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Trout Fishing - Basic Guide to Dry Fly Fishing

Author: Rob Belloni

Authors: Charley Dickey and Fred Moses
Published: 1975

As a kid I remember sitting at the workbench in my Dad's garage staring at this book while trying to perfect the always difficult nail knot (neatly diagrammed on page 24).  I don't know if I ever did get it tied just right but I do know that I always enjoyed leafing through the pages of this brief Oxmoor House Southern Living book with it's $2.95 price tag printed on the upper right hand corner of the cover. 

"Trout Fishing, a Basic Guide to Dry-Fly Fishing" has a simple premise; to teach new anglers the fundamentals of fly fishing.  Author Charley Dickey's wife Bunty is used as a guinea pig, or rather as the subject of a 3 week course of instruction.  Plenty of jokes are made about the perils of teaching one's wife to fish so Fred does all of the teaching.  Fred teaches Bunty (and of course by extension you) his short line method, explains in great detail how to cast, and covers the fundamentals of tackle, apparel, wading, and flies. 

Interspersed along the way are anecdotes and good natured ribbing between the two authors who appear to have written alternating sections of the book.  Your only indication as to who is writing is to determine which one is the brunt of the joke at hand and assume the other one is writing it.  Really I can't help but smile when I read this book because even if the jokes are a little corny, the authors seem like genuinely nice guy's whose every intent is to help the novice fly fisherman. 

Interspersed throughout the book are fantastic illustrations and diagrams showing knots and casting techniques.  Each of the topics discussed are explained in the simplest terms possible, with clear reasoning behind each piece of advice.  It's actually quite refreshing to read a fishing book that is in no way influenced by product marketing! 

If you have never fly fished before and are pondering where to start, this book would be a great inexpensive way to pick up the sport.  Much of what I learned about fly fishing during that phase in my fishing life was gleaned from the chapters of this book and although the equipment advice is antiquated, the practical advice is not.  For a young fisherman or a novice I would highly recommend this easy reading paperback.  If you're an experienced fly fishermen, just read it for the jokes.  There's $2.95 worth of laughs in here for sure.  

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Copyright © Robert Belloni 1997-2012. All Rights Reserved.
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