These are the best fly fishing books that we recommend all anglers read before heading out on the water or learning some new techniques.
Quick Answer: If you are looking for the best fly fishing literature book ever written, look no further, A River Runs Through It. If you want to up your fly fishing game and study some techniques, then Simple Fly Fishing is what you are after.
If you can’t be out fishing or at least talking about it, you might as well read a book that will get your imagination out on the water.
So, to give you a little extra happiness on those most dreary of non-fly-fishing days, we’ve rounded up the best fly-fishing books known to man.
The Best Fly Fishing Books You Should Read
These are the classics, the manuals, the legends that every serious fly fisher should have on their bookshelf.
We’ve picked one for every category because fly fishing literature is a treasure trove of diverse wisdom, from the technical to the historical and the humorous.
Fly Fishing For Beginners – Best Fly Fishing Book To Learn Techniques
by Chris Hansen
For the best fly fishing book for beginners, look no further than Chris Hansen. Chris is a bona fide master of the art of fly fishing and even writes a blog on the subject. If you are looking for some more personal instruction, Chris does guided fishing tours.
Whatever you are after, Chris Hansen knows what he is doing, and his book Fly Fishing For Beginners is a sterling example of mastery in action. Fly Fishing For Beginners covers every fly fishing angle, from finding the right gear, practicing casting, and reading the water to cleaning your gear after an outing. The photos and illustrations add to the book’s clarity and are especially helpful if you are just starting on your fly fishing journey.
The book’s tone is friendly and accessible. Reading Fly Fishing For Beginners, you feel like Chris is right next to you, explaining the nitty-gritty of fly fishing over a coffee, anticipating your questions, and giving detailed explanations. The book was published in 2003, so the equipment suggestions might be a bit dated, but the generation Z fish haven’t changed that much, so the fly fishing advice is still just as solid!
I own a huge library of books on fly fishing and am in the industry. Each year I teach as many willing souls to fly fish as I can. This book is the best beginner’s fly fishing book on the market! It has wonderful instructions, diagrams, and pictures to make the teaching complete. If you buy one book to get started, this is it!
Earrol, fly fisherman from Logan, UT
A River Runs Through It – Best Classic Fly Fisherman Book
by Norman Maclean
“In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.” This sentence in A River Runs Through It marks the beginning of a book that can not be described in any other way than – an American classic.
A River Runs Through It describes Norman Maclean’s childhood experiences and is a beautifully written account of a time and place that are now lost in the echoes of days past. The stunning depictions of nature, Montana’s Big Blackfoot River, and a family’s endless passion for fly fishing have been etched not only in literature but also on the silver screen in Robert Redford’s 1992 classic by the same name, starring Tom Skerrit and Brad Pitt.
The last sentence in A River Runs Through It, “I am haunted by waters,” is something I think we can all relate to, for our love of the echoing call of nature and the thrill of the chase.
This masterpiece also has a movie adaptation. One of the best fly fishing movies of all time.
A great read. Stories of the wild Montana rivers and forests. A River Runs Through It was especially good, fly fishing explained in detail but with scenes of water and trees brought to life with pictures painted by words. A time gone, but still desired by all who wish to alone, quite and one with nature with the strength of the wild all around
Harvey, an angler from the United Kingdom
Simple Fly Fishing – Best Book about Fly Fishing Technique
by Yvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard is the founder of Patagonia, one of the world’s most committed environmentalists, and, not so secretly, a world-class fly fisher. Chouinard is the real deal. Famous for his rock-climbing prowess and his billion-dollar equipment empire, his skill in fly fishing is a lesser-known but not the less-developed quality of the naturalist. He was chosen by (the now-defunct but not forgotten) FlyRod and Reel magazine – one of the best fly fishing magazines out there – as Angler of the Year in 2009.
Simple Fly Fishing is the revised second edition of the now-famous Simple Fly Fishing: Techniques for Tenkara and Rod and Reel. It was released to massive acclaim for its no-nonsense approach to technique, and comprehensive coverage of both western-style and Tenkara fly fishing techniques. Simple Fly Fishing is an excellent resource for the fly fisherman who wants to get back to basics, to what works, and not get lost in the endless shopping lists that other books prescribe.
Chouinard loves nature, catching fish, and simplicity, which comes across incredibly well in this revised masterpiece.
A great read – Chouinard’s a good writer and throws in surprisingly humorous anecdotes along with helpful information on fly fishing. Really enjoyed his philosophy on life and fishing.
Catherine T. Young
Fly-Tying for Beginners – Best Book about Fly Tying
by Peter Gathercole
Peter Gathercole has become synonymous with the art of fly tying.
He’s written ALL the books on the subject, including the relatively harder-to-find The Handbook of Fly Tying, and is the primary resource for anyone trying to master the art of fly tying.
Fly-Tying for Beginners amply illustrated and full of rich explanations, is a zero-to-hero guide on how to tie your own flies like the master, without having ever done it before. Gathercole conveys his technique and legacy in easy steps and paves the way for a whole new generation of master artisans in fly-tying.
Gathercole’s photography background shines through in the stunning macro shots in which he captures every fly’s details. Fly-Tying for Beginners covers 50 basic flies, but once you’ve learned the ground rules, it’s easy to get creative and experiment with more nuanced designs.
This is the best book that I have read to get anyone tying flies. Loads of information on tools, materials and flies. Simply written with lots of illustrations so that anyone can tie 50 different simple flies. Read carefully and you will be able to tie loads of variants of those flies.
Clive Edwards, fly fisherman from Somerset, England
Fish, Fishing and the Meaning of Life – Best Humour Book
by Jeremy Paxman
Fish, Fishing and the Meaning of Life is an anthology curated by the fishing enthusiast and journalist Jeremy Paxman.
With chapter titles like ‘Ones That Got Away,’ ‘Ones That Didn’t Get Away,’ and ‘Fish That Bit Back,’ the book spans over 300 articles from more than 250 books written in the last 2000 years.
Why is Fish, Fishing, and the Meaning of Life the best fishing humor book? Because it’s got all the tall tales, all the clever mischief, and all the splendid stories that fishers have accumulated over the last two millennia. And as anyone who’s ever been on a guided fishing tour knows, there is nothing funnier than the stories of old sea dogs (and old freshwater dogs, for that matter!).
The tales of Irish Pike legends, whaling, tales of fishing inn’s and the live frog baits used by an American Doctor (just during July and delivered to his door in the morning in a box) conjure up the variety and essence of why people, though primarily men, fish. It is not easily explained, particularly to a non-angling wife. A great little book that will take a long time to read and re-read or fit in your fishing bag.
Derek from the United Kingdom
Fly Fishing for Trout: The Next Level – Best Book about Fly Fishing for Trout
by Tom Rosenbauer
Another fly fishing legend, F