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It’s been said and written to death that fly fishing is an art, yet in that overused analogy is a kernel of truth. I’ve had many great conversations about literature, photography, and great writing on skiffs, fishing road trips, and on hikes to brookie honey holes. So maybe all that artistic shadow casting gives us a deeper appreciation for books and photos.
“A River Runs Through It,” jokes aside, is a really great book. As are my picks for the best fly fishing books. They focus on non-fiction, because that’s what I like to read and like any book review, are highly subjective toward my personal tastes.
- Best Read: Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World Record Tarpon
- Best Audio Book: The Optimist: A Case for the Fly Fishing Life
- Best Coffee Table Book: Salt: Coastal and Flats Fishing Photography
- Best for New Trout Anglers: The Bug Book
- Best on Warm Water Species: Smallmouth: Modern Fly-Fishing Methods, Tactics, and Techniques
- Best on Fly Tying: Game Changer: Tying Flies that Look and Swim Like the Real Thing
- Best Tenkara Book: Tenkara
- Best on Casting: Fly-Casting Fundamentals: Distance, Accuracy, Roll Casts, Hauling, Sinking Lines and More
- Best for Beginners: The Orvis Guide to…
How I Chose the Best Fly Fishing Books
I didn’t have a fly fishing mentor, and taught myself the basics in middle school. YouTube didn’t exist back in 2004, so I relied heavily on reading to get started. Since then, fly fishing books have held a special place on my bookshelf and likely inspired my journalism career. I’ve read Rosenbauer to Maclean, with a focus on how-tos. The books I’ve chosen are my favorites, not the definitive best, but I think they’re worthy of a place on your bookshelf.
Best Fly Fishing Books: Reviews & Recommendations
Best Read: Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World Record Tarpon
Key Features
- Authors: Monte Burke
- Formats Available: Hardcover, paperback, and Kindle
- Published: 2020
- Pages: 276
- Price: $27
Pros
- A great book to read, even for non-anglers
- Engaging writing
Cons
- This would make a fantastic audiobook
Whether you spend 8 hours a day on a poling platform or have never touched a fly rod, you’ll become fascinated with tarpon fishing after the first chapter of “Lords of the Fly.” It takes you back to the ‘70s and ‘80s when a small community of fly anglers gave up everything in pursuit of a world record. There are stories that will make you laugh and you’ll feel the pain of lost fish and worse. You’ll be fascinated with the ethical dilemma presented by killing a fish to claim a record and come to terms withe the fact that even catch and release is a blood sport. I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone that likes to read interesting stories about interesting people.
Best Audio Book: The Optimist: A Case for the Fly Fishing Life
Key Features
- Authors: David Coggins
- Formats Available: Audiobook, Kindle, hardcover
- Published: 2021
- Run Time: 7.5 hours
- Price: $13.50
Pros
- A relaxing listen on why fly fishing is a worthy pursuit
Cons
- Long
If you’ve left the water cold, tired, hungry, and skunked, wondering why you’ve subjected yourself to such a voluntary activity, this book has your answers. Through stories and reflections, the author explores the “why” behind every cast. Coggins’ stories are instantly relatable to any angler, and each chapter focuses on a different fly fishing niche. The book made me reflect on my own reasons for fishing and resolved my passion for casting a long rod.
Best Coffee Table Book: Salt: Coastal and Flats Fishing Photography
Key Features
- Authors: Andy Anderson (photographer) and Tom Rosenbauer
- Format Available: Hardcover
- Published: 2014
- Pages: 208
- Price: $60
Pros
- Incredible photography from legendary locations
- Excellent essays to accompany the photography
- Makes a great gift
Cons
- Too big to take on a plane or train
This is the ultimate book for light reading accompanied by a cup of coffee. Enjoying the beautiful photography and reading Rosenbauer’s essays help scratch the fishing itch during the cabin fever months. The chapters follow themes: wading, boats, fish, flies, guides, weather, supporting cast, fishing buddies. My favorite is the chapter on guides. Rosenabauer’s stories of snarky yet personable guides and the tough profession that many of us envy are an excellent amuse bouche to photos that follow. The portraits and landscapes put you in the action and you can almost hear the guides yelling commands to the anglers. If you want a book that you can calmly flip through or intensely read, check out “Salt” and its accompanying book “Flywater.”
