Writing

The best fly-fishing books ever written

Books that will improve your fly-fishing. A definitive list of all the best fly-fishing books, from beginner to technical methods, from entomology to romantic lore and conservation. And, of course, great writing.

Nick Parish

21 May 2024 — 5 min read

The Member Authors shelf at the Anglers' Club of New York

Welcome to my library. There are two main kinds of fly-fishing books I read gravitate: technical, and lore.

Technical books will give you new methods and ideas to try out, or tell you about places to fly-fish. Fishing lore will give you inspiration, tell stories, and transport you to the places where the magic happens.

The best books combine the two. They detail the methods and techniques, but at the same time, tell the romantic tales of angling life.

I've tried to divide things up a little bit better here. If you're new to fly-fishing, or looking to support a beginning angler, start with the Beginners' shelf, and follow your heart from there.

Despite my bluster up top, this is an incredibly incomplete and work-in-progress list. I'm adding more to it each day Got any suggestions? Leave a comment!

Interested in my 2024 Read on the river favorite book list? Check it out here.

Fly-fishing books, by type:

Beginners' shelf

Lore and storytelling
Non-fiction
Fiction

Technical fly-fishing methods
Fish behavior
Bugs
Nymphing

Favorite places to fly-fish
Montana
Michigan
Oregon
Wyoming

Conservation

Beginners' shelf

If you're new to fly-fishing, or want to support a beginning angler, these are the very first books you should buy:

Simple Fly Fishing, Yvon Chouinard, Craig Mathews, Mauro Mazzo

For a newcomer, this is the most important fly-fishing book to come out in the last decade. It's both a solid introduction and a strong referendum on the Gear Acquisition Syndrome that's epidemic in fly-fishing, and turns many newcomers off from the sport.

The trio of legends turns in short essays on the sport from all over the world, from Burma to Italy, interspersed with short, pithy explanations of the different styles of fishing one can do, whether you're fishing with a standard rod+reel fly-fishing rig, or a tenkara rig. Get the second edition, it's updated with even more good stuff.

Curtis Creek Manifesto: A Fully Illustrated Guide to the Strategy, Finesse, Tactics, and Paraphernalia of Fly Fishing, Sheridan Anderson

For many folks, Curtis Creek is their first fly-fishing book. Appropriate for all ages, it uses comic / graphic novel conventions to explain all about fly-fishing.

The info's slightly dated, but that's OK. It's a great, simple way to get acquainted with the sport.

Lore and storytelling

Trout Bum, John Gierach

For many, myself included, there's a pre-Trout Bum and post-Trout Bum moment in your fly-fishing life. There's nothing better for a budding angler to experience than essays exploring the relationship between fly-fishing and freedom.

Here's more on John Gierach, including some of his best quotes on fishing.

Traver on Fishing, Robert Traver

Trout Magic, Robert Traver

Non-fiction

The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing, Mark Kurlansky

Mark Kurlansky is an American treasure. He gets goofed on a little because he's the king of the one-word topic title (Cod, Salt) but he's written several major works anglers should care about and should make part of their library:

Unreasonable Virtue is a compendium of his knowledge of fishing history, philosophy, his own travelogue, and ecological reflections that make it a must-read.