams in the southern Appalachian mountains. He has a couple others that I assume are similar, but I haven't seen them yet. These are "The Bright Country" and "The Earth is Enough".

"In the Company of Rivers" by Ed Quigley. I couldn't get into this one. It just wasn't my style. I looked it up because it came up as one of those "Other people who bought this book also bought..." on Amazon, but I would not describe this book as being of the same style, or same caliber, as the others I read. So, I include this info just in case it's of some use.

"If Fish Could Scream" by Paul Schullery. This was a really interesting and thought provoking book. Schullery takes a partly philosophical (an admittedly personal and biased one) and partly historical perspective to examine some issues in fly fishing. The title refers specifically to a chapter on the ethics of fishing, of catch and release, etc. WIthout the book in hand right now, I can't recall what the other issues are that he tackles, but even though the book is thought provoking, it's entertaining and mostly light-hearted.

"Royal Coachman", also by Schullery. This book is similar to Schullery's great book "American Fly Fishing" about the history of fly fishing, but this one takes a less academic approach. Both of Schullery's books on fly fishing are really entertaining, though. These are not simply books about the history of fly fishing where one might tell you when so and so tied this fly, when this style was developed, etc. but rather, Schullery is VERY mindful of the various issues and arguments that still pop up regularly (especially now in the age of internet discussion boards), and he is pretty adamant in pointing out that mostly, fly fisherman don't know their history terribly well. I don't think he ever says it, but you could say Schullery's books drive home the old bible verse "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Or maybe Harry Truman's observation that "The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know."

"My Moby Dick" by William Humprey. What a great little book! This book is about Humphrey's obsessive quest to catch a giant brown trout that he spies in a small brook. He describes the effect the fish has on him, how he goes about preparing to catch it, and of course, what finally happens.

"Silent Seasons", edited by Russell Chatham. This is a collection of fishing essays, many humorous, all good, written by a handful of different authors. I recall among those being Chatham, Jim Harrison, Tom McGuane, William Hjortsberg, Jack Curtis, Harmon Henkin and Charles Waterman.

"Backcast" by Lou Ureneck. This is the account of an Alaskan river float trip that the author took with his son. It's grouped with the other fishing books at Barnes and Noble, but I'd argue it's more about his relationship with his son and the people of his past than it is about fishing, but fishing pervades the book. It didn't blow me away, but I enjoyed it.

"American Buffalo", by Steven Rinella. This isn't a fishing book at all, but because Rinella has written essays for sporting related periodicals, including "Fly Fisherman" magazine, some people may have come across his writing. This is a great book about his obsession with bison, his hunt for wild bison in Alaska, and the general history of bison and our relationship to them in the United States. Rinella also wrote "The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine", which is a great book about his quest to create a huge extravagant wild-game dinner for his friends. He spends a year hunting, fishing, trapping and otherwise acquiring an assortment of beasts, including but not limited to carp, eels, pigeons, sparrows, pronghorn, and bear. He's also an acquaintance of mine, being the brother of one of my good friends. So, this is also a shameless plug.

"Tuna: A Love Story" by Richard Ellis. This is a book about tuna (mostly about bluefin tuna) that covers their biology, a bit about the history of sport fishing for them, and about their current plight.

It's amazing to think that at one time, people fought 800 pound fish from a wooden rowboat!

As amazing as the tuna are, and Ellis' love for them really shows, the book is ultimately pretty depressing because it seems very possible that in my lifetime the bluefin tuna will go extinct, and it will be because of over fishing.

Finished "Brook Trout and the Writing Life" by Craig Nova last night. Nova is the author of a novel called "The Good Son" that was made into a movie not long ago.

The book, a fairly short little memoir, is (like many of the books I find myself reading) sort of a book about life with fishing as a major character. And, like these other short fishing memoirs, it's a nice one for a cold snowy day.

Some others I read some time ago, and that have been mentioned elsewhere by me or others:

"The Angler's Coast" by Russell Chatham: Perhaps my favorite fishing book. A great account of the hey-day of West Coast steelhead and salmon fishing, with great stories and great characters and, if you get the 1990 reissue instead of the original (from about 1977), also great pictures. There's a movie coming out on DVD this fall called "Rivers of a Lost Coast" that will cover some of the same people, places and stories.

