I like to think of Casting Across as a platform that gets you to do something.
That isn’t meant in some kind of manipulative or creepy sense. I just don’t envision you reading my writing and listening to my podcasting as ends unto themselves. They’re meant to be a step unto something else. I want you to go fishing. I want you to explore. I want you to try a new cast, a new fly, or a new book.
The best books are books that get you to do something. I can say with certainty that all four books I’m recommending below will encourage you to go and to do. One author went halfway across the country. Another simply reached across his desk. Both endeavors can certainly be worthwhile.
As I’ve done for all of the entries in my “Fly Fishing Books” series, I’ve spread the selections over three rough categories:
- Guide (regional, site specific)
- Technical (methods, locations, fly tying)
- Literature (novels, biographies, history)
Check out one kind of each book, why I suggest it, and a bonus read below. And follow the links in the headings to get a copy for yourself.
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Guide: Squaretail, by Bob Mallard
If you love brook trout, you owe it to yourself to pick this book up as soon as possible. Mallard loves these fish and it comes through in every page. Squaretail is a new spin on a guidebook. It does give some “tips n’ tricks” for catching brookies, but it is more concerned with telling the stories of these treasured fish wherever they are found. The photography is beautiful. Couple that with the descriptions of the places and the fish, and you’ll be Googling drive times in between each section. Squaretail was one of my favorite reads of 2020.
Technical: Talleur’s Basic Fly Tying, by Richard Talleur
YouTube might be the best thing to happen to beginner fly tyers. There are dozens of excellent channels with hundreds of informative videos. However, you’ll be spending a lot of time in front of your computer if you want to learn everything there is to know about tying. My first fly tying book was Talleur’s Basic Fly Tying. I found (and still find) it to be incredibly helpful in describing techniques, listing materials, and giving the “why” behind the tie. The pictures aren’t marvelous by today’s standards, but they do the job. What really makes this book excellent is that it is available in a lay-fly spiral binding. It is very, very helpful while tying along with a pattern in the book.
Literature: Big Two-Hearted River, by Earnest Hemingway
It is okay to admit that you haven’t read A River Runs Through It, Standing in a River Waving a Stick, or Big-Two Hearted River. Why? Because you can read them tomorrow. In the case of Hemingway’s classic fishing story, you can read it today… right now… in a few minutes. It is a short story, but it deserves all the renown it has accumulated over the decades. It is probably included in every Hemingway anthology, but there are plenty of places you can find it online. My library has a half dozen ways to read it for free. Chances are, you’ll want to keep reading more Hemingway once you finish.
Bonus: Storied Waters, by David Van Wie
Where would you go if you could take a few weeks to drive and fish, drive and fish? David Van Wie charted a course across New England and the upper Midwest to visit sites connected to angling artists and literary figures. This book, the result of that trip, reads like a fast-paced travel journal filled with fishing notes. Van Wie weaves together narrative with history and a good sprinkling of self deprication. Maybe you won’t hit 35 stops like he did, but this book will inevitably compel you to try to make it to at least a couple.
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Want more fly fishing book ideas? Check out this page with a categorized listing of all the books I’ve recommended on Casting Across.