Bibliography of Fly Fishing - 19th-century Texts

19th-century Texts

• Taylor, Samuel (1800). Angling in All Its Branches. London: T. M. Longman and O'Kees. http://books.google.com/books/pdf/Angling_in_All_Its_Branches_.pdf?id=UQsAAAAAQAAJ&output=pdf&sig=I8hGSLwuDpcIoiLKf9hpSrgG6N8., Angling in All Its Branches was one of the first works to address Fly fishing for Salmon and tying salmon flies. Taylor was the first fly fishing author to mention the use of a fly tying vice.
• Bainbrige, George Cole (1811). The Fly-fishers Guide. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman. http://books.google.com/books/pdf/Fly_Fisher_s_Guide.pdf?id=r6wCAAAAYAAJ&output=pdf&sig=GTZVH_7fEJpgwP_8IyvtPxGILdI., Bainbridge was one of the first authors to use color plates and The Fly Fisher's Guide contains numerous plates showing fly patterns, materials and tying techniques.
• The North Country Angler; or the Art of Angling as practiced in the Northern Counties of England. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown. 1817. http://books.google.com/books/pdf/The_North_Country_Angler__Or__The_Art_of.pdf?id=2vhJAAAAIAAJ&output=pdf&sig=Cfea-RctI5si_7kNJAjLsi-rqqk.
• Rennie, James (1833). Alphabet of Scientific Angling for use of Beginners. London: William Orr. http://www.archive.org/download/alphabetofanglin00rennrich/alphabetofanglin00rennrich.pdf., Dr.|Andrew Herd credits Rennie with being the first author to describe the complicated methods of producing fly hooks in the 19th century.
• Turton, John (1836). The Angler's Manual; or Fly-fisher's Oracle. London: R. Groombridge. http://www.archive.org/download/anglersmanualorf00turtiala/anglersmanualorf00turtiala.pdf.
• Kirkbride, John (1837). The Northern Angler; or Fly-Fisher's Companion. Carlisle, Scotland: C. Turhham. http://www.archive.org/download/northernangleror00kirkiala/northernangleror00kirkiala.pdf.
• Ronalds, Alfred (1839). The Fly Fisher's Entomology. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans. http://www.archive.org/download/flyfishentomology00ronarich/flyfishentomology00ronarich.pdf., this 231 page, well illustrated treatment of British stream insects of importance to the trout and grayling angler laid the foundation for the detailed works on artificial fly imitation theory that followed for the next 100 years,.
• Wallwork, James (1847). The Modern Angler-Comprising Angling in all Its Branches. Manchester, England: James Cheltenham. http://www.archive.org/details/modernanglercomp00wallrich.
• Hutchinson, Horace. G. (1851). Fly-Fishing in Salt and Freshwater. London: John Van Voorst. http://www.archive.org/download/flyfishinginsalt00hutcrich/flyfishinginsalt00hutcrich.pdf.
• Akerman, John Yonge (1852). Spring Tide; or the Angler and his Friends. London: Richard Bentley. http://www.archive.org/download/friendsangler00akerrich/friendsangler00akerrich.pdf.
• Bowlker, Charles (1854). Bowlker's Art of Angling-Containing Directions for Fly-fishing, Trolling, Making Artificial Flies, etc.. London: Longman, Brown & Co. http://www.archive.org/download/bowlkersartofang00bowlrich/bowlkersartofang00bowlrich.pdf., The Art of Angling was in print for over 100 years in 16 editions from 1747 to 1854

As John Waller Hills says in Fly Fishing for Trout, "Its excellence lies in three features: the directions for fly fishing including one of the early recommendations of upstream fishing, the directions for fly dressing, and the knowledge shewn of the life of the natural fly, which is in advance of anything that had appeared before”

— Sylvester Nemes, 2004.

