Annotated bibliography of fly fishing

Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA

The focus of the Paul and Mary Ann Ford Fly Fishing Collection is American works about fly fishing in America that are of fine quality in both physical presentation and content. The collection's current emphasis is on the spiritual, sociological, and aesthetic aspects of fly fishing. In addition to books, the collection includes magazines, paintings, prints, sculpture, and needlework. The Fords began transferring the collection to Western Libraries Special Collections in late 2003. It will be transferred in stages and will include newly published works of distinction selected by the Fords^[2].

Princeton University Library, Princeton, NJ

The Kienbusch Collection at Princeton University contains some the of the most extraordinary gems in the history of angling literature. There are about 1500 books and manuscripts in all, representing the collective wisdom of five centuries of angling writers, from Berners to Bergman and beyond ... ^[3].

Princeton University Library

University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center, Rare Book Collection

Laramie, WY

University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center, Rare Book Collection

Manchester, Vermont

Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

The Library of the University of British Columbia has an excellent collection of books on angling and fly-fishing, known as the Harry Hawthorn Collection. At present it totals more than 1800 books, including many rare and valuable items. This Collection came about as the result of a fishing holiday in 1953 by eight UBC professors and Roderick Haig-Brown at Upper Campbell Lake.

University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH

The Milne Angling Collection includes a large number of volumes that represent the very beginnings of angling literature. Dame Juliana Berners' A Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle (1496) is considered the first book on the subject printed in England. Although some question her authorship, Berners, who was prioress of the Benedictine abbey of Sopwell, occupies a similar place in angling literature to that accorded Chaucer in English literature. The Milne Collection contains several editions of Berners' work dating from the 1827 William Pickering edition to modern versions, such as the one published in John McDonald's Quill Gordon (1972).

Penn State University Life Sciences Library, State College, PA

Montana State University, Bozeman, MT

Since our beginnings in the late Nineteenth Century, the MSU Libraries has strived to develop a world–class research collection in support of the academic goals of our university, including those of local interest with national and international resonance. Sixty years of research on fish and fisheries has given MSU a strong tradition on which to build the nation's preeminent trout and salmonid collection. Not only does the collection support this world–class research, but it is a focal point of local and regional pride for those who care about the salmonid species’ well being and about the waters that flow through this region. Housed in the MSU Libraries’ Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections, this collection is open to the public for use on the premises in a controlled archival environment.

Collection website

Contains the following notable collections: Strung, Norman (Literary manuscripts and correspondence, 1966-1982) Pellicane, Alfred T. (Papers, 1962-2000) Mitchell, Harry B. (Papers, 1953-1965) Agassiz, Louis (Letters, 1854-1858) Salmon Poisoning Research Collection (Papers, 1923-1999) Nick Lyons Ephemera Collection (Corporate records and personal papers, 1932-2005) Behnke, Robert J. (Papers, 1957-2000)

Although it was once reqarded as the source from which all later works on fly fishing sprang, the Treatyse can now, more correctly, be regarded as a British text on fly fishing which happens to have survived, although its status as the earliest English printed book on fishing means that it remains hugely influential^[4].

The Secrets of Angling contains the first know illustration of an artificial fly^[5]. Denny's book was reprinted extensively in the 19th century.

Izaak Walton did not profess to be an expert with the fly; the fly fishing in his first edition was contributed by Thomas Barker, a retired cook and humorist, who produced a treatise of his own in 1659. In the last edition a second part was added by his friend Charles Cotton, who took up Venator where Walton had left him and completed his instruction in fly fishing and the making of flies.

Extensively cited in Herd's The Fly, Venables work provides great insight into the fly tackle and techniques being used in the 17th century^[6]

Online Version (7th Edition-1790) The Brookes text, which went through seven editions in the late 18th century, are extremely important in closing the gap of knowledge about fly fishing from the time of Walton to the early 19th century. Brookes is also the first to make written references to fly fishing in saltwater.^[7]

He makes mention of the multiplying reel, the first time we hear of it, but evidently not unknown before his day. In the second part of the book, which has the special title The Complete Fly-fisher, he describes the dressing of many flies and their killing powers. Upon the whole, it is a practical and sensible work^[8].

Angling in All Its Branches was one of the first works to address Fly fishing for Salmon and tying salmon flies. Taylor was the first fly fishing author to mention the use of a fly tying vice^[6].

Bainbridge was one of the first authors to use color plates and The Fly Fisher's Guide contains numerous plates showing fly patterns, materials and tying techniques^[6].

