Getting Started in Fly Fishing

The fly fishing literature includes a number of introductory guides, but there is no other quite like this one. With leisure time more precious and limited than ever before, prospective fly fishers want the shortest path to the stream bank. They want to wet their fly lines as quickly as possible, find out if this is a sport they enjoy, then pick up the nuances as they go along. But most how-to books demand total immersion as a tedious prerequisite for that first tentative cast, simply because they're written by longtime masters who have forgotten what a beginner needs. Getting Started in Fly Fishing is radically different. Making the assumption that the beginner will be fishing for trout (as the great majority do), in a few quick strokes it introduces the contents of a pared-down basic start-up kit - only what is absolutely needed to get you on the stream, and not a thing more. (It also identifies heavily promoted items of gear that are NOT needed.) This is in marked contrast to other fly fishing books, which typically include one or two huge gear chapters that you have to read in their entirety just to figure out what you need to start. Tom Fuller then imparts succinct instructions on a good-enough cast; shows how to tie leader to fly line, tippet to leader, and fly to tippet; offers quick advice on wading and where to fish; gives a brief and visual lesson on how the four basic fly types should look to fish; and then sends you out to the stream. The next chapter, "Your First Day on the Stream," walks you through the bare fundamentals of fishing pools, riffles, runs, and pocket water and how to play and land or release your first fish - i.e., only what you need, and not a thing more, to enjoy your first day and avoid making a fool of yourself. "Your Second Day on the Water" introduces a few nuances, and "Understanding More About Trout and How to Catch Them" takes you into the third day and beyond--all within the book's first 50 pages. There follows a symptom/solution troubleshooting section for common problems with casting (line doesn't straighten; no room for backcast; casting farther; casting into the wind); choice of fly (time of year; type of water); etc. The book's final section introduces the reader to other freshwater species (smallmouth and largemouth bass, pike, pickerel, panfish, salmon, and steelhead); saltwater fly fishing; tying flies; fly fishing destinations; and further reading.

Author: Tom Fuller
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Extra Details: Pictorial Card Covers 6 x 9 inches tall.160 Pages.Illustrated.NEW.