Flyfishers Chronicle

"Do interesting things and interesting things happen to you." Flyfisher's Chronicle takes us to where the last of the world's wild fish hide away. Remote destinations the author journeyed to with his fly rod, fly-tying vice - and his inquisitive and inventive mind. Here he developed new techniques and flies to outwit the different fish he discovered there - sharing tales with the many fascinating characters he met on the way with the same insatiable appetite for adventure.

Fishing could be quite easy, however flyfishers seem to be masochists as they make this a difficult sport. Flyfishing is the king of pastimes. The most popular sport in the world, it captures the imagination of tens of millions throughout the world and many a family are slaves to the weekend fishing expedition. Whether it is a simple, gentle trip to the local pond or river to tickle the trout or just dangle a rod in the water on a sunny afternoon in a beautiful spot or a high-tech venture on an expensive, technologically equipped boat with the latest gear and accessories, it is a pastime that offers rich satisfaction to many. It can be a complex, sophisticated matter as well with knowledge of species, locations, techniques and equipment all playing a part in mastering the duel between man and beast. Dedicated players take it all very seriously - and spend a lot of time on money on their pursuit. But for many it is just a great excuse to be out in the open, in beautiful countryside, relaxing - and maybe having a few beers and sandwiches!

The enviable account of a family man who gave up a job in a big-city advertising agency for life in a converted stone stable within earshot of one of England's great trout rivers. A country-diary charm shines through Patterson's month-by-month, hatch-by-hatch account of the life most fly fishers dream of -- but never live.

From the bestselling author of Saban, 4th and Goal, and Sowbelly comes the thrilling, untold story of the quest for the world record tarpon on a fly rod—a tale that reveals as much about Man as it does about the fish. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, something unique happened in the quiet little town on the west coast of Florida known as Homosassa. The best fly anglers in the world—Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte, Ted Williams, Tom Evans, Billy Pate and others—all gathered together to chase the same Holy Grail: The world record for the world’s most glamorous and sought-after fly rod species, the tarpon. The anglers would meet each morning for breakfast. They would compete out on the water during the day, eat dinner together at night, socialize and party. Some harder than others. The world record fell nearly every year. But records weren’t the only things that were broken. Hooks, lines, rods, reels, hearts and marriages didn’t survive, either. The egos involved made the atmosphere electric. The difficulty of the quest made it legitimate. The drugs and romantic entaglements that were swept in with the tide would finally make it all veer out of control. It was a confluence of people and place that had never happened before in the world of fishing and will never happen again. It was a collision of the top anglers and the top species of fish which would lead to smashed lives for nearly all involved, man and fish alike. In Lords of the Fly, Burke, an obsessed tarpon fly angler himself, delves into this incredible moment. He examines the growing popularity of the tarpon, an amazing fish has been around for 50 million years, can live to 80 years old and can grow to 300 pounds in weight. It is a massive, leaping, bullet train of a fish. When hooked in shallow water, it produces “immediate unreality,” as the late poet and tarpon obsessive, Richard Brautigan, once described it. Burke also chronicles the heartbreaking destruction that exists as a result—brought on by greed, environmental degradation and the shenanigans of a notorious Miami gangster—and how all of it has shaped our contemporary fishery. Filled with larger-than-life characters and vivid prose, Lords of the Fly is not only a must read for anglers of all stripes, but also for those interested in the desperate yearning of the human condition.

Giacon's first book "The Magic Hour" gave us a glimpse of our own fishing beginnings; this rare tome is "True Confessions" time - the stuff we don't tell our loved ones about when they ask us that great question "How was fishing?" when we get home on Sunday night. This book is a chronicle covering all the fun and the miscalculations that all of us fisher folk easily learn to live with.

Atlantic Salmon Chronicles is the most instructive salmon book in 40 years. An artful blend of technology, analysis and lyrical prose, it is the perfect complement to Lee Wulff's 1958 classic on Atlantic salmon. Richard Nightingale has been fishing most of his life and salmon fishing for more than three decades. Ever challenging conventional wisdom, in the first half of this book he offers a totally new look at fly rods and lines, a critical evaluation of fly reels, new insights into how one chooses flies and a review of other fishing tackle and equipment. The second half of the book contains a widely acclaimed evaluation of the conservation of Atlantic salmon as well as a sentimental journey along his "sacred salmon rivers." With its clean, elegant writing; evocative original art by Thomas A. Daly; exquisite color photographs; and some of the author's favorite salmon recipes, this truly is a book to savor.