Covers American angling methods, techniques for catching trout, bass, and salmon, recipes for fish cookery, and recollections of favorite adventures.

“The dry fly, the wet fly, and the nymph all enjoyed cherished places in an angler’s bag of tricks; but all except the most opinionated will agree that streamer flies and bucktails; when properly selected and employed, hook more and bigger fish more often and in more places than any other type of fly rod lure.” —Joseph D. Bates, Jr. Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing (1966) Streamers, and hair wing versions called bucktails, are versatile patterns that can be fished anywhere whether targeting landlocked salmon on a pristine Rangeley region Maine lake, largemouth bass swimming among the lily pads in a tepid southern farm pond, cutthroat trout inhabiting swift, western rivers or hypercritical browns in the Catskills. In this valuable reference for tiers and anglers alike, author Mike Valla collects here for the reader his favorite classics that are not only important from a historical perspective, but also work well to this day. 100 favorite patterns including Allie’s Favorite Bleeding Shiner Brooks’s Honey Blonde Bumblepuppy Chief Needahbeh Colonel Bates Edson Tiger-Dark Fox’s Yellow Optic Bucktail General MacArthur Goober Jane Craig Missoulian Spook Nine-Three Parma Belle Shushan Postmaster Spruce Supervisor Thunder Creek Silver Shiner Warden’s Worry

The allure of fly fishing lies in its elegance and simplicity; there are easier ways to catch fish, but none is more rewarding. This guide provides step-by-step color instructions for fly fishing, from the basics of casting, knot tying, and stream reading to priceless tips on how to find and catch trout, bass, salmon, and saltwater fish on a fly. Color photos & drawings.

How this vulgar slang became a cultural archetype and the subject of Supreme Court rulings....

In this creative nonfiction narrative, Mitch Keller chronicles his move from New York City to live as a hand-to-mouth trout bum upstate and shares what it is really like to move to trout country to try to build a life around fly fishing—a dream of so many anglers. All the joys and rewards of the angling life are here in abundance, but so are the chronic financial hardship, the menial jobs, the interminable winters, the moments of doubt—everything that comes with that life and the decision to live it. This compelling story of life living along and fishing a classic trout stream of the Catskills is sure to not only interest those that fish the area but also captivate anyone who has dreamed of leaving the hustle of the city behind to live a more deliberate life.

Ed Van Put begins this important book with the history of native brook trout and offers little-known details about their sizes, range, and demise from over-fishing, the growth of streamside industries, and the introduction of competitive species. Sweeping in its scope, Trout Fishing in the Catskills tells a thorough tale of the often tumultuous history of fishing in the Catskills. With a scope of over a century, Van Put tells of the Catskill’s frontier fishing beginnings and tracks the rise, fall, and eventual revival of the fisheries. Throughout, this is a history of people and methods as well as rivers, and there are profiles of Theodore Gordon, Art Flick, Harry and Elsie Darbee, Sparse Grey Hackle, and more. No serious trout fisherman, in any part of the country, will want to miss this pioneering portrait of a seminal region in American angling history. Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for fishermen. Our books for anglers include titles that focus on fly fishing, bait fishing, fly-casting, spin casting, deep sea fishing, and surf fishing. Our books offer both practical advice on tackle, techniques, knots, and more, as well as lyrical prose on fishing for bass, trout, salmon, crappie, baitfish, catfish, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Howell Raines has gone fly fishing with presidents of the United States and legends of the sport, as well as relatives, childhood friends, and his two sons. Casting deep into the waters of his tumultuous and momentous life -- his storied career at the New York Times, his painful divorce, his seven-year feud with his father, his memorable friendship with fisherman/philosopher Richard C. Blalock -- Raines offers his now-classic meditation on the "disciplined, beautiful, and unessential activity" of fly fishing and the challenges and opportunities of middle age. A witty and profound celebration of life's transitions and the serene pleasures of the outdoors, Raines's memories and observations offer wisdom for the younger man, comfort for the older man, and rare insight for women into the often puzzling male psyche. "Hear me, my brothers," Raines says. "Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even adulthood."

FIELD & STREAM, America’s largest outdoor sports magazine, celebrates the outdoor experience with great stories, compelling photography, and sound advice while honoring the traditions hunters and fishermen have passed down for generations.

Essays on American sportswriters, for which some are the first studies to appear anywhere. Discusses the styles of sportswriting employed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Includes information on twentieth-century authors who crossed over from"serious" literature to sportswriting, as well as the history of sportswriting.