• Cartwright, William (Clericus) (1854). Rambles and Recollections of a Fly-fisher--Illustrated with an appendix contai'ning ample instrucitions to the novice inclusive of fly-making, and a list of really useful flies. London: Chapman and Hall. http://www.archive.org/download/ramblesrecollect00cartrich/ramblesrecollect00cartrich.pdf.
• Stewart, W. C. (1857). The Practical Angler; or the Art of Trout-Fishing. Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black., Online Version (1st Edition); Online Version (5th Edition, 1867); Online Version (8th Edition, 1883); Online Version (1907 Edition)
• Herbert, Henry William (1859). Frank Forrester's Fish and Fishing of the United States and British Provinces of North America. New York: Geo. E. Woodward. http://www.archive.org/download/forestersfifrank00herbrich/forestersfifrank00herbrich.pdf., Frank Forrester, the pseudonym for English born Henry William Herbet was one of the most popular sporting writers before the Civil War. He popularized Hunting and Fishing with commercially successful sporting books such as this one,.
• Wade, Henry (1860). Rod Fishing in Clear Waters by Fly, Minnow and Worm-With and Short and Easy Method for the Art of Dressing Flies. London: Bell and Daldy. http://www.archive.org/download/rod-fishingincle00waderich/rod-fishingincle00waderich.pdf.
• Norris, Thaddeus (1864). The American Angler's Book: Embracing 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.. Philadelphia: E. H. Butler and Co.. http://www.archive.org/download/americananglersb00norrrich/americananglersb00norrrich.pdf.

Thaddeus Norris, who Arnold Gingrich called the American Walton, is widely regarded as the most important American angling author of the nineteenth century. His American Angler's Book, first published in 1864, lasted far longer that most modern fishing books seem to, and was a monument of practical instruction

— Paul Schullery, The American Fly Fisher, 1980.

• Otter (1864). The Modern Angler-Containing instructions on the Art of Fly-fishing, Spinning and Bottom-fishing. London: Alfred & Son. http://www.archive.org/download/modernanglercont00otteiala/modernanglercont00otteiala.pdf., Otter was a pseudonym for H. J. Alfred of London.
• Roosevelt, Robert Barnwell (1865). Superior Fishing; or The Striped Bass, Trout and Black Bass of the Northern States. New York: Carelton Publishers. http://www.archive.org/download/superiorfishingo00roosrich/superiorfishingo00roosrich.pdf.
• Fitzgibbon, Edward (1865). A Handbook of Angling teaching Fly-fishing, trolling, bottom-fishing and Salmon-fishing. London: Longmans, Green & Co. http://www.archive.org/download/handbookofanglin00fitzrich/handbookofanglin00fitzrich.pdf.
• Burgess, J. T. (1867). Angling: A Practical Guide to Bottom-fishing, Trolling and Fly-fishing. London: Frederick Warne & Co. http://www.archive.org/download/anglingpractical00burgiala/anglingpractical00burgiala.pdf.
• Scott, Genio C. (1869). Fishing in American Waters. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers. http://www.archive.org/download/fishinameric00scotrich/fishinameric00scotrich.pdf.
• Hallock, Charles (1873). The Fishing Tourist. New York: Harper & Brothers. http://www.archive.org/details/fishingtouristan00hallrich.
• Brown, John J. (1876). The American Angler's Guide. New York: D. Appleton & Company. http://www.archive.org/download/anglersguide00browrich/anglersguide00browrich.pdf.
• Roosevelt, Robert Barnwell (1884). Superior Fishing; or The Striped Bass, Trout, Black Bass and Bluefish of the Northern States. New York: Orange Judd. http://www.archive.org/download/cu31924003697889/cu31924003697889.pdf.
• Orvis, Charles F.; Cheney, A. Nelson (1885). Fishing With The Fly. Troy, NY: H. B. Nims & Co. http://www.archive.org/download/fishingwithflysk00orvirich/fishingwithflysk00orvirich.pdf.
• Halford, F. M. (1886). 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.. London: Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington. http://www.archive.org/download/floatingflieshow00halfrich/floatingflieshow00halfrich.pdf., this was Halford's first book, and it launched the opening salvo in the decades long battle pitting fly fishers favoring the floating fly against those endorsing the sunk fly, an argument which today seems as appropriate as the house cook slipping on boxing gloves in preparation to picking out fly droppings from the black pepper. Nine color plates of hand colored flies. One color chart. Text illustrations. Six 19th century American fly patterns laid in. 136 pp. including index.
• Keene, J. Harrington (1887). Fly Fishing and Fly Making for Trout. New York: O. Judd & Co. http://www.archive.org/download/fly-fishingfly-m00keenrich/fly-fishingfly-m00keenrich.pdf.
• Taylor, J. Paul (1898). Fishing and Fishers. London: Ward, Lock and Company, Limited. http://www.archive.org/download/fishingfishers00tayliala/fishingfishers00tayliala.pdf.
• Grey of Fallodon, Viscount (1899). Fly Fishing. London: The Temple Press. http://www.archive.org/download/flyfishing00greyiala/flyfishing00greyiala.pdf., a readable but comprehensive discussion of wet fly, dry fly, sea-trout and salmon fly fishing written in an easy, story-telling style. A angling classic