Has anyone read any good fly fishing books lately?
Last year I read Astream (an anthology that I really enjoyed) and Headwaters, by Dylan Tomine (which I wouldn’t recommend). I’m currently reading Chris Dombrowski’s new book The River You Touch, which is more memoir than fishing book.
I’m always on the lookout for something new and good.
I’m a little ways into Headwaters myself. I’m curious, what makes you hesitant to recommend it?
I just felt about halfway through that I kept reading slightly different versions of the same story. I swear there are at least three stories where he caught “the biggest steelhead I’ve ever seen”. I realize that most (all?) of the stories had been previously published in various places but it was just too much or the same stuff over and over for me to recommend.
The most recent fishing related book I read was The Nature of Fly Fishing by Paul Gaskell. It was enjoyable. I appreciate his level of nerd-dom and I enjoy the deep dives into the topics he covers. Current book im in the middle of and really enjoying is An Island to Oneself by Tom Neale. Its Toms true story of the 16 years (in 3 segments) he lived as soul inhabitant of a remote island in the Cook islands. He was 50 years old when he began his journey and it took place mostly in the 1950’s. I really enjoy these types of stories in a time where I feel my days are spent plotting and planning small moments of solitude. These characters like Tom and Dick Proennecky from Alaska (book: One Mans Wilderness) are just interesting to me. I respect there ability to just go there own way.
I have my nose in several books at a time. Andrew Marshall’s ‘The History and Evolution of the Trout Fly - Part 1’ is probably the best of the bunch. Lots of really old flies and all of them tied in hand. Amazing.
Wet Flies by Dave Hughes is excellent. It has a couple of great chapters on the history of wet flies.
Agree. His Trout From Small Streams is also great.
I’m reading Dave Hughes “Trout from Small Streams” AND “Reading Trout Water” for the second time. His notes about different kinds of water and where trout like to hold in small water always has a few tidbits to consider and learn from. Of course his chapters on casting traditional flies have to be “translated” into Tenkara-ese. Tenkara is always so much simpler.
Wait!?!
The heading didn’t say fishing related.
Does “People from my Neighborhood” by Hiromi Kawakami count?
In the middle of “Trout From Small Streams”. Just finished “Fool’s Paradise” by Gierach.
I’m reading a series of books, by William Kent Krueger, that are murder mystery novels set primarily in the BWCA.
I’ve finally started reading “carp are jerks” by a semi-local author – I’ll read his other two books afterward.
I have had a hard time pushing through more hardcore fishing books lately, but I’ll get back to those soon enough.
Yeah I won’t lie, I don’t generally read much that would qualify as “instructional”. I read for pleasure more than anything. When I think “fishing book” I’m thinking mainly of Gierach, McGuane, etc.