Best for New Trout Anglers: The Bug Book
Key Features
- Author: Paul Weamer
- Formats Available: Hardcover or Kindle
- Published: 2016
- Pages: 106
- Price: $20
Pros
- Excellent color photos
Cons
- Focuses on mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies, with just brief info on midges, helgramites, and terrestrials
New fly anglers have to learn knots, how to cast a fly rod, how to read a stream, and of course the basics of entomology. The Bug Book breaks down insect identification, important hatches by region, life stages, and fly selection. The book is small enough to fit in a fly vest or sling bag so you could take it fishing and use it as a field guide.
Even a simple meat chucker like myself can digest the clearly laid out information in The Bug Book. Weamer does an excellent job making a complicated subject easy to understand while still delivering a lot of helpful technical information. He begins with an explanation of trout habitat and how different bodies of water relate to insects. The book progresses into a chapter on insect naming (Latin versus common). Those initial sections set up the heart of the book which is detailed information on the big three trout bugs: mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies. Each chapter has color photos of life stages as well as variations like swimming, crawling, clinging, and burrowing nymphs. The text is scientific, but it stays practical to fishing. He closes the insect chapters with a section on how to imitate the bug with flies.
I really liked the balance Weamer strikes of biology and teaching the reader how to catch fish. If you’re new to fly fishing for trout, this book is a must read and will shorten your learning curve tremendously. You’ll be able to confidently identify hatches and know when to expect them as well as how to choose the right flies and naturally present them.
Best on Warm Water Species: Smallmouth: Modern Fly-Fishing Methods, Tactics, and Techniques
Key Features
- Authors: Dave Karczynski and Tim Landwehr
- Formats Available: Kindle or paperback
- Published: 2017
- Pages: 228
- Price: $30
Pros
- Explains how and where to catch smallmouth
- Good color photos
- Great gear breakdowns for each technique
Cons
- Breaking up the book into more chapters would make it easier to use the book as a reference
Trout are beautiful, but smallies are more fun. They readily eat flies, fight hard, and are a challenge. If you live in a part of the country with river smallmouth then you’re among the lucky ones who can target bronzebacks in your backyard. The aptly titled book Smallmouth is the go-to resource for anyone interested in learning how to catch smallmouths on a fly rod.
Karczynski and Landwehr kick off the book by masterfully explaining how to read rivers and what smallmouths do throughout the year. That chapter alone answers a lot of questions beginning anglers will have about smallies. It’s full of helpful photos and graphics to complement the text. The authors then delve into how to catch smallmouth on the surface, middle column, and lower column. These chapters include information on when to target fish with a particular technique, flies to use, fly presentation, casting techniques, wading techniques, as well as fly rod and line selection. They pack a lot of information into those three chapters and I wish they had divided them up further for easy reference. That problem is remedied by bookmarking key areas for reference later.
Best Fly Tying: Game Changer: Tying Flies that Look and Swim Like the Real Thing
Key Features
- Author: Blane Chocklett
- Formats Available: Hardcover
- Published: 2020
- Pages: 229
- Price: $50
Pros
- Excellent color photos
- Clear instructions
Cons
- I wish it had more micro-changer patterns
There have been many talented fly innovators, but the clear leader of my generation of anglers is Blane Chocklett. Before the Game Changer we used materials that breathed in the water to create movement and even single articulated flies lacked the tail kick of a real fish. Then came this multi-articulated wonder fly that swam like a conventional lure, but could be cast as easily as any big streamer. As trite as the name is, it really was a game changer.