This 231 page, well illustrated treatment of British stream insects of importance to the trout and grayling angler laid the foundation for the detailed works on artificial fly imitation theory that followed for the next 100 years^[10], ^[11].

As John Waller Hills says in Fly Fishing for Trout, "Its excellence lies in three features: the directions for fly fishing including one of the early recommendations of upstream fishing, the directions for fly dressing, and the knowledge shewn of the life of the natural fly, which is in advance of anything that had appeared before^[12].

Online Version

Online Version (5th Edition, 1867);

Online Version (8th Edition, 1883); Online Version (1907 Edition)

Frank Forrester, the pseudonym for English born Henry William Herbet was one of the most popular sporting writers before the Civil War. He popularized Hunting and Fishing with commercially successful sporting books such as this one^[13], ^[14].

Thaddeus Norris, who Arnold Gingrich called the American Walton, is widely regarded as the most important American angling author of the nineteenth century. His American Angler's Book, first published in 1864, lasted far longer that most modern fishing books seem to, and was a monument of practical instruction^[15].

This was Halford's first book, and it launched the opening salvo in the decades long battle pitting fly fishers favoring the floating fly against those endorsing the sunk fly, an argument which today seems as appropriate as the house cook slipping on boxing gloves in preparation to picking out fly droppings from the black pepper.^[16] Nine color plates of hand colored flies. One color chart. Text illustrations. Six 19th century American fly patterns laid in. 136 pp. including index.

A readable but comprehensive discussion of wet fly, dry fly, sea-trout and salmon fly fishing written in an easy, story-telling style^[17]. A angling classic^[18]

His history is suspect, at best. Westwood and Sachell, in their milestone Bibliotheca Piscatoria (1883), give the following opinions of Historical Sketches: "A slip-shod and negligent work, devoid of all real utility. A mere farrago of matter relevant and irrelevant, of indiscriminate sweepings from miscellaneous sources, of quotations incorrectly given and of so-called original passages the vaqueness and uncertainty of which rob them of all weight and value. Names and dates are seldom given, or are inaccurately...." They go on to catalog a few of the grosser errors and conclude that the book's only value is in its excellent bibliography, which, as we will see, also has its problems^[19].

Andrew Herd credits Hill with the first attempt to codify the history of fly fishing, albeit Hill's work shows a distinctly British bias and disregard for other European influences.^[6]

Arnold Gingrich, founding editor of Esquire magazine, is a tremendous part of the literary history of fly fishing. The Fishing In Print, The Joys of Trout, and The Well-Tempered Angler are indispensable titles to the well-read fly fisherman of today^[22].

While giving due respect to the elders of Fly-Fishing history, Schullery celebrates some lesser-known fisherman and some seldom-appreciated waters, such as the limestone streams of Pennsylvania. He muses on the pursuit of the ever-more perfectly "natural" fly and contrasts that quest with the storied success of the Royal Coachman, perhaps the gaudiest fly ever invented^[26].

In seven essays sometimes controversial, sometimes reflective, all fascinating, Paul Schullery ruminates on the evolution of fly fishing and delves into the big issues affecting the world of fly fishing today and tomorrow. Dams’ effect on fishing, the supposed cruelty of catch-and-release, competition among fly fishers, spinning versus fly fishing, and how transportation has changed the sport are just a few of the topics he covers^[28].

Sam Slaymaker is a 'complete' a fly fisherman as we have, and despite his profession of simplification, he hasn't held back one iota of his own sophisticated practice of writing in this book--Arnold Gingrich^[30].

