The American Angler's BookEmbracing the Natural History of Sporting Fish and the Art of Taking Them with Instructions in Fly-Fishing, Fly-Making, and Rod-Making and Directions for Fish-Breeding, to which is appended Dies Piscatoriae Describing Noted Fishing-Places, and The Pleasure of Solitary Fly-Fishing is an early American angling book by Thaddeus Norris (1811-1877) first published in 1864. Norris was known as Uncle Thad and commonly referred to in American angling history as "The American Walton".[1]
Portrait of Thaddeus Norris from Fred Mather's My Angling Friends (1901)
The American Angler's Book provides encyclopedic coverage of all aspects of fishing as practiced in North America in the mid-1800s. It covers tackle, techniques, target species and the best fishing locations. It has been credited with being the first significant American work to cover aspects of fly fishing.[2]
Reviews
Shortly after its publication, the New York Times praised the work as encyclopedic and well illustrated on the subject of angling.
Mr. NORRIS is a true disciple of WALTON (Izaak Walton), and besides the technical and scientific information so liberally supplied, the book bears evidence of refined feeling and cultivated taste. It is an edition to the angler's Library, of which every American "Piscator" may feel proud.
His American Angler's Book was the first good American book on angling. It treated of native fishes and fishing while books up to that time were rehashes of British publications.
In a survey of the Reed Draper Angling Collection at Central Michigan University these comments were made on Norris's work in The American Angler's Book:
The importance of Norris's book derives from its comprehensive nature and its American perspective. It also recognizes the need to conserve stocks of fish and emphasizes the qualitative and reflective nature of the sport.[4]
This ambivalence was clearly evident one of the most highly regarded angling tracts of the nineteenth century, The American Angler's Book, written by Thaddeus Norris (1811–1877), affectionately referred to by later generations of anglers as "Uncle Thad" (Goodspeed 1939:219; Gingrich 1974:150). Norris set about defining the gentle American angler by using negation and denial to slip past ambiguities; the lion's share of his introduction was devoted to a homily filled with proscriptions. High on the list of things-to-be-avoided was the slavish imitation of English customs.
—Deep Trout: Angling in Popular Culture, William and Catherine Washabaugh, 2000[5]
Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is insufficient to overcome air resistance, it cannot be launched far using conventional gears and techniques, so specialized tackles are used instead and the casting techniques are significantly different from other forms of angling. It is also very common for the angler to wear waders, carry a hand net, and stand in the water when fishing.
The brown trout is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus Salmo, endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally as a game fish, even becoming one of the world's worst invasive species outside of its native range.
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival and livelihood.
Richard Stuart Walker was an English angler.
An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing. In general, artificial flies are an imitation of aquatic insects that are natural food of the target fish species the fly fishers try to catch. Artificial flies are constructed by fly tying, in which furs, feathers, thread or any of very many other materials are tied onto a fish hook.
Theodore Gordon was an American writer who fished the Catskill region of New York State in the late 19th century through the early 20th century. Though he never published a book, Gordon is often called the "father of the American school of dry fly fishing". He wrote numerous articles for the Fishing Gazette from 1890 and published works in Forest and Stream from 1903, sometimes under the pseudonym Badger Hackle.
This general annotated bibliography page provides an overview of notable and not so notable works in the English language regarding the sport of fly fishing, listed by year of first publication. Although not all the listed books are devoted exclusively to fly fishing, all these titles contain significant fly fishing content. The focus of the present page is on classic general texts on fly fishing and its history, together with notable public or university library collections dedicated to fly fishing.
Ernest George Schwiebert (1931–2005) was born in Chicago on June 5, 1931. An architect by profession, Ernest "Ernie" Schwiebert was a renowned angler and angling author. Schwiebert spent his childhood in the Midwest, attended high school at New Trier, north of Chicago, earned his bachelor's degree in architecture from Ohio State University, and earned two doctorates at Princeton in architecture and the history and philosophy of architecture.
Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream and Kindred Studies is a fly fishing book written by G. E. M. Skues published in London in 1910. Minor Tactics was Skues's first book and set the stage for his ascendancy as the inventor of nymph fishing for trout.
A History of Fly Fishing for Trout is a fly fishing book written by John Waller Hills published in London in 1921.
Floating Flies and How to Dress Them - A Treatise on the Most Modern Methods of Dressing Artificial Flies for Trout and Grayling with Full Illustrated Directions and Containing Ninety Hand-Coloured Engravings of the Most Killing Patterns Together with a Few Hints to Dry-Fly Fishermen is a fly fishing book written by Frederic M. Halford published in London in April 1886 by Sampson Low. A deluxe edition on large paper sold out before publication and the trade edition of 500 nearly so.
The Salmon Fly - How to Dress It and How to Use It is a fly fishing book written by George M. Kelson published in London in 1895 by Messers. Wyman & Sons, Limited. This Victorian guide to fly fish tying built up the illusion that angling for salmon required feathers of exotic bird species.
A Book on Angling – Being a complete treatise on the art of angling in every branch is a work of angling literature with significant fly fishing content written by Francis Francis, angling editor to The Field and published in London in 1867 by Longmans, Green and Company.
This annotated bibliography is intended to list both notable and not so notable works of English language, non-fiction and fiction related to the sport of fly fishing listed by year published. Although 100% of any book listed is not necessarily devoted to fly fishing, all these titles have significant fly fishing content. Included in this bibliography is a list of species related fly fishing literature.
This annotated bibliography is intended to list both notable and not so notable works of English language, non-fiction and fiction related to the sport of fly fishing listed by year published. Although 100% of any book listed is not necessarily devoted to fly fishing, all these titles have significant fly fishing content. Included in this bibliography is a list of fly tying, fly tackle, regional guides, memoirs, stories and fly fishing fiction related literature.
Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice (1889) is British author and angler Frederic M. Halford's second and most influential book on dry fly fishing. It followed Floating Flies and How to Dress Them (1886) and this pair of books initiated some 40 years of a rigid, and sometimes dogmatic school, the Halfordian school, of dry fly fishing, especially on English chalk streams. The work also played a significant role in the development of dry-fly fishing in America.
The Fly-Fisher's Entomology, Illustrated by Coloured Representations of the Natural and Artificial Insect and Accompanied by a Few Observations and Instructions Relative to Trout-and-Grayling Fishing, first published in 1836 by Alfred Ronalds (1802–1860), was the first comprehensive work related to the entomology associated with fly fishing. Although the work was Ronalds' only book, it was published in 11 editions between 1836 and 1913 and has been extensively reprinted in the last 100 years.
Fly Fishing, first published in 1899 by English author and diplomat Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon (1862–1933), is a book about fly fishing English chalk streams and spate rivers for trout and salmon. It includes reminisces about the author's fly fishing experiences on Hampshire rivers. The book was in print for nearly 50 years and has been extensively reprinted in the 21st century.
Lee Wulff, born Henry Leon Wulff, was an artist, pilot, fly fisherman, author, filmmaker, outfitter and conservationist who made significant contributions to recreational fishing, especially fly fishing and the conservation of Atlantic Salmon.
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