"Dark Waters", also by Russell Chatham: Also a favorite of mine. Loaned my copy to Jon Atherton, who says: "Have you read Dark Waters, by Chatham?!? For those that haven't, get your library to order it forthwith. It covers duck hunting; cooking duck to the highest standards imaginable; getting completely mashed off your face with any number of substances, both legal and otherwise; very strongly opinionated re: the mismanagement of the west coast fisheries (stripers, steel, salmon, you name it); girls. And if you like none of these things, get it anyway because it's very well written."

[Andrew]

...Continued (apparently, the word limit is 10,000 words per post. I sense a conspiracy...against me!)


From some earlier reading...
Jim Harrison's memoir "Off to the Side". Can't say I enjoyed it much; also, very little about fishing, although I didn't expect much. But Harrison's collection of essays "Just After Dark" contains some great fishing stories, my favorite being about the early days of flats guides in the Florida Keys, titled "Guiding Light in the Keys".

"The Big One" by David Kinney, about obsessive striper fishing on Martha's Vineyard. I thought this was a fun read.

"Trash Fish" by Greg Keeler. Humorous and highly irreverent. He seems like a guy that would be a lot of fun to hang out with, provided you were in the right mood!

"Northern Waters" by Jan Zita Grover. On BRK TRT's recommendation, I picked this one up. I enjoyed it, but I don't think I finished it. It was interesting to read a fly fishing memoir written by a woman, both to see how it was different, and similar, to those written by men.

From an earlier post by Tidal: "CASTING A SPELL: THE BAMBOO FLY ROD & THE AMERICAN PURSUIT OF PERFECTION by George Black was recently given to me by a fellow fly addict. All about the history of bamboo - contains a bunch of local, Hamden/Mt Carmel CT, references. Made me almost want to try bamboo again. Very cool read." I concur. I really enjoyed this book.

"The Next Valley Over" by Charles Gaines. From an earlier post: "Just finished it a few days ago, and enjoyed it a lot. Something for everybody (travel, saltwater, trout in the U.S., trout in New Zealand, big game fishing, etc.)"

I'll add to the list as I read more or recall some past ones.

Andrew

[Andrew]

Finished a book called "A Jerk on One End" a while ago (I think the author was named Robert Hughes, but can't swear to it). He's an Australian, but he's fished all over (I think he lives in NY now). It was a fun read, but not exceptional in any way.

Read James Babb's "River Music", and enjoyed it a lot. Another sort of "fishing memoir", but with a bit more humor (but still plenty of light-hearted philosopy) than some of the others I've posted. He is from Tennesee, but has lived in Maine for years, so his southern perspective on things is interesting at times. (Clearly, I'd read all or part of this book before because I recognized much of it. Apparently, I don't pay much attention when I read...)

I then read "Living Wild and Domestic", by Robert Kimber. This is not really a fishing book like most of the others, but more about his own perspective on the place of hunting and fishing in a modern society. Mostly he addresses ethical issues around hunting for food versus hunting for sport, vs buying your meat at the supermarket, etc. I enjoyed it, but could have distilled it into a much shorter book if he'd been more concise and less repetitive. He does discuss catch and release fishing some.

But, along those same lines, I've now started a book called "A Hunter's Heart: Honest Essays on Blood Sport", edited by David Petersen. This is a collection of essays, mostly about hunting, from a variety of perspectives. Interesting stuff to read and think about even if you're not into hunting, simply because fishing and hunting have much in common.


I'm dabbling in "The Fish's Eye" by Ian Frazier, which I clearly have also read at least parts of before. So far, it's entertaining. It's basically a bunch of short chapters, often humorous, related to fishing from all sorts of perspectives.

Finally, I've been reading, but mostly picture-gazing, at a book called "Trout & Salmon: The greatest fly fishing for trout and salmon worldwide", which has a series of contributors for various fishing destinations, but the book is really framed around the photography of R. Valentine Atkinson. Lots of great pictures.

