Some of my Favorite Books On Fly Fishing
by Bob Schwehr
April 2009
So here is my list of Favorite Books: In my mind you can’t lose with any of them.
1-Fly Fisher’s Guide to Northern California, by Seth Norman
I find this book a great cookbook of places to try, and I live off the “hatch charts”. In my mind this is a good first purchase.
2-California Blue Ribbon Trout Steams, Bill Sunderland
Great pictures and maps. It is a fun, quick read. He also has a book on Stillwater fishing. It almost made the list.
3-Caddisflies, By Gary LaFontaine
This book changed the way I fish, and really helped me with the caddis hatch! I have read this book several times. There is more detail than I can ever absorb. It also left me with a strong interest in emergers.
4-Sierra Trout Guide, Ralph Cutter
This book is another classic. Read it before you go to the Sierras, and it will make your trip a lot more fun.
5-Wet Flies, Dave Hughes
I am finding this a great motivator to ties soft hackles and wet flies. A 2009 purchase, I have already read it 2x. Straightforward fishing and tying instructions.
6-Tying and Fishing the Fuzzy Nymphs, Polly Roseborough
This is a very interesting book, out of print. It was referred to by Dave Hughes and I found it via Allibris books. (Maybe it was Amazon?). This is another book on wets. I am tying some of these patterns for my spring expeditions.
7-Good Flies, John Gierach
An easy read, pragmatic, and great comments on useful patterns.
8- Fly Fishing Still waters for Trophy Trout, Denny Rickards
The writing is not as smooth as some, but this is full of practical advice. I especially like his “Stillwater nymph” in black and black and olive. It uses burnt orange hackle. I have caught fish in many (Califonia and Wisconsin) streams and lakes with this pattern.
9- Trout Fishing the John Muir Trail, Steve Beck
This is a fine guide to hiking and fishing in the high country.
I come back to all these books periodically. I am not sharing the “skip it list” as this will be seen on the internet.