• Kreh, Lefty (1992). Fly Fishing For Trout-Volume 1-Special Techniques. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Goddard, John (1993). Fly Fishing For Trout-Volume 2-Understanding Trout Behavior. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Tullis, Larry (1993). Fly Fishing For Trout-Volume 3-Small Fly Techniques. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Whitlock, Dave (1994). Fly Fishing For Trout-Volume 4-Imitating and Fishing Natural Fish Foods. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Hughes, Dave (1995). Fly Fishing For Trout-Volume 5-Fishing The Four Seasons. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Tullis, Larry (1995). Fly Fishing For Trout-Volume 6-Nymphing Strategies. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1993). Professionals' Favorite Flies-Volume 1-Dry Flies, Emergers, Nymphs & Terrestials. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1994). Professionals' Favorite Flies-Volume 2-Streamers, Poppers, Crustaceans and Saltwater Patterns. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1992). American Masters Fly Fishing Symposium-Part One-Skills. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1992). American Masters Fly Fishing Symposium-Part Two-Tackle. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1993). American Masters Fly Fishing Symposium-Part Three-The Travel, the Fish, the Life. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1994). Fly Fishing Knots and Connections. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1991). Modern Fly Casting Method-Mastering the Essential Casts. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1994). Advanced Fly Casting. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Richards, Bruce (1994). Modern Fly Lines. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1991). Lefty's Little Tips-200 Innovative Ideas For Improving Your Fly Fishing. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1991). Fly Fishing Techniques and Tactics. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty; Middleton, Harry (1993). Lefty's Favorite Fly Fishing Waters-Volume One-United States. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Bitton, Dennis (1995). A Field Guide To Fly Fishing. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1992). Fly Fishing for Bonefish, Permit & Tarpon. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1993). Fly Fishing for Bass-Smallmouth, Largemouth, Exotics. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1995). Fly Fishing The Inshore Waters. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Teeny, Jim (1994). The Teeny Technique For Steelhead & Salmon. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Law, Glenn (1995). A Concise History of Fly Fishing. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 
• Kreh, Lefty (1996). Lefty's Favorite Fishing Stories & Complete Index. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. 

Many books on the history of fly fishing for trout credit George Pulman for being the first writer to suggest fishing trout flies as dry flies. Pulman builds up to the introduction of the dry fly by writing very vell about the principle of trout-fly imitation, including size, color and form^[32]

Online Version

In Notable Angling Literature (1945) James Robb said of Skues and Minor Tactics

One of the subtlest writers on fishing with fly in any form is G.E.M. Skues, the author of Nymph Fishing. His book Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream, put and end to the dry-fly purist and brought the angling world back to sanity^[33]

The Dry Fly and Fast Water is one of the classic works on American fly fishing. In it La Branche, a contemporary of Theodore Gordon, helped established a unique early 20th Century American approach to dry fly fishing distinctly evolved from the long-standing theories of the British angler Halford^[34], ^[35].

Skues was the greatest early twentieth-century authority on nymph fishing for trout.^[36], ^[37], ^[38], ^[39].

Dr. Andrew Herd characterizes The Way of The Trout:

This is a classic and I often wonder if Skues knew it would be when he set pen to paper. The book is inspirational in a way that Halford's work never was and grips the reader's attention right from the cover, which in the first edition bears the words: .... The Way of a Trout shows Skues at the height of his powers and it contains the best of his thinking on fishing nymphs and semi-submerged patterns, illustrated by the sort of asides, stories and vast fund of experience that only he could call upon.^[40]

Dr. Andrew Herd wrote:

A Modern Dry Fly Code was first published in 1950 and it remains a popular work, having been reprinted at least twice. The Code attracted attention right from the start because there was more in it about terrestrials than there was about mayflies and also because the author focused attention on small imitations to an extent that had never been encouraged before. Marinaro was a brave man for doing it and for some time he stood out as a lone voice in the wilderness; he was challenged, for example, for suggesting that size 14 was the largest hook needed for a dry fly imitation (this was in the days before hooks were available in sizes below 20s). In retrospect, Marinaro probably kicked off a fashion for tiny patterns that went just a little too far before it corrected itself, but his basic point was well made.^[42]

Bergman's Trout is the largest (451 pages) ever devoted to one fish in American publishing history. Many anglers, obviously feeling that there's nothing you can learn from a book that you can't learn better from a fish, consider their libraries complete once they've bought their copies of Bergman's Trout.^[44]

Mr. Wright's first book, Fishing the Dry Fly as a Living Insect (E. P. Dutton, 1972) raised the hackles of some reviewers and weekend fishermen. The sportswriter Red Smith wondered in The New York Times whether its author could possibly still be alive. Surely, Mr. Smith wrote, he must have been struck dead for blasphemy, for he had the audacity to suggest that the high priest, Frederic Halford, and such sainted subdeacons as Theodore Gordon, George M. L. LaBranche and Edward Ringwood Hewitt had rocks in their heads when it came to floating a tuft of feather and silk over a trout. The Halford gospel, Mr. Smith noted, taught that the fly should be cast upstream and floated down in an absolutely dead drift. Mr. Wright cast down and across and twitched the fly as he did to suggest to the fish that "here is something alive, edible and defenseless." But Mr. Smith tried the Wright method and then accepted, as he wrote, "what Mr. Wright tells us now -- that nothing brings out the ess