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3. The Necessities

I've been fly fishing since I was 12 in the saltwater. Just recently I've gotten into the whole trout thing because of a change in my location and I never intend on looking back. I have Caddisflies by LaFontaine and Hatches II by Caucci and Nastasi but I need MORE. I consider myself a pretty good fly tier and am currently most interested in angling entomology books as opposed to fly tying books, although any books that combine the two are fine by me.

So... What are the suggestions? Which books are the angling entomologists bare necessities?

The two that you have top my list. Two other classics are:

Mayflies, the Angler, and the Trout by Fred Arbona, Jr.

Selective Trout by Swisher and Richards

That covers what I consider to be the best books which concentrate mostly on entomology. There are many other good ones, like Ernest Schwiebert's Nymphs, of which a new edition is due out this year. I'm really looking forward to that.

If you include books which focus more on fishing or tying than on the bugs, the list gets a lot longer.

Click on the Forum's discussion board entitled "General Discussion of Fly Fishing, Trout and Salmon, and Stream Insects" and look for the April 25 thread entitled "Entomology Books." In this thread you'll find Taxon's helpful and thorough online review of entomology books. I like Ames' Hatch Guide to New England Streams, in addition to the ones already named.

Jason,

If you've got a few minutes, I wouldn't mind hearing that list anyway. I intend on picking up Gonzo's book the first chance I get. I have Selective Trout as well, I just wasn't as impressed by it as I was with Hatches II.

- Mike

I'm glad you're already getting Gonzo's book. It's worth it.

The other recent tying book I consider really indispensable is Kelly Galloup's "Cripples and Spinners." The "Galloup's Cripple" style is quickly becoming my favorite all-around fly, and the "Ellis Triple Wing" is another favorite spinner imitation.

Another good angling entomology book I forgot to mention because I haven't read the whole thing is Aquatic Entomology by W.P. McCafferty, a leading mayfly entomologist. It has better coverage of the insect orders outside the "big three" than any other book I've seen for anglers, at the expense of relatively little detail about individual mayfly or caddisfly species. I don't own a copy, but I really should. I have it in front of me right now, checked out from the library, and it seems excellent.

I really have to go get some work done right now, but you can see the list of books and papers I (mostly) own here: http://www.troutnut.com/fly-fishing-books