"Misadventures Of A Flyfisherman"
Jack Hemmingway

Ernest Hemingway is a very famous writer, he won a Nobel price for his works in 1954. Many flyfishermen feel attracted to this writer because it is known that Ernest used a flyrod every now and then. In his adventure stories it is always the person of "Nick Adams" who does the fishing. Big Two Hearted River is probably the best known fishing story and many fishermen have been -and still are- looking for this "hot spot". The explanation of their lack of success is to be found in the wonderful autobiography of his son, Jack.

Jack Hemmingway

Jack Hemingway, nicknamed; "Bumby" by his father, appears to be a much more enthousiastic flyfisher (and maybe a better one ) than his famous father. That get's clear as soon as you read his book Misadventures Of A Flyfisherman because you have to be "pretty mad about fishing" if you ty a flyrod to your standard gear when you get dropped behind enemy lines during the Second World War.....

Personaly I find his book easy to read and very amusing. The stories take you to all corners of the world and it is finaly a book which is not completely dedicated to flyfishing only. Besides, you can find all kind of interesting details about the lifestyle and behaviour of his father Ernest, details which you will never find in any other work ever written about him. All kind of famous people like actors, writers, politicians and others are mentioned, something which comes naturaly being a son of such a father. But Jack Hemingway doesn't make the mistake of making his book simply a long list of those people. Personaly I find Jack Hemingway to be a very pleasant and flexible writer and his style is, luckily, not as "somber" as his father sometimes was.

Being a keen flyfisherman and an ardent admirer of (some of) Ernest Hemingway's works, I find Misadventures Of A Fly Fisherman a true asset to my bookcollection. My copy is a very nice hard back and the 30 page's of black and white photo's (mostly out of the Hemingway family records) make it a very complete work. I do not know if the book is still in print but I will surely try to find out for you. The ISBN No. is 0-87833-379-7

"Guiding Elliott"
Robert Lee

Maybe it's me but during the last couple of years I didn't feel like reading "how to" books anymore. You know, those books that tell you where to fish, when to fish and how to fish. No, I have a strong appetite for adventure books or travelling reports that give me a feeling as if I'm almost fishing myself. If it includes some kind of HUMOUR, I'm your man !

Guiding Elliott is one of those rare books which I picked up and couldn't put down until it was finished. I bought the book during a business trip in America and read it during my trip back to Europe. For Europeans it might be a little bit too much based on how the Americans like to look at fly fishing but that shouldn't bother them. (At least, it didn't bother me, on the contrary.)
The story is about a guy who makes his living by guiding fly fishermen and he wants to be the best. Well..the best...he likes his client to CATCH THE MOST of all other fishermen guided by others. The rest, like nature and a good conversation is not for this guy and it all goes well until he meets Mr. Elliott. Well, you should read the rest for yourself and I can promise you that it is worth it !

I don't know where you can buy this book nowadays, so to be sure I will give you the ISBN number: 1-55821-603-0

"Bright Rivers"
Nick Lyons

Bright rivers

Sometimes, a friend asks me; "what's your favourite book about fly fishing ?" and most of the times I have to leave it unanswered because there are quite a few good books available and making a choice isn't easy. However, I do have about 3 or 4 books which are very special to me and I have selected one right now. I have two little books written by the American author Nick Lyons (both are little jewels !) and this time I put the spotlight on "BRIGHT RIVERS". Years and years ago I visited the Fly Tackle Dealer Show in Denver, Colorado, and suddenly I was eye to eye with a "short", friendly looking man who asked me for a light since he had an unlit cigar in his hand. Before we knew it we were having a good conversation, maybe because I have a weakness for cigars as well (However, Nick Lyons gave up smoking a couple of years ago.) "You're Nick Lyons ?, wow, I love reading your articles in Fly fisherman. As a matter of fact, it's the first thing I read when I get my new issue." Nick was quite surprised to find an European reading his stuff which such "gusto" and he invited me to his booth (he's a publisher if you didn't know it already), buried me with books he didn't write but which (according to him) I must have read and last but not least he gave me a copy of BRIGHT RIVERS and added a nice personal note in the front (see picture below). I was in seventh heaven ! On my way home I must have read the paperback at least three times, from front to back and from back to front...what a wonderful, delicious little gem of a book.

Nick's personal message...

And now, years and years later, I still get it out of my bookcase every now and then to read one or two chapters. Nick Lyons understands very well what fly fishing is about and doesn't write only about fish and fishing. In his books, it rains a lot and quite often, his leader breaks or gets terribly tangled up and his waders fill up with cold water at great intervals. Next to that his conscience is fighting between "fishing" and "marriage" and he looks through a very sharp pair of glasses when he's looking at City life. (We're talking about New York which isn't "just" a city.....hence the capital C)

My personal conclusion; BRIGHT RIVERS is a book which you shouldn't be without, it's a little gem, full of humour, knowledge and touching moments. This book must be quite easy to find among the better fishing tackle shops and specialised bookshops, but just for your service, here's the ISBN number: 0-671-65744-5

"The Pursuit of Stillwater Trout"
Brian Clarke

Although this book was first published over 25 years ago (1975 to be precise) it is and always will be a fantastic publication about stillwater trout fishing. Brian Clarke is mainly known through the publication of >"The Trout and the Fly", a book he wrote together with John Goddard. (By-the-way, I will definitely get back to that book sooner or later.)

