Your first book on fishing/flyfishing ?

[ratgunner]

Mine was a book called Trout Hunting by Frank Woolner. My grandfather taught me to fish bait,but this book sparked a flame that took off like a forest fire.I now have an impressive library like collection of books on fishing/hunting. I dont even know how many I own.

 

[Acristickid]

This was mine.

 

[dryflyguy]

Charlie Meck's "Meeting and Fishing the Hatches", which was written in 1978 I believe.
I get it out once in awhile to read a few sections, and it's still a pretty good read IMO

 

[troutbert]

Art Flick's book on the hatches and the Catskill patterns for those hatches. I can't remember the exact title. And I'm not sure if I still have it. I'm pretty sure I never sold it or gave it away. But I may have lost it along the way, or it's buried in a box somewhere...

Flick's book is the first I bought, but the first I read was Trout by Ray Bergman. I got that out of the library many times when I was a kid.

A few years ago, Donny Bastian tied all the flies from Bergman's Trout and had them all framed up. A beautiful thing to see. Some restuarant in MD bought those flies and probably still have them on the wall where you could stop and see them.

 

[troutbert]

acristickid wrote:
This was mine.

That copy looks well used. I think you're about due for another one.

 

[rrt]

Ray Bergman's "Trout." When I now re-read parts of it, I am amazed that some of today's "new" discoveries are really old hat. For instance, Bergman dropped underwater flies off dry flies in the 1930s, which was a highly touted "new" tactic about 12 or 14 years ago. The book has nice style, too. "Trout" is still one of my 10 favorite fly/trout fishing books.

 

[wsender]

Paul Weamer's Fly-Fishing Guide to the Upper Delaware.

 

[gfen]

I walked into Dick's Sporting Goods and dropped $100 in gift cards on a Redington Crosswater combo, some 5x tippet, and a handful of Keystone flies that looked proper.

I then walked across the lot, and into a Borders and Noble, and walked out with the LL Bean Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing.

The rest has been very obsessive, and expensive, history.

 

[jdaddy]

gfen wrote:
LL Bean Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing.

The rest has been very obsessive, and expensive, history.

Ditto. My copy was resigned to the back seat of the mens room toilet until it took a terrible tumble.

 

[David]

I'm with rrt. I had a 2nd ed Ray Bergman Trout from 1952 that I got from my grandfather. Still has the pond I drew in the front cover so I could decide what side I should fish from using Bergman's techniques. Several flies that I apparently liked are circled, as well. Ahhh...the mind of a 2nd grader!
I think Bergman's writing is terrific for a beginner because it is a great blend of useful techniques and intriguing storytelling.

 

[MKern]

Well I started tying before fishing so my first book was "Trout Flies" by David Hughes.

 

[Fishidiot]

Honestly not sure here. I just loved reading books about the outdoors when I was a kid and checked out everything from the library. I remember reading Bergman and was intruiged by the painting on the cover of a brook trout done by a famous artist (name escapes me at the moment - did a bunch of the Fed duck stamps). I've got a pretty extensive FFing library and, based on a cursory glimpse, I think the book I've owned the longest is Art Flick's Master Fly Tying Guide.

 

[3wt7X]

Come on guys...
Nobody started with Dave Wolf's A Fly Fisherman's Guide to Pennsylvania...I started with that book and I've read it so many times, I think I have the narratives of certain streams memorized.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

While "A Fly Fisher's Guide to Pennsylvania", by Dave Wolf was my first book dedicated to fly fishing,

my very first book on fishing was called "Fishing - A Golden Guide." I bought it when I was about 7 at the tiny local bookstore. The thing must have originally been published in the 50's or 60's, there is no mention of graphite and the illustrations have that completely nostalgic, retro fishing look to them.

And my first book dedicated to trout fishing was simply titled "Trout, by Dick Sternberg."

However, I read various other fly fishing books before purchasing the Dave Wolf book and "Trout". I now have a few more books.

Ha I found it, "Fishing, A Golden Guide" - Copyright 1965

3wt7x,

I like how Dave simplifies the general patterns in his "coldwater fly box" section and gets right down to the basics. His way of cutting through the extra crap really helped me select good general patterns back when I first started out.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

" Flyfishing for Dummies" by Peter Kaminsky. Very good read for the new flyfisher. Answered alot of my questions when I was just starting out. This book covers ALOT of the basics.

 

[Phlsphyguy]

"Universal Fly Tying Guide" by Dick Stewart. Bought in 1980 at Witwer-Jones Sporting goods store in Allentown. Still have it and the binding is falling apart and it is tattered, but still useable.

 

[zenherper]

I've read several over the past few weeks, including Charles Meck's "Trout Streams and Hatches of PA," Meck and Weamer's "Pocketguide to PA Hatches," Rosenbauer's "Orvis Guide to Beginning Fly Fishing," but my favorite thus far is Bergman's "Trout." The imagery this book invokes is awe inspiring and nostalgic. I can't wait to finish it.

 

[pcray1231]

Well, I had Landis' book for a long time, but I don't consider it a fly fishing book. I saw it first in 2000 or 2001, and I was transitioning to fly fishing. So I used it for both bait and fly fishing, and all my family used it as well, for solely bait fishing. It's a trout stream guide, and useful for trout fishermen regardless of tackle choices.

I think I gave that old beat up copy to my dad and bought a new one 3 or 4 years ago, which was well after becoming a FF. The new one rarely travels on trips with me, but it still reserves a spot on my nightstand. I got it signed at the VF show this last weekend, which was pretty cool, but I was a little embarrassed at how good of shape it was in!

But yeah, of fishing books, it ranks up there.

My first dedicated FF book was Joe Humphreys' Trout Tactics. I've bought a number since, but I'd still rank it #1, it taught me how to fly fish. Got that one signed last weekend too, and Joe even added a drawing of a fly!

 

[WildTigerTrout]

pcray1231, I agree. Joe's book is full of very useful information. I added it to my library several years ago. What he writes about was learned from many years of experience on the trout stream. Really good info on nymph fishing.

 

[wbranch]

I'm pretty sure the first book I bought was "Nymphs" by Jim Quick. I still have it but the dust jacket is long gone. I'm looking to sell about two dozen FF books, many are first editions, and was wondering if anyone knew of any used FF book sellers within fifty miles of York?

Also have an extensive collection of Fly Fisherman magazines from the late 1960's to the present. Not every issue of every year but well over 150 issues. Am willing to give these away to someone who would enjoy, not sell, them. Must be picked up at my home or within fifteen miles of York.