[Del]

A really great book. Trust me on this: One Man's Steelhead Shangri-LA

By Ralph Wahl

[Don]

The Notes and Letters of Theodore Gordon edited by John McDonald, 1947.

This book I had to wait about two months to get from the interlibrary system in NY. It arrived at my local library from Woodstock in early October and I just finished it last night. I really enjoyed reading every one of the 550 pages. It covers the period roughly from 1890 to 1915, with some dives into TG's childhood fishing experiences. The largest part is letters written to correspondents in England. Some of the articles published in Forest and Stream.

Interesting how much has changed since those times, and how much hasn't. Although the technology is different, the fish are the same and fishers haven't changed much either. Everyone has a different definition of what makes sport, what is the best rod, the best fly, the best bait...

In addition to the great historical perspective on fly fishing, also a great insight into the angler as a human. The latter will be relevant for as long as fish swim and fishers fish.

I think anyone who fly fishes would enjoy reading some of this edition. I wish it would be reprinted.

[grayghost]

Check this site out http://www.shelfari.com/. Its is a social network that shares books.

[Klinkhamer]

Travers Corners series by Scott Waldie. (3 books)
Fiction, but a very good read. Really brings you into the life of the characters in this book and their life in a small Montana town.

[Adam Taylor]

Travers Corners series by Scott Waldie. (3 books)
Fiction, but a very good read. Really brings you into the life of the characters in this book and their life in a small Montana town.

Excellent recommendation. I was frustrated that there were only 3 of them...then I realized the author passed away...tough to write when you are in the grave I guess.

[ilpescatore]

By Harold F. Blaisdell (1969)

I found this book in the public library when I was 13 and it got me hooked on fly fishing. I bought a fly rod with my first "paycheck" that summer (I worked on a tobacco farm). Its a very different, interesting take on fishing and fish. I think its out of print but they did a paperback run in the late 80's.....It's avail used for like 6-8$.

[grayghost]

'"Trout from Small Streams, Dave Hughes, read it several years ago. Picked it up again and picking up some new info.

[dlaffin1]

anything john gierach, i think my favoite was Trout Bum

[zack1879]

Anyone ever read caddisflies by lafontaine? Grady reccomended it to me I just bought it.

[cdeight]

Hey Zack,

What is the books focus? I'm looking for something on nymphing basics.

CD8

[leadwingcoachman]

"Caddisflies" is more about bugs than fishing, but it is and essential read by one of fly fishings most entertaining writers.

If you're looking for a good book about nymph fishing techniques try

Borger "Nymphing a Basic Book"
Brooks "Nymph Fishing for Larger Trout"

if you want to learn about nymphs the actual bugs...
Schwiebert "Nymphs" (this is the nymph bible)
Caucci & Nastasi "Hatches" (this is a good read with a wealth of good mayfly and fly info

[cdeight]

Thanks LWC....already ordered the "Nymphing a Basic Book". Have you read "Presentation" by Borger? Is it worth the money?

[zack1879]

"Caddisflies" is more about bugs than fishing, but it is and essential read by one of fly fishings most entertaining writers.

If you're looking for a good book about nymph fishing techniques try

Borger "Nymphing a Basic Book"
Brooks "Nymph Fishing for Larger Trout"

if you want to learn about nymphs the actual bugs...
Schwiebert "Nymphs" (this is the nymph bible)
Caucci & Nastasi "Hatches" (this is a good read with a wealth of good mayfly and fly info

Is caddisflies like an imperative read to be a good fly fishermen? Ill pretty much do anything to get better, except read thomas ames hatch guide. I own it but it's just so small and uncomfortable.

[leadwingcoachman]

"PRESENTATION" is a great book , very thick and a lot of good info.

I picked it up through my local library and read it a couple of years ago. I've wanted to buy it but I can't seem to find one for under $100.00, and have seen signed versions for over $300. Is it worth the money, yes if you have it to blow... but no if you can find it at the library. I keep hoping eventyally I pick one off ebay one day

[zack1879]

It is a great book, very thick and a lot of good info.

