First we listed the best books for the coldwater conservationist and now we are bringing you the best trout and salmon fishing books ever, but we need a little help. We want to hear it straight from you. What books have helped you perfect your skills, taught you something you never knew or inspired you to fish for trout and salmon? Let us know in the comments and then check out the results in an upcoming issue of Trout.
By jim brady March 23, 2011 - 7:29 pm
I have four all-time favorites in the following order: 1. A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean; 2. My Moby Dick by William Humphrey; 3. The Well-Tempered Angler by Arnold Gingrich; 4. Trout Madness by Robert Traver. I would add two volumes by Ernest Schwiebert, A River For Christmas and Remembrances of Rivers Past. My final choice is unusual being part technical and rare, but I still read it and it nourishes new ideas every time, The Art of Tying the Wet Fly and Fishing the Flymph, by James Leisenring and Vernon Hidy.
By Fred Hinkley March 25, 2011 - 7:47 pm
“Flies for Fish & Fisherman” by Helen Shaw; How could you not incloud “Trout” by Ray Bergman?????????!!!!!!!!!
By Don Kissling March 25, 2011 - 8:38 pm
My favorites are Trout from Small Streams by Dave Hughes: Hatch Guide for Western Streams by Jim Schollmeyer; Seasons of the Trout by Neale Streeks; Fish Food by Ralph Cutter; A River Runs Trhough It by Norman Maclean
By Lee Kersten March 27, 2011 - 8:17 am
1. Fly-Fishing The 41st Parallel by James Prozak-A mix of fishing, travel, and love.
2. Many rivers to cross by M.R. Montgumery-Exploring for the native trout of the west
3. Remembrances of Rivers Past by Ernie Schwiebert
4. Nymphs y Ernie Schwiebert
I like to read about the exploration rather then the technical side of fishing.
By Leslye Robinson March 28, 2011 - 7:57 am
I have two distinct favorites,both fiction:
1. Time is a River by Mary Alice Monroe
2. The Snowfly by Joseph Heywood
By jim brady March 28, 2011 - 8:19 am
Fred is correct that I erred omitting Bergman’s Trout, I still enjoy Ray’s writing. He reminds me that the fish don’t change, it’s the fisherman and whatever technique presently in vogue that change.
I am not familiar with Montgomery’s Many Rivers to Cross, its sounds interesting and appeals to my love of the West. Thanks, Lee.
Leslye’s contributions are also unknown to me, I will put them on my list to seek out.
As regards Schwiebert’s large body of work, I greatly prefer his stories to the technical stuff, while admitting I have put it to good practical use. If anyone has actually caught a fish on his Iron nymph, from Matching the Hatch, please chime in. I never did.
By Jack Wallingford March 28, 2011 - 9:03 am
My contribution to the dozen greatest trout and salmon books of all time are:
1. The River Why, David James Duncan
2. On the Road to Gitchiegummie, Robert Jones
3. or 4. Trout Madness, Robert Traver or Traver’s Corners
5 or 6. Silent Places, The Sporting Club, Tom McGuane
7. A River Runs Through It, Norman McClean
8. Big Two Hearted River, Parts I and II, Hemingway
9. The Flying Fisherman, the Autobio of Gaddabout Gaddis, Gaddabout Gaddis. a great book, hard to find
10 or 11. Jerusalem Creek, Ted Leeson or Inventing Montana
12. or 13. Reel Deep in Montana’s Creeks by John Holt or Coyote Nowhere or Knee Deep in Montana
14. Pale Morning Done, Hull
15. True Love and the Wooly Booger, Ames
16. and finally i am enamored of John Galligan’s books about Dog. The Wind Knot is his most recent one.
There are other books about trout and salmon that could be included here, but i fought to find creative and fictionalized and imaginative works about trout and salmon. Easily Joe Brooks could have been included for the Complete Fly Fishing or one his other major contributions. In that realm I think of LaFontaine’s books. But what I tried to do was include the most original and more modern of the flyfishing books that spoke to my creative thought process as opposed to “how-to.”
I certainly missed some here such as John Geirach’s books, the View from Rat Lake comes to mind. Donnel Thomas also comes to mind for my personal omission, his descriptions of fishing Montana during the Big Bug hatch on Mother’s Day is priceless. Or My Personal Moby Dick from Bill Humphrey. I grabbed, however, some of the ones that kept me up at night reading and the ones that had a modicum of plot and story that were not slowed with archaic language and overblown hyperbole. Also, I strived for some sort of democracy in this, Robert Haig Brown, kept to his beloved BC and I thought that limited him. McGuane’s book, 98 in the Shade was purely about big game fishing in the salt, even though he is a prolific trout man. Lefty Kreh of course is pedantic in his approach. So, what was left were those books that had a story, creative flow and were encompassing in nature.
It is unfortunate that Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, did not reference trout and salmon more, but the one scene in the book where the man recollects the stream where once swam a colorful trout spoke volumes to the danger of our environment that is posed by fracing and other insidious money makers that threaten the fish that are true barometers of the environment, our trout and salmon.
By Jack Wallingford March 28, 2011 - 9:08 am
all i can think of are the ones i missed…Prosek’s books, me and Joe, and others, and Ray Bergman’s Trout, and in the words of a Marvel comic’s superhero, “ARgghhh.”
By JAMES T. QUIRK March 28, 2011 - 3:29 pm
THE RIVER WHY, BY DAVID JAMES DUNCAN.
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, BY NORMAN MCCLEAN.
TROUT BUM, BY JOHN GIERACH.
IN HEMINGWAYS MEADOW, HEALY.
MY STORY AS TOLD BY WATER, BY DAVID JAMES DUNCAN.
