A wise man once said to me, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over a man who doesn’t know how to read at all.”
That was Mark Twain. (He didn’t actually say that to ME). So, it stands to reason then, that if you want to learn about cool stuff, then you should read about cool stuff. If you want to learn about fishing, it probably will be a good idea to read about fishing, hence I have had a fishing library for years that I refer to quite frequently.
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First of all, let me say that just because a book is not about a true subject, does not mean you cannot learn lessons for life. I was once told by a person I respected that they did not read fiction because there was no reason to, because, “You can’t learn anything from it.” To this day I have no response to this person, because it’s such a dumb statement.
All the great things to learn are wrapped up in fiction. Are you not sure of how you should act when a huge opportunity comes to your door to save the world? Then read the “Lord of the Rings” and see how small people can save us all. If you’re not sure how to treat people below you on the social scale, then read “Huckleberry Finn” and notice how Jim is the only character in the whole story who has any honor.
Finally, some of the most serious lessons we have to learn in life are wrapped up in broad comedy. Remember the TV show “M*A*S*H?” Was it really just about bunch of people in the Korean War?
Obviously, I have a copy of “The Compleat Angler” by Izaak Walton, but I don’t feel that it talks that much to me, and more recent things will do the job better.
First, let me mention the most-referenced book in my library. You might know me as a fly fisherman. The Lefty Kreh book, “Advanced Flycasting” was like a bible to me for many years. I was even lucky enough to walk into a flycasting demonstration with him one time and he worked with me on my casting extensively. I count this among some of the most important lessons of my fishing career. We lost Lefty a few years back and I still remember all the things he told me that day. Luckily, we have his books.
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Something I was lucky enough up to pick up years ago was a book called “Fly Rodding the Coast.” Ed Mitchell wrote about a very basic approach to looking at the water if you don’t have a boat. It just so happens that everything he writes also applies to being in a boat. It has been an invaluable part of my library for years. I also have his follow-up called “Fly Fishing the Estuaries.”
Closer to home, Tom Earnhardt wrote a volume called “Fly Fishing the Tidewaters” that was very helpful to me years ago. Not only in learning how to fish the waters around here, but also as a guide to how to put together a useful book. The chapters on tide and how it affects fish and fishing I found especially helpful. I would stare at the full-color plates of beautifully hand-tied flies for hours to get ideas.
“Prospecting for Trout” by Tom Rosenbauer has been the book that I have recommended to people about learning to fish with a fly rod more than any other. It is a priceless resource and Rosenbauer is a treasure that keeps on giving in the form of his social media. He continues to help people learn to fish and get better at fishing.
I have more books written by John Gierach than any other. His insights and humorous view of the world around him helped many of us get into the right frame of mind when we would go fishing. He recently has also been lost to us, and I think I need to pick up all of the ones that I have and give them a reread.
Anything by Thomas McGuane, from “The Longest Silence” to “Ninety-two in the Shade” to about a million other great things, will enrich your brain and put your mind in the right place.
Probably the most popular fishing story ever written and the one most familiar to people, is “A River Runs Through It” by Norman McLean. More than likely you remember the film and I love it. I recommend everybody also read the book. The movie is adapted from McLean’s life. (It’s pretty complicated). The book focuses on his time as a young man in Montana and his relationship with his brother and his father and how they affected him and the man he became. The final paragraphs are some of the most moving words ever written by an American writer.
There are so many others; I haven’t even mentioned Lee Wulff, Robert Traver, Frank Daignault, AJ Mclane, et al., and specific guide books to fabulous fishing locations too numerous to mention that have been extremely helpful.
My hope here would not be to just give you a list of books to read, although I’m hoping that people will pick them up, but to let you know there is a world of fishing literature that is both helpful and entertaining. I would encourage anyone to collect their own works of fishing books to have as a reference and support authors of all kinds.
You might even already know, or maybe you don’t, but I myself have two books that I have written, for what that’s worth. And of course, never assume that a book that is a work of fiction does not have anything that you can learn.
One of the real pleasures of owning a high-quality fishing library is that you can always reach out to your favorite fishing authors on days when you would not be up to going. Snowing like crazy? Pick up McGuane. Sad or depressed about not getting to go fishing because of some health situation? Grab McLane. Just need a little pick-me-up and a chance to laugh about things? Check out Gierach. That’s what I do.