I picked it up through my local library and read it a couple of years ago. I've wanted to buy it but I can't seem to find one for under $100.00, and have seen signed versions for over $300. Is it worth the money, yes if you have it to blow... but no if you can find it at the library. I keep hoping eventyally I pick one off ebay one day

Borders dot com. Entered a promo code got it for 26 bucks.

[cdeight]

What promo code?

[leadwingcoachman]

Is caddisflies like an imperative read to be a good fly fishermen? Ill pretty much do anything to get better, except read thomas ames hatch guide. I own it but it's just so small and uncomfortable.

Only fishing will make you a better fishermen, reading everything you can get your hands on just gives you stuff to think about when you're trying to figure out why you're not catching fish...

"imperative" No... worth checking out if it's available to you... Yes
LaFontaine knows his $@!t. All his books are worth a checking out, maybe not owning but at least thumbing through if you can get your hands on them.

[leadwingcoachman]

What promo code?

I just Googled Borgers Presentation... and all of the major booksellers didn't have one for under $75, most over $100. if you got it for $26, you scored my friend.

[cdeight]

Obviously learning by practice is best.....however, the lost art of reading shouldn't be overlooked. Exercising the brain with a book.....or this forum can only help.

[Catch 22]

Some of my favorites:
Meanderings Of A Fly Fisherman - Seth Norman
A Good Life Wasted & True Love And The Wooly Bugger - Dave Ames
The Earth is Enough - Harry Middleton
The Trout Pool Paradox - George Black
The River Why - David James Duncan
Fly Tackle - Harmon Henkin
The Seasons Of A Fisherman - Haig-Brown
Anything by Robert Traver, Nick Lyons, or Thomas McGuane

Jeff

[zack1879]

I mean to say borders.com....http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0941130983 Its only 40 there then google Borders coupons and they'll come up.

[leadwingcoachman]

I mean to say borders.com....http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0941130983 Its only 40 there then google Borders coupons and they'll come up.

My mistake, I thought you picked up "Presentation" by Borger. My comment above was for cdeight's question about Borger's out of print book...
You still got a good deal though thanks for the coupon tip

While on the subject of LaFontaine... I just starting re-reading his first book "The Challenge of Trout" very easy read. He mixes good stories along with sound advice in such a clear and simple way. It won't win a Pulitzer, but it's a nice evening cigar on the porch kinda read.

[cdeight]

Just finishing "Nymphing" by Borger.....easy read, many tips and good information. Thanks for the suggestion LWC.

[Adam Taylor]

It has been awhile since anyone has posted in this thread....

I have never read any of McGuane's writing until last night. I picked up a copy of The Longest Silence last night from the library. I don't know what I was expecting...but I was genuinely surprised at the style and language in the book. I am halfway through it and really recommend reading it. I guess an easy description of the book would be a deeper, more thought provoking John Geirach story. The essays take you places in terms of locations...and they can really hammer at your personal thoughts and beliefs if you let them.

Love this passage...

the catch is secondary to the pursuit, and the pursuit has as much to do with making sense of self and the universe as it does with anything aswim in a river.

[Jon]

Am on my second or third reading Adam (I forget), and couldn't agree more. A great writer, no question. Love the chapter(s) on his pursuit of permit. "Sur" is one of the wittiest pieces I've read for sure.

If anything I found McGuane a bit trickier to follow that Gierach, at least on first read; he asks you to get a bit more obscure, I think. Going back to Gierach afterward I found his writing to be a little too "light"!

Like you I recognize the similarities between the two men: both have obvious talent for describing fishing and life as one and the same - the stuff most of us feel but typically find impossible to write about. That they do so with an altogether more realistic irreverence is important too, these days. Most of all, they convey the endless dimension in the sport without talking much about it, never going near rigidly dull subjects like tackle, "methods" or other inconsequential stuff.

Glad you posted about this. I've become a huge fan of the posse of writers that includes McGaune, Jim Harrison, Russell Chatham et al.

I blame Andrew.

Jon

[Andrew]

If you like McGuane...which is to say, you don't mind having to re-read a passage a couple of times, you might also check out Ted Leeson. I enjoyed "The Habit of Rivers" quite a bit, if I remember correctly.