By Austin McGuan March 28, 2011 - 8:01 pm
Favorite book by an American: A Modern Dry Fly Code by Vince Marinaro. Favotite by an Englishman: The Way of a Trout with a Fly.
By Austin McGuan March 28, 2011 - 8:04 pm
Favorite by an American author: A modern Dry Fly Code by Vince Marinaro. Favorite by an Englishman: The Way of a Trout with a Fly.
By Brennan.Sang@tu.org March 30, 2011 - 9:19 am
I’ll second Marinaro’s Modern Dry Fly Code and Hemingway’s Big Two Hearted. I’ve always been a fan of Geirach’s books and I absolutely love Schwiebert’s exhaustive volumes on Nymphs.
By robert bittner March 30, 2011 - 6:59 pm
I would add the following :
Brook Trout by Nick Karas
The Trout Pool Paradox by George Black
Modern Fly Dressings for the Practical Angler by Poul Jorgensen
Nymph Fishing for Larger Trout by Charles E. Brooks
Where the Pools are Bright and Deep by Dana S. Lamb
The Wind on Your Cheek by William J. Schaldach
I keep re-reading these almost yearly
By carmine lisella March 30, 2011 - 8:40 pm
Still my favorite is a Flyfishers Life by Charlie Ritz
By jim brady March 31, 2011 - 12:06 pm
Robert Bittner brings up The Trout Pool Paradox. Growing up in Connecticut, I watched the evolution of the Housatonic River into one of the finest fisheries in the country. I also enjoyed reading about people I actually knew, such as Ed Kluck and Will Downs, both of whom impacted my life in a positive manner. I haven’t re-read it yet so perhaps it is time to. Thanks for including Black’s book in your list, Robert.
By james orosz March 31, 2011 - 3:32 pm
1. Trout Madness, Robert Traver
2. A River Runs Through It, Norman McClean
3. The River Why, David James Duncan
4. Anatomy of a Fisherman, Robert Traver
By Chris Biggar April 2, 2011 - 8:42 am
All books by Ernie Schwiebert, He was also the best to listen to at the United Fly Tyers presentations.
The Fishing’s Only Part of It – Dana Lamb
Steelhead Paradise – John Fennelly,
Song of the Reel – George Frederick Clarke, a great Salmon read
By Bill Watson April 2, 2011 - 9:35 am
Nymph-Fishing Rivers & Streams, Rick Hafele. Best nymph book ever!!!!
By Nick Mills April 3, 2011 - 10:17 am
I believe that angling, especially trout and salmon fishing, has spawned the largest body of fine writing, writing that can be properly called literature, of any sport. Angling is by nature contemplative, thoughtful, and is enjoyed in some of the last best places on Earth, all of which inspires literary achievement.
I agree with many of the above choices, and would add:
Fishless Days, Angling Nights, by Sparse Gray Hackle
Striper, by John Cole
Backcast, by Lou Ureneck
To Know a River, by Roderick Haig-Brown
Brook Trout, by Nick Karas
Blues, by John Hersey
There are many, many more!
By chuck stepniak April 3, 2011 - 4:28 pm
1.TROUT MADNESS and 2. TROUT MAGIC and 3. ANATOMY OF A FISHERMAN, ROBERT TRAVER. 4. NICK ADAMS STORIES, ERNEST HEMINGWAY. 5. TROUT BUM and 6.THE VIEW FROM RAT LAKE and 7.FLY FISHING SMALL STREAMS and 8.EVEN BROOK TROUT GET THE BLUES, JOHN GIERACH. 9. A PLACE ON THE WATER, JERRY DENNIS. 10. THE YEAR OF THE TROUT, STEVE RAYMOND.
By Chuck Hulin April 3, 2011 - 8:30 pm
My list would include:
The Earth is Enough by Harry Middleton
On the Spine of Time by Harry Middleton
The Complete Angler by Jim Prozek
Anatomy of a Trout Fisherman by Robert Traver
Big Two-Hearted River by Ernest Hemingway
A River for Christmas by Ernest Schwiebert
By Fred Hinkley April 4, 2011 - 8:10 am
Interesting to read all the “favorites”. Just counted the Fly Fishing books in my book shelves and found the number to exceed 220 volumes. Find it almost impossible to narrow it down to a “few”!! Good luck!!
By Mike Banaszewski April 7, 2011 - 10:33 am
I would include as my favorites:
Trout Bum and Death, Taxes and Leaky Waders – John Gierach
The Nick Adams Stories – Ernest Hemingway
The Longest Silence – Thomas McGuane
A River Runs Through It – Norman Maclean
My Life Was This Big – Lefty Kreh
By Bruce Cuningham June 22, 2011 - 10:14 am
“The River Why” and “Trout Madness”. As I read the choices posted here, many I have read and enjoyed so many years ago, I appreciate the reminder. However, I keep coming back to these two books as my favorites. “River Why” is a love story, a coming-of-age story, a flyfishing story, and a conservation story, all in one–an unbeatable combo. This book also gets my vote because the story of Gus’s conception is like no other fishing story ever told. Both of these authors have distinctive and unique voices (not that those others don’t, just not to the same extent). When I read “Trout Madness” I feel like I”m sitting around a campfire, sipping bourbon from an old tin cup, listening to John telling stories, as he chuckles and shakes his head over our foibles.
Let’s face it, friends, limiting this list to a dozen books will be an impossible task, and someone’s going to get their feelings hurt. The twelve books TU finally comes up with should probably be at the core of every angler’s library, but I would suggest cribbing other titles from these excellent posts, because most of these books are not to be missed. How lucky we are to have so many literate brothers of the angle.
By Jason June 28, 2011 - 3:28 pm
1. The River Why by David James Duncan
2. A River Runs Through It by Norman MacLean
3. The Compleat Angler by Izaac Walton