Book Review: The L.L. Bean Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing

Of all the books I've read on how to go about this sport, L.L. Bean's The Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing helped me the most in terms of getting me started on the right foot.  Written by three legends, Macauley Lord, Dick Talleur, and Dave Whitlock, it is perfect for the aspiring fly fisherman.

The book is divided into three sections, the first being an introduction to the sport written by Dave Whitlock.  He discusses everything from equipment and tackle, to entomology and even on-stream etiquette.  Without going too in depth on any one subject, he gives an excellent overview on what you're in for if you decide to give this sport a go. Let's face it.  As a beginner, there is so much to learn about fly fishing that you can easily get overwhelmed.  Dave does a great job of presenting the basics and giving you the foundation you'll need to start asking the right questions going forward.

The third section of the book discusses fly tying by master tier Dick Talleur.  To be completely honest, this section went way over my head on my first read-through.  Having caught a grand total of 1 trout on a dry fly in my illustrious young career, I was in no way prepared to make use of this section other than to get a basic idea of how flies are tied and to get some practice identifying some of the more common flies out there.  As I become more interested in tying my own flies (I'm thinking next off-season), I'm sure I will come back to this section with a much better appreciation for what's being offered here.  While I agree that to become a better and more complete angler, I must learn to tie my own flies, as a complete novice, this section didn't help a whole lot right off the bat.

This brings me to the section of the book that makes the whole thing so worthwhile in my opinion.  In Part 2, Macauley Lord does an amazing job of teaching you how to teach yourself how to cast.  If you read this chapter and go through the exercises (yes, even the pantomimes in front of a mirror!), you will learn how to cast.  I'm not saying you'll be perfect and that you shouldn't get yourself to a casting instructor at some point early in the learning process (more on that later), but you will learn enough to get out on the water and catching fish.  I can't recommend this section enough to the beginning fly fisherman.  The first time I got myself in front of a real casting instructor I was told I had "natural loops."  I didn't tell him that there was nothing natural about it.  I found a great resource, used it to the best of my ability, and spent a lot of time practicing in the yard.