I myself don't mind the "how to" stuff when I'm first learning something, but of course I don't approach those books in the same frame of mind as I do those from folks like McGuane. I approach them much the way I approach my car's owner's manual. (Of course, cars change more often than do the fish, so the car manuals tend to be a bit more original, provided you get a new car now and then.)

There are exceptions, of course. I recently read through some of Charlie Waterman's "Black Bass on the Fly Rod" (or some such title). Waterman has a very folksy, "aw shucks" style that contains subtle, humorous jabs at the neuroses of fly fishermen. That he can do it in a "how to" book is pretty neat.

[Jon]

I have the Leeson book on my night stand, somewhere beneath a foot-high pile of Gray's and a few boxes of rubber johnnies I've been getting ready for the new season.

Jon

[Andrew]

and a few boxes of rubber johnnies I've been getting ready for the new season.

Jon

By tying knots in the ends?

[Jon]

Of course. We're stopping at two children; thanks for asking.

[Andrew]

No. I meant to make them smaller.

This is somewhat off topic. Probably best to steer it back towards books. This will also give me the last word.

[Jon]

The last word?

Is it legal (or at least permissible in an under the radar modern media type way) to reproduce any of said texts here? It would be so very satisfying to share exerts (mere snippets) from the great angling writers, whomever they may be, and invite discourse on them.

Steve - what do you think?

if not, we could always revert back to prophylactics.

[jaybp30]

Scanned through the list and didn't see this but if its a repeat then let me just reiterate how good this is:
An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World by Anders Halverson. I know a lot of people have heard of this but for those who haven't its a historical documentation of how the rainbow was spread from the west coast to the rest of the world. he puts in some personal opinion and other comments which makes it a more interesting read than just a straight history book. His comments are insightful, interesting and occasionally funny. I highly, highly recommend this book and thats coming from someone who reads Gierach and my TU, Eastern Fly Fishing and Fly Rod Real magazines exclusively.

[Andrew]

Halverson's book has been on my "to read" list for a long time. I've heard a couple of interviews with him, but haven't read the book yet.

[Don]

Since it is now the dark, long before the dawn of the new trout season, we should all be reading lots of books. Here are some I've read recently in the fishing realm. I liked all these books well enough to recommend to anyone. I'll leave off the list those I wouldn't recommend.

The Snowfly
Joseph Haywood
A good mystery set in the UP of Michigan. Love, murder, and persuing an elusive hatch of a possibly mythical insect. I'm told Haywood wrote a series of outdoorsy mysteries set in Michigan "The Woods Cop" series, I think.

Pale Morning Done
Jeff Hull
A novel about a life long outsider in Montana trying to make a living on his family's property by building a trout stream and guiding on it. Love, murder, persuing a livelihood.

The Woman Lit By Fireflies (Three novellas: "Brown Dog" "Sunset Limited" "The Woman Lit by Fireflies")
Jim Harrison
I heard of him by reading Gierach. And none of these have much to do with fishing, but there is some, so included here.

Dark Waters
Russell Chatham
Short stories, also recommended by Andrew, who started this thread. Reading this feels like having icewater thrown on your head while standing naked on a frozen lake. Highly recommended. Brutally honest view of Sport. Unabashed hedonist.

Fishless Days, Angling Nights
Sparse Gray Hackle
Short stories written by WSJ reporter Alred W Miller. Sharp contrast to Chatham! A gentleman's work, touching stories, good natured humor. Set in the Catskills. Required reading for Fly Fishing History 101

A Trout and Salmon fisherman for 75 years
Edward Ringwood Hewitt
Another required reading for Fly Fishing History 101. Memoirs of the great fish culturist and master angler.

Fishing Small Flies
Ed Engle
Surprisingly great reading in a technical book. Very informative. For you Farmy gals and guys. Ed is great!

That's all I can recall now, lots more, a few more modern fly fishing books in progress since I got a Kindle.

[Andrew]

Nice list, Don. I also read "Fishless Days, Angling Night" a while ago, and I concur with your review. A fun read, but it's hard to picture S.G. Hackle and Chatham together on a fishing trip.

Keep 'em coming. I've been too busy lately to read much, other than an article here and there. But I always like a good list of titles.

