Fishing to sighted trout is one of the most exciting forms of trout fishing, but fishing to a trout is not enough the aim is to catch it. Les Hill and Graeme Marshall have combined their talents once again after a more than ten year gap to jointly write what is destined to become a New Zealand Classic. The first time they collaborated was in 1984 when they co-wrote Stalking Trout they followed up in 1991 with Catching Trout and Images of Silver in 1993. It is a testament to the ideas they contain that all have been continually in print since publication. Stalking Trout has been reprinted over twelve times. In the twenty years since the first book both have continued to fish and learn the ways of trout and more importantly catching them. Graeme Marshall became a full time professional fishing guide (now retired) while Les Hill has become a photographer specialising in trout fishing, his work has been seen regularly in outdoor magazines and books in New Zealand and North America. The knowledge gained in the past twenty years brings new insights into stalking and catching trout.
More science and less art leads to bigger fish and fewer tales Most anglers rely on advice from fishing buddies or books by well-known but unscientific anglers. Here is a book that distills the science of fish behavior into easy-to-follow advice on how to catch fish in any situation. Describing how feeding behavior in fish changes in response to fluctuations in dissolved oxygen, turbulence, turbidity, temperature, light, noise, and other factors, Bagur advises you on how to respond, recommending specific flies, baits, rigs and tactics.
- Catching trout simplified - A brilliantly written and well-crafted exposes fly fishing's greatest myths--selectivity, matching the hatch, pressured fish, fish feeling pain, precise imitations, drag-free drifts - Recipes for the author's tried-and-true patterns - Practical, down-to-earth suggestions for catching fish
This book is written for the angler who wants to consistently catch large trout over 20 inches. Whether fishing with regular length fly rod or a specially designed 15', 17' or 20' fly rod or a tenkara-style rod, Don Miller explains in detail the processes and flies that he uses to accomplish his mission.His 40 years of learning how to catch that rare and elusive large, dominant, heavy-weight trout, that the ones very few fly fishermen ever catch, has been a never-ending pursuit- one that has caused him to endure many sleepless nights pondering: "If I was a large trout needing large meals to sustain life and energy, plus being cautious and wary, where would I reside?" Once I discovered the answers to that question, I concluded that dapping was the only method that would work. If you apply all the techniques and methods described in this book over time, you too will succeed. Some you will learn now and others you will learn with experience. Some of the chapters in this book are: Pre-Locating the large trout; Locating; Stalking; How Trout See; Different Drift Techniques; Realistic-Tied Flies and Tying Equipment/Materials; Equipment for Dapping; Landing, Handling and Releasing Trout Alive; and Personal Thoughts and Tactics. I want to share my years of love and respect for large, older trout. Now, as I have aged, (I'm 74) I can understand and relate my knowledge and understanding better. I'm a perfectionist and it has helped me learn that no stone will go unturned in my pursuit of these large fish. Dapping requires full concentration of my basic "stealth" fundamentals to succeed. I firmly believe that my techniques, thoroughly learned, will increase your knowledge, love and respect of, and for, the older large, dominant trout.I would rather catch and release one trout over 22" than 100 trout under 20". These trout are special. Large trout get that way because of exceptional survival instincts. Fishermen seldom see them because the fishermen inadvertently betray themselves from 50 to 100 yards away. I believe that there are more large trout today than ever before due to catch-and-release fishing. And, due to so many anglers walking the paths along river banks and making all kinds of noise, catch-and-release fishing has actually made it more difficult to catch large trout. But by using my techniques catching the trout of a lifetime (repeatedly) is still possible. I seldom fish blind, and I sight fish only for large browns, rainbows and cuttbows. My experiences have provided me with the ultimate rewards-quietly observing large trout behavior in streams and learning the unique dapping techniques to take them primarily on large dry flies. The rewards are thrilling because they are all visual. I hunt the fish, present the fly in a special way, and watch the take using techniques that are as valuable today as they were in the 16th century. I'd like to explain them as my gift to new generations of fly fishers. My wife describes me as "the extreme perfectionist." That may explain my specialized behavior around trout streams.
“Beautiful. ... A lyrical companion to his father’s classic, A River Runs through It, chronicling their family’s history and bond with Montana’s Blackfoot River.” —Washington Post A "poetic" and "captivating" (Publishers Weekly) memoir about the power of place to shape generations, Home Waters is John N. Maclean's remarkable chronicle of his family's century-long love affair with Montana's majestic Blackfoot River, the setting for his father's classic novella, A River Runs through It. Maclean returns annually to the simple family cabin that his grandfather built by hand, still in search of the trout of a lifetime. When he hooks it at last, decades of longing promise to be fulfilled, inspiring John, reporter and author, to finally write the story he was born to tell. A book that will resonate with everyone who feels deeply rooted to a landscape, Home Waters is a portrait of a family who claimed a river, from one generation to the next, of how this family came of age in the 20th century and later as they scattered across the country, faced tragedy and success, yet were always drawn back to the waters that bound them together. Here are the true stories behind the beloved characters fictionalized in A River Runs through It, including the Reverend Maclean, the patriarch who introduced the family to fishing; Norman, who balanced a life divided between literature and the tug of the rugged West; and tragic yet luminous Paul (played by Brad Pitt in Robert Redford’s film adaptation), whose mysterious death has haunted the family and led John to investigate his uncle’s murder and reveal new details in these pages. A universal story about nature, family, and the art of fly fishing, Maclean’s memoir beautifully captures the inextricable ways our personal histories are linked to the places we come from—our home waters. Featuring twelve wood engravings by Wesley W. Bates and a map of the Blackfoot River region.
Trout Bum is a fresh, contemporary look at fly fishing, and the way of life that grows out ofa passion for it. The people, the places, and the accoutrements that surround the sport make a fishing trip more than a set of tactics and techniques. John Gierach, a serious fisherman with a wry sense of humor, show us just how much more with his fishing stories and a unique look at the fly-fishing lifestyle. Trout Bum is really about why people fish as much as it is about how they fish, and it is ultimately about enduring values and about living in a harmony with our environment. Few books have had the impact on an entire generation that Trout Bum has had on the fly-fishing world. The wit, warmth, and the easy familiarity that John Gierach brings to us in Trout Bum is as fresh and engaging now was when it was first published twenty-five years ago. There's no telling how many anglers have quit their jobs and headed west after reading the first edition of this classic collection of fly-fishing essays.
The brown trout—the most secretive, most aggressive member of the trout family—is an enigma among freshwater fish. If you fish with a fly, you already know that these creatures are objects of endless fascination. After a lifetime fishing the West, John Holt now catches more than a half-dozen huge browns each year, each weighing more than five pounds. With detailed descriptions of his unusual techniques, and with some surprising, often counterintuitive revelations about what works and what doesn’t, this book passes along all the author’s secrets.
