It's appeared before in this forum, but I have to recommend Brian Clarke's "The Pursuit Of Stillwater Trout" book from 1975 as an excellent guide to pointing a way to making fly fishing enjoyable, absorbing and productive.

It's my third season on the fly, and having re-visited his book over the past month, I've approached my usual water with the ability to spot where the fish are, what they are doing and the most likely creatures they are feeding on, which flies to use and how to present them.

This evening I sat and watched the water for ten minutes, noticed sedges and mayflies hatching off the water, saw the water movements of fish and realised they were taking nymphs, selected a reasonable pattern and cast to where a fish had signalled its presence, retrieved at a depth and speed that was similar to the natural, and landed a trout on the third cast.

I've had success on every outing, a huge contrast to last season's hours of frustration not really knowing what I was doing.

Maybe Clarke's style suits my particular way of learning, but I heartily recommend this dated book as a timeless doorway into an exciting way to fish.

If anyone can recommend another book that takes this forward, I would be delighted to read it!

__________________
"Quality will be remembered long after the price is forgotten."
"The pain of equipment failure lasts longer than the thrill of a bargain."
(from The Book of Tackle Acquisition, chapter 6, Universal Laws).

Courty
Like yourself, i started three years ago and have found books invaluable. First i got was from a charity shop - The Complete Flyfisher by Tony Whieldon which i found really useful. Since then i've collected quite a few books and am currently dipping into River Trout Flyfishing by Peter Lapsley, ready for my foray into river fishing....
I've also found Pat O'Reillys "Matching The hatch" excellent and a fly pattern recognition book really helpful (tho i've a lot to learn!)
Also, the Orvis website, i found, contains a great section covering all the questions generally asked.
Meanwhile, just off to ebay to look for the book you mentioned
By the way - where do you fish?
grey

I love this book. I particularly like Lapsley's style of writing. Must go and re-read it now! Thanks for the reminder.

Neil

Seconded!! Its my favourite fishing book bar none and tend to go back to it just to re read the odd chapter every week or two.

As well as the obvious fishing tips, I love his style of writing. Very humorous and makes you fell like you're on the journey with him, personally I found it reassuring and helped me realise you don't become a good angler overnight.

Chris

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Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it

Thanks for the recommendations, I shall look out for Lapsley's book. I sometimes fish on The Upper Don, but haven't for a while, I concentrated on my local reservoir (Scout Dike) instead.
Now that my basic skills are much better, I'll try the river again. I think I was a bit too clumsy the first time round, but that first small wild brown trout is the most satisfying fish I've ever caught.

__________________
"Quality will be remembered long after the price is forgotten."
"The pain of equipment failure lasts longer than the thrill of a bargain."
(from The Book of Tackle Acquisition, chapter 6, Universal Laws).

Some of these old books are timeless classics, that you still dip into from time to time.

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www.paypalsucks.com

having read most over the years he does give a good account, but there is a difference between a writer and fisher, he was both many were not. i gave all my books to a young fisher i have been helping to become a proficient and understanding trout fisher, now just 16 he has left school and employed with a large fishing complex soon to take exams for teaching. you can learn much from books as seems you are too making flyfishing more to enjoy.

As mentioned in another thread. If you haven't read this then you're missing something.

THE TROUT AND THE FLY-A NEW APPROACH-CLARKE/GODDARD | eBay UK

Clarke's book is very good - humorous, reasoned and very well written. Mind you he was a journalist for the Guardian at the time he wrote it and later became director of Communications for a large corporation so he should be at ease with the English language!

I bought the two classic books recommended by Clarke - Lake Flies and their Imitation: C F Walker, Trout Flies of Still Water: John Goddard. Of the two I find Goddard's book a fascinating read.

Brian's book was a revelation when it first came out. It took Tom Ivens' "Still Water Fly Fishing", published in 1952 to the next level.

Ivens first introduced us to the idea of general imitative patterns, nymph fishing for reservoir trout and the need for specialised stillwater rods, lines and leaders.

Brian was the first to apply more scientific principles in identifying what the trout were most likely to be feeding on, how to imitate it and how to fish it. He was also the first to write about the use of an indicator in still water nymphing - albeit a bushy sedge pattern. Nevertheless, the intent to give himself that vital extra half second in order to hook a taking fish was there, and he saw no shame in it.

Others soon followed the path trodden by these two. Arthur Cove - probably one of the finest anglers in the Midlands; Richard Walker who was perhaps the best all-round angler of his day and whose words are still worth reading; Geoffrey Bucknall in Kent, and David Collyer's book "Fly Dressing" of which I have a signed copy was a real inspiration to a fly tying angler in the 1970's.

In many ways the 1970's was a "golden age" of stillwater fly fishing. It saw a great upsurge in interest in that aspect of the sport as many small waters opened their doors and reservoirs like Grafham and Chew began to get their act together to offer quality sport to anglers. Then, of course, more waters opened. Rutland in 1977 where I was fortunate enough to get the first three days; Bewl and Farmoor in 1978. They were, indeed, great days, and anything written about the sport in the magazines then was avidly pored over. No internet in those days, which was a good thing or a bad thing according to your point of view.

Still water fly fishing was a tough learning experience for us then. Waters were not stocked to the same extent as now, and tackle, while good, was not as refined as now. Blank days were not the exception, while a limit was something you dreamed about, and if you achieved it you re-lived it for many a day. I am glad I experienced it. Today's fly fishers have missed a great adventure.