Books

[wally gator]

Over the past few years I've read some good books on fishing and fly fishing. A few are, not in any particular order, On the Run by Di Benedetto, The Moon Pulled Up an Acre of Bass by Kaminsky and Prosek's, Fly-Fishing the 41st. Just looking for some other recommendations from the crowd to slug through the winter. Any thoughts?

[PhilDKreal]

Just MHO, but you cannot go wrong with anything by Nick Lyons or John Gierach. Gierach is strictly FW and 80% trout but you will enjoy him immensely even if you never trout fish.

The stories from both authors really capture the essence of the flyfishing experience. The solitude or comraderie, the characters, the places. They take you there. A perfect tonic for the winter. You will feel like you have been fishing with these guys. The style of the books tend to be a collection of stories rather than a single theme. Highly recommended. ;)

[danny]

tom mc guane.

[mctrout]

I second Tom McGuane. both the Longest Silence and "92 degrees in the shade".
Nick Lyons-Spring Creek
Jon Cole-Tarpon Quest
Geirachs earliest to latest
more later

[Lov2Fish]

Wally, your about the 3rd peron that has mentioned the book, A moon pulled up an Acre of bass. I'm gonna buy that book. I enjoyed these books A) The Angler's Book of Daily Inspiration by Kevin Nelson It's a book, of daily, 1 page stories for each day of the year. B) Stripers An Anglers Anthology John Waldman Editor Short stories on stripers by various authors. And last for those that fish around NYC or want to learn about the area. C) The other Islands of New York City by Sharon Seitz & Stuart Miller Hope this helps.

[PhilDKreal]

Kaminsky's book is a great fun read, but I think it has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way ala "A River Runs Through It": creating a lot of interest in the sport by people who may never have picked up a fly rod otherwise.

I'll have to check out McGuane.

[cck1808]

There are 2 books by guide Jeffrey Cardenas, Marquesa - A Place and Time with Fish, and Sea Level - Adventures of a Salt Water Angler. Both will help you get through the winter months with some incredible salt water fishing stories.

[fmw]

How about Striper by John Cole? A classic. Especially if you fish on the east end its a must read. Lots of stuff about his days in the 50s working on a haul seine crew and running a charter boat with Peter Mathiesson.

BTW, Kaminsky has a nice looking new coffee table book that seems to be sort of a compendium of his past columns along with some recipes and many photographs, including some I recognized from Jim Levison and other well known angling photographers.

[flyfshr1]

i always end up re-reading Blues by John Hersey but i think it may be out of print.

[rockfisherman]

"Fishing Came First" by John Cole.

[cck1808]

The mention of the book by DiBenedetto "On the Run" reminds me of his chapter on "skishing", or bobbing up and down hundreeds of yards out in a wetsuit fishing for stripers. Anyone crazy or drunk enough to have tried this?

[AndyF]

DiBenedetto's book was a fun read. A friend gave me a book called A Jerk on One End by Robert Hughes, which was good. There's always The Old Man and the Sea if you want a short classic.

[Montcopo]

Striper Wars by Dick Russell should be required reading before anyone picks up a rod and heads to the water. This is not a how-to book, but a recounting of the history, politics and conservation of our favorite game fish.

[danny]

The mention of the book by DiBenedetto "On the Run" reminds me of his chapter on "skishing", or bobbing up and down hundreeds of yards out in a wetsuit fishing for stripers. Anyone crazy or drunk enough to have tried this?

no, but i've done similar stuff in the keys--freediving with a ballyhoo or two against my hip, in my shorts, hovering over patches. when i'd see a grouper or a big snapper on the patch, i'd drop the ballyhoo down on a handline... it's pretty crazy, especially when there are a lot of sharks and cudas around, which is usually. when i was in montauk and saw guys skishing, all i could think of was makos... at least in the keys you can see what's coming to eat you!

[cck1808]

This time of year, for the past 5 or 6 years, I have found myself deep into a few good books about fly fishing; and telling myself that this is going to be the spring, summer, and fall that I actually fish more than I read about it. With two young kids and a difficult work schedule it is tough. Hopefully, this year will get me a little more QT on the water.

[tom crowley]

Hemingway On Fishing ,and Men's Lives

[wally gator]

thanks for all the suggestions. One thing I thought I'd pass on in case you have a copy of Jeffrey Cardenas, Marquesa- A Time and Place with Fish. Cheapest copy I could find for the book (only in hardcover and out of print) was $150!! There was even a signed copy of the early (only?) edition of 1500 copes which was offered at $1500.

Mark

[titleguy]

"The River Why" by James David Duncan

"Trout Bum", "Sex, Death and Fly Fishing"- John Geirach

"Anatomy of a Murder"- Robert Traver

"The Well-Tempered Angler" Arnold Gingrich

"Blue Highways" William Least Heat Moon

"River Horse" William Least Heat Moon

"Huckleberry Finn" Mark Twain

"Chesapeake"- James Michener

All these invole some fishing and lots of water related stuff. Most of these are trout books. Safe to say that "Blue Highways" changed my way of looking at the world.

[Lov2Fish]

Found the book on-line, ( The Moon Pulled Up an Acre of Bass by Kaminsky )I feel bad for the author that I found it for $2.70 So far I am enjoying it, very much. I can relate to alot of what he says. He mentions in the beginning, that once you get a song in your head while you are fishing, it sticks with you all day. Got to page 60 so far. Thanks for reccommending it!

[flyaddict]

I recommend Blues (John Hershey) also.
Excellent read about our voracious predator and tackle buster.
Also has recipes at the end of each chapter.