Everyone has a fly fishing off-season. For many, it is the winter. Others double down during the coldest months. Their work or family schedule might make fishing prohibitive in the spring or fall. An off-season might not be ideal on the surface, but between important obligations and an opportunity to step back it is probably a good thing.

Still, you can stay connected to fly fishing in some simple ways. Having a book on the nightstand or in your briefcase is an excellent way to linger, learn, and live vicariously.  Even a few minutes here or there can really help you get your angling fix when you’re away from the water. It may very well increase the longing, but it is a great way to hold you over during your off-season.

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: Keystone Fly Fishing, by Headwater Books

If you’ve read a handful of guide books, you’re probably able to tell where the author actually fishes. Although numerous waters are covered, the author writes about some rivers with a certain passion and specificity. Every stream gets that treatment in Keystone Fly Fishing. Dozens of local guides contribute to this comprehensive Pennsylvania book. This model is one that other states and regions should absolutely emulate – along with the liberal use of extremely high quality photography.

 

Technical: Night Fishing for Trout, by James Bashline

Fly fishing at night isn’t just fly fishing… at night. While casting blindly into a river at night will inevitably lead to some fish, it will assuredly lead to less fish than if you were to cast blindly into a river during daytime. There is so much more involved. The entire ecosystem shifts at dusk. Bashline explains this through tactical tips but also through narrative. Devotion to this kind of angling requires a devoted kind of angler.  But the rewards can be spectacular.

 

Literature: Catskill Rivers, by Austin Francis

Beaverkill. Gordon. Delaware. Payne. These are names that virtually every fly fisher is aware of. It is great to get a little bit of context and fill out the angling backstories. Regardless of where you fish in the United States, some of what you do can be traced back to this area of New York state. This large book blends anecdotes with history and gives a good primer for what is widely considered to be the birthplace of American fly fishing.

 

Bonus: Tight Lines, by The Yale Anglers’ Journal

Dozens of essays from 10 years of writing comprise this interesting anthology collection. The diversity is the real treasure within the book. Various voices representing different times, writing styles, and fishing preferences make the reading eclectic and keep it interesting. Contributors include students and former presidents; contributions explore trout and sunfish. Additionally, the book is peppered with beautiful illustrations from Yale alum, and journal founder, James Prosek.

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Want some more fly fishing book recommendations?

• Fly Fishing Books, I : Fly Fishing the Mid-Atlantic, Spring Creek Strategies, Joe and Me, Limestone Legends
• Fly Fishing Books, II : Fly-Fishing Guide to the Upper Delaware River, In the Ring of the Rise, Brook Trout, The Curtis Creek Manifesto
• Fly Fishing Books, III : Guide to Maryland Trout Fishing, Fly Fishing For Smallmouth Bass, Fishing a Highland Stream, About Trout
• Fly Fishing Books, IV : Flyfisher’s Guide to New England, The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists, Spring Creek, & CVTU’s Favorite Flies
• Fly Fishing Books, V: Flyfisher’s Guide to the New England Coast, Fishing the Midge, The Wonderful World of Trout, River’s Edge
• Fly Fishing Books, VI: Fly Fishing Virginia, Strip-Set, The Complete Angler, Rivers of Restoration