The only issue was that the process for tying these flies was relatively obscure, especially the more exotic variants like the polar changer, bucktail changer, hybrid changer, and mega changer. But now you can tie these flies at home with this informative and easy to follow instructional. Beyond the step-by-step tying instructions, Chocklett includes tips on casting and fishing the flies. While I wanted more patterns in the book, I consider this guide a jumping off point to create changer variants. You’ll learn the techniques and materials used to make all the best changers and you can easily adapt them to make bigger, smaller, or more unique fly patterns.
Best Tenkara Book: Tenkara
Key Features
- Authors: Kevin Kelleher and Misako Ishimura
- Formats Available: Paperback and Kindle
- Published: 2021
- Pages: 145
- Price: $25
Pros
- Covers gear, casting, flies, presentations, backpacking, and even how to make tenkara lines
- Informative and easy to follow instructions
Cons
- Beautiful drawings, but no photos
As you’ll learn in this book, tenkara dates back to the 1600s and is a simplistic fishing style. It involves a long rod, line, and just a few flies. While tenkara is simple, it’s very different from conventional fly fishing and the authors do a great job talking to the complete beginner as well as converts. They break down the equipment and rigging in full detail with artsy graphics. The casting instruction borders on poetry and also discusses tenkara philosophy. That theme of indoctrination and clear directions is carried throughout the book. I found the authors’ writing styles sucked me into the book and got me excited to get started fishing tenkara. Their enthusiasm and reverence for this type of fishing is certainly contagious.
Best on Casting: Fly-Casting Fundamentals: Distance, Accuracy, Roll Casts, Hauling, Sinking Lines and More
Key Features
- Author: Lefty Kreh
- Formats Available: Paperback and Kindle
- Published: 2011
- Pages: 144
- Price: $25
Pros
- Tips and information for anglers of all skill levels
- Covers a wider variety of casting methods
Cons
- Learning to cast a fly rod from a book can be a challenge compared to videos or in-person lessons
You can learn a lot by watching YouTube videos on fly casting and you can learn a lot by taking a casting lesson. But, reading tips from legendary fly angler, Lefty Kreh, is a great supplement to your angling education. He teaches you different fly casts, the double haul, controlling your line, and how to add distance to your cast. There are a lot of very useful tips that might spark the “ah ha” moment you’ve been waiting for.
Another great option that focuses solely on nymphing is Nymphing: Aggressive Strategies for Casting, Rigging, and Moving the Nymph.
Best for Beginners: The Orvis Guide to…
Key Features
- Author: Tom Rosenbauer and others
- Formats Available: Kindle and paperbacks
- Prices: $13 to $20
Pros
- There is a book in this series for nearly every fly fishing category
- Written with beginners in mind
Cons
- None
The Orvis Guide to… series is one of the best for beginners with books that cover saltwater fishing, trout food, reading streams, fly tying, getting kids started, beginner tips, and more. These books are a great starting point to building your fly fishing knowledge base. They also make great gifts for new anglers. Every Orvis Guide I’ve read has had detailed color photos and advice from true subject matter experts.
Final Thoughts
A good fly fishing book can teach new skills or keep you occupied while you’re waiting for the rain to stop. If you’re looking for a book to add to your growing library, check out one of my favorites.
- Best Read: Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World Record Tarpon
- Best Audio Book: The Optimist: A Case for the Fly Fishing Life
- Best Coffee Table Book: Salt: Coastal and Flats Fishing Photography
- Best for New Trout Anglers: The Bug Book
- Best on Warm Water Species: Smallmouth: Modern Fly-Fishing Methods, Tactics, and Techniques
- Best on Fly Tying: Game Changer: Tying Flies that Look and Swim Like the Real Thing
- Best Tenkara Book: Tenkara
- Best on Casting: Fly-Casting Fundamentals: Distance, Accuracy, Roll Casts, Hauling, Sinking Lines and More
- Best for Beginners: The Orvis Guide to…