THREE BOOKS

Before the internet boom if you wanted to read to learn, to know new things or simply to inquire about fly fishing, you had to buy books, fishing magazines or videos to stay up to date. Today everything has changed and just put in the electronic machine what you want to look and this will provide you with such vast information that in some cases rubs the endless.

Books today, although people keep buying them, are for those who want to read a new novel, study or for very specific topics such as fly fishing among many others. The result is that currently the editions or runs of a book are short, in some cases there are reissues of the same and in many others simply disappear for lack of readers, that is, the book is not sold or sold very little and when they are finished the copies are not reissued again.

It is a pity that new books on fly fishing in our country are not published frequently. Most of our fly fishing books are from foreign authors and a kindly hand has been kind enough to translate, print and edit them so that those interested in this sport have quality information and reading in their libraries.

In the nineties there were several publishers who belonged to passionate fly fishermen. These worried that some books so passionate and beautiful would arrive in our hands that their reading is very pleasant while giving us a great number of knowledge. Some of them are almost a timeless legacy that as the years go by are still in full force, at least in their content.

The three books that have fascinated me from the outset are difficult to find for the reasons explained above, but it is still possible to get them in the secondhand market with a little patience and perseverance.

THE TROUT FISHERMANS BIBLE (Dan Holland)

Here (in Spain) it appeared as a  THE TROUT FISHERMANS MANUAL and was edited by SINTES publishing house in 1966. This is the most difficult to find and for me the most precious of all.

Holland was a fisherman and hunter, a real sportsman from the USA, his father was also a great fisherman who had worked in the hunting, fishing and wildlife department of the United States.

It is a very pleasant book, it is written in a plain and very spontaneous way (although the translation is not sufficiently reflected), and the compendium of knowledge is so vast and the number of chapters so broad that the author is not was a better name than the Bible for trout fishing.

It begins by describing all the species of trout that currently inhabit North America, the origins of brown trout, his acclimatization to the new waters, the habits of this. The description of the species continues distinguishing the trout from the chars. The char are those trout (fake trout or freshwater salmon, as defined by Holland) that do not belong to the genus Salmo. The chars are of the genus Salvelinus and they are the ones who open the book. It also describes the shrimp and Dolly Varden says there is no trout that has a more beautiful name.

The third chapter begins “it is a sad fact that only 10% of fishermen take 90% of the trout caught. This happens everywhere. ” To continue explaining that the purpose of the book is to make better fisherman to all who read it and for this he does not want to neglect any aspect.

Dan Holland’s book has two exceptional collaborators: Ted Trueblood and Corey Ford. Both regular contributors to Field & Stream magazine. Ford was also a great writer on hunting and fishing and everything related to the outdoors. Ted Trueblood was a great specialist in nymph fishing and in the lakes.

The book continues in several chapters where the senses of trout, physiology, customs and feeding are described and studied, all in almost one hundred pages. An important aspect to emphasize is the enormous amount of photographs of the time. They are made in a very spontaneous way and clearly reflect the emotion and beauty of the moment. They are all in black and white getting fit brilliantly throughout the work.

From the seventh to the fifteenth chapter, nothing is said except fly fishing. These chapters describe all fly fishing techniques and each has its own chapter. Mention aside is the section on fishing with Streamers and swimming flies. All the most used fly casts have their sections and the way to realize them.

The book has 50 pages intended for spinning, although the whole book is oriented and converges with fly fishing. To finish, the author devotes several chapters to trout fishing in the lakes and finishes his exciting adventure describing the techniques and ways of fishing in places very fished, how to get big catches and how to handle and catch trout. In short 400 pages of pure passion for fishing, sensitivity and sympathy, make his reading very pleasant.

The book has a clear commitment to catch and release, something surprising for the time it was written (1962), the great amount of knowledge that exposes, together with the spontaneous passion and deep knowledge of fly fishing make this my favorite fishing book. It was precisely this book that induced me to be the fisherman that I am.

~ Carles V.