Book cover

Right now, stillwater fishing in The Netherlands, Belgium and England is more popular then ever and therefore I feel that this book is a "have got to read it" publication....well, at least if you like to catch fish on a regular base... Brian Clarke" is a guy to my heart if it comes to his fishing "philosophy". He likes to "think" before he starts fishing, he doesn't imitate what other fishermen are doing "just like that" and he also has developed quite a few good techniques. (Believe me, I've been testing them over the last 15 years with great success.) Because of this book I like floating lines and long thin leaders, 5 to 6 meters is quite normal. Sinking lines should be kept behind as a "last resort", fine and subtle fishing...ahh...that's it !

"Look, look and look again", that's what Brian says. Look at the water, look at the clouds, look at the wind, find out where the shallow areas are and where you might find the deep holes. And most important; "Don't just walk into the water !!" It's quite unbelievable how much fish is spooked by people "just walking in"..... Most of the time trout will find their daily food close to the shores, they will only move away because the light is too bright and other animals (fishermen !) start walking the bank or because there isn't enough oxygen. Anyway, to keep a long story short; This book is a "must" for serious stillwater fly fishermen. You can find lots and lots of useful information and what's more important, it will make you "think different" about trout and it's environment....at least that's what happened to me.

I don't think this book is still published so you have to look at tackle shows and second hand bookshops. The third print, which I have, is published by "A & C Black" For your convenience, here's the ISBN number; 0 7136 1473 0

"Travels with a Two Piece"
John Bailey

Cover of the book

The Writer "John Bailey" teaches history and classics at The Norwich School, Norfolk. (UK) He began writing in 1973 and has contributed to many books and magazines both in the UK and abroad. In 1984 he published the best selling "In Visible Waters". During the summer of 1984 (doesn't that sound like yesterday ?) he managed to get 12 weeks off to do what ever he liked. He starts his book writing; "It so happened in the summer of 1984 that I found myself free, or pretty well so, for twelve weeks. Free. Free from traditional cares of the everyday man. Free to enter into any fantasy that I wished. Above all, free to fish. And if need be, to travel to my fish." In this book he describes his experiences fishing and traveling from East to West from North to South. During those trips he fishes rivers like the"Avon", the "Kennet", the "Wharfe", the "Tweed" and almost a dozen different ones. So, not a "reservoir man"...

John Bailey

His traveling "companion" is a rather old splitcane fly rod (he thinks it is about 100 years old !) which was given to him by an old man on an estate. It had belonged to his father, a man he had never seen, killed in The Great War (First World War). About this rod he writes; "The corks of the butt had been badly nibbled by mice over the years, but the marks smoothed out under fine sand paper, and, best of all, the rod had retained its shape well. By re-whipping "top to bottom" I straightened out the slight set entirely." Can it go wrong with such a prelude ? Isn't fly fishing (and life) all about details like these ? Not just catching fish but precisely everything around it. John Bailey is one of those rare writers who manages to highlight those important details. Besides, the book is lovely illustrated by one of his best friends Mr. "Chris Turnbull".
I don't think I should try any further to describe the quality and atmosphere of this book, I think you should read it. I don't think it will be available in the "normal" bookstores any more because it's been published quite a while ago. However, the more specialized bookstores like: Coch-Y-Bonddu in Wales will probably be able to help you for a small fee, if you're lucky. (The address is: Coch-Y-Bonddu Books, Papyrus, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 8DJ, Wales, UK. Tel. 44-1654702857 Fax. 44-1654702857. If you click on the name you will go to their web site.) And, for your convenience, the ISBN Number is; 0-946284-27-X

"A River Runs Through It"
Norman Maclean

It is difficult not to repeat yourself if you mainly talk about books which belong to your own collection, especially if you "move" or sell books which don't feel right (why keep them ?). Because of this I like all books Ive got....
"A River Runs Through It" became really famous because of the movie Robert Redford made out of it a couple of years ago and although I think the film was pretty good I like the book better. The main reason for this is probably because you project your own experiences to create "the picture", a movie doesn't allow this, it makes the final picture for you.

cover of the paperback edition

Besides, if you're a flyfisherman you start to debate the technical aspects of the flyfishing techniques used by the actors and such and that hasn't got anything to do with the qualities of the book. Norman Maclean is one of the very rare writers who manages to combine the right atmosphere, life experiences, reality, "feeling" and flyfishing into what only can be named; "a great story". Again and again Norman Maclean knows to find just the perfect words to describe a certain situation to touch the reader in his (or her) heart.

Everytime I read this book I can't help feeling that I've been born too late (because almost all proper fishing "hot spots"are now known to men and because we're close to the end of developing new fishing techniques) and that nowadays we live in just too much comfort and luxury to be able to enjoy the smaller special things in life. (I know that doesn't count for all of you out there, thank God:-) This little book has it all to take you back to what are the real important things in life, the stuff that counts. There's a lot of tragedy (the younger brother is so full of life that he has to pay a high price for it...) humor and touching moments. Although flyfishing is a very important part of the book, you have to be blind not to see all the important aspects of life in this story.

Anyway, I think I've said enough about the "opening story" and that you should go and read it for yourself, if you haven't done so already. In the edition which is showing on this page you will find two more stories written by the same author. One story is called: "Logging and Pimping and Your Pal, Jim" and has also been made into a film. By sheer coincidence I once stumbled upon this movie watching the BBC and I immediately recognized the hand of Norman Maclean. Again, this is a great piece of writing and the story takes place in the nearly untouched pieces of nature in pre War America. (WW II that is) Once again it is full of sensitive and touching moments, ahh....just read it...... The third and last story in this edition is called: "USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky" and must be close to the perfect "end story" for a book. I realize I've been repeating myself quite often writing about this book but I don't care. THIS IS A MUST READ BOOK !Here's the ISBN number; 0-226-50057-8