Oh, by the way, how'd you find a copy of "Dark Waters"? It's not easy to come by, at least not on a poor man's salary. "Silent Seasons", a collection by various authors but edited by Chatham, is also very good (and entirely about fishing, unlike DW), and easier to find at a reasonable price.

[Don]

Not sure what title the lotus eaters of the Brooklyn Fly Fishing Club would have given Russell Chatham. "The Debaucher", maybe? I do, however, count six empty Scotch bottles under The Lamp.

Andrew, I'm in NY. I found DW on the MidHudson Library System. I've been able to get my hands on a lot of out-of-print books that way, for free, if not to keep :) . I imagine you have a similiar capability in CT. I just search their database, submit a request, and I get a call from local library when books arrive. It has taken up to a couple months, but you can't beat the price. FD, AN I bought in paperback used on Amazon for a few dollars.

[Jon]

I liked what you said about Dark Waters Don (and the rest of the list too). The more I digest it the less brutal it seems and the more refreshing real-life it becomes. If only other writers took the same approach! Also: when are we fishing!?!?!

Andrew - do you have a copy of the GSJ where the editors (or indeed RC himself) refutes the criticism? I'd love to read that again.

JA

[Don]

Hi Jon. Yes, perhaps my initial impression was strong because I didn't expect what lurked on the page. I only had the book for a short while, definetely worth a re-read. I really loved the story of urban striper fishing and I've found myself skipping non-trout related material from other authors.

Geez, when are we fishing? I'm hoping to get down to PA towards the end of the month, maybe a trip to the Croton or Farmington before then? I'm afraid the Housy will be too icy and then blown out till May once the runoff starts.

[Andrew]

Another plug for Halverson's "An Entirely Synthetic Fish". I just finished it, and thought it was fabulous. It's not really about fishing, per se, but instead about trout aquaculture and stocking, the ecological, economical and emotional challenges that go with that, all wrapped up in an interesting history lesson. The biology is good as well - I'm seriously thinking about structuring a lot of my ecology and evolution course around this story.

[Adam Taylor]

Babb has been mentioned earlier but I just finished James Babb's Crosscurrents and am currently working on his second offering.
Excellent reads.

[Jonc]

I'm new to this forum, signed up at Andrew's suggestion after making a comment about literature on another forum, any way I have a few books which I feel are worth a read, some for entertainment, some technical. In no particular order.
Trout, Ray Bergman compulsory read for all trout fishermen, first book I read on the subject.
Fishing Came First, John Cole, just a good read by a very good writer and Tarpon Quest, a small masterpiece.
This Wonderful World of Trout, Charles K Fox, the title says it all
A Modern Dry Fly Code, Vincent Marinaro, the PHD thesis of a brilliant student.
The Dry Fly and Fast Water, GLM LaBranch, a classic that everyone will enjoy.
Fishing Dry Flies for Trout, Art Lee, very well written and not just a how to.
Trout Hunter, Rene Harrop, a beautiful book about fishing the Henry's Fork in all its
complexity and the flies he's designed to cope.
Fly Fishing the 41st, James Prosek, great read, very informative about trout, by our new star.
Fishing the Fly as a Living Insect, Leonard M Wright, great advice on how to approach fishing.
All the books by Gary LaFontaine, Charles Brooks, and Gary Borger for how to
reference.
I guess that's good enough for a start, there are so many great books it's hard to know where to stop.
Jon

[The Fisherman]

JonC from SOL?

[Jonc]

Steve,
Guilty.
Jon

[The Fisherman]

Oh, well, there goes this site....

;-)

[Jon]

Wanted to share this, though others will have seen already. A good debate that, mercifully, encapsulates the way some anglers (and this one) feel about how-to mags, books and websites. Room for all - yes. But I'm glad there's a place for those who "don’t care about the latest nymphing techniques...and don’t need to know about the hottest, four-figure-a-week fishing lodge", As Chandler puts it.

Food for thought.

http://troutunderground.com/2006/07/25/whos-killing-fly-fishing-magazines-the-internet-or-themselves/comment-page-1/#comment-73156

Jonny

[dlaffin1]

anyobody ever read the alaska chronicles?