Top five
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Top five
#1So it was a stormy, threatening crappy type day here in the Catskills, thus we did our "annual spring cleaning" of the family room where our woodstove resides... we cleaned the walls, cleaned the bookshelves, and shampooed the rug... while cleaning the bookshelf, I got thinking about the "top five" authors of angling literature, not that "how to" stuff that just keeps repeating itself.... and I pose this question to board members, who does your top five list consist of?
Personally in thinking about this, I think longevity, like election to baseball's Hall of Fame comes into play... I didn't include any one-book wonders in my list, though I have several favorites who didn't produce a lot of piscatorial literature..,
My top five consists of: Roderick Haig-Brown, Nick Lyons, and Harry Middleton.... though he's written many favorites of mine, but IMO not quite at the same level as the three mentioned yet is John Gierach... I feel the passage of time will change this opinion of mine...
I also think one's author selection might have something to do with the individual's age, how long one's been fishing, and where fishing...
As a longtime Catskill flyfisher I would be remiss if I did not mention Sparse Grey Hackle's Fishless Days, Angling Nights--- though not many books, Ernest Schwiebert's Remembrances of Rivers Past--- my hero, though far from all angling literature, and Robert Traver's Trout Madness--- though limited angling works and not Catskill...
For great short stories I'd have to include: Ernest Hemingway's "Big Two-Hearted River" and Paul O'Neil's "In Praise of Trout--- and also me".
So, I'm curious what others think, as I'm always searching for a good read, valuing opinions of this board's members...
Thanks,
Ed
Personally in thinking about this, I think longevity, like election to baseball's Hall of Fame comes into play... I didn't include any one-book wonders in my list, though I have several favorites who didn't produce a lot of piscatorial literature..,
My top five consists of: Roderick Haig-Brown, Nick Lyons, and Harry Middleton.... though he's written many favorites of mine, but IMO not quite at the same level as the three mentioned yet is John Gierach... I feel the passage of time will change this opinion of mine...
I also think one's author selection might have something to do with the individual's age, how long one's been fishing, and where fishing...
As a longtime Catskill flyfisher I would be remiss if I did not mention Sparse Grey Hackle's Fishless Days, Angling Nights--- though not many books, Ernest Schwiebert's Remembrances of Rivers Past--- my hero, though far from all angling literature, and Robert Traver's Trout Madness--- though limited angling works and not Catskill...
For great short stories I'd have to include: Ernest Hemingway's "Big Two-Hearted River" and Paul O'Neil's "In Praise of Trout--- and also me".
So, I'm curious what others think, as I'm always searching for a good read, valuing opinions of this board's members...
Thanks,
Ed
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Re: Top five
#2In no particular order--Nick Lyons, John Gierach, Ernest Schwiebert, Charles E. Brooks and A.J. McClane.
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Re: Top five
#3Howard Walden, Dana Lamb, McClane, Gordon MacQuarrie, and, as on off the wall favorite, Patrick MacManus. And, since no one asked for more, I have to add Arnold Gingrich, Gierach, and a host of others who have made Covid isolation somewhat livable.
Eric
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Al McClane in his Introduction to The Practical Fly Fisherman . . . often erroneously attributed to Arnold Gingrich
Al McClane in his Introduction to The Practical Fly Fisherman . . . often erroneously attributed to Arnold Gingrich
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Re: Top five
#4Middleton, Travers / Voelker, Leonard Wright Jr, McClane, Gingrich. Followed closely by Schwiebert, Proper, Marinaro, Gierach, and Lyons.
Re: Top five
#5Whetherell, Tapply, Walden, Ford, Lamb. Always Gierach and Sparse.
Outside of Gierach all write about places I fish regularly.
Outside of Gierach all write about places I fish regularly.
Last edited by andre49 on 08/31/22 22:52, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Top five
#6Well, I recently purchased a limited edition of "The Gordon Garland" with the leather binding and slipcase. Not that hard to find fairly reasonably these days, the interesting thing is that this copy belonged to R. Palmer Baker. It is signed or inscribed to RPB by a dozen of those featured, including Lamb, Schwiebert, Sparse Grey Hackle, Marinaro and Gingrich - even John Groth signed his endpaper art. It's one volume that covers many of my "top 5" authors - also Haig-Brown, McClane and RPBaker himself are there - and never fails to revive me.
So for 5, I' d take Traver along with a few from "the Garland", and maybe add a latter day writer - that would be either Nick Lyons or Thomas McGuane, depending upon one's taste and mood, or maybe Middleton.
I find the concept of only 5 very limiting, almost impossible to keep to!
So for 5, I' d take Traver along with a few from "the Garland", and maybe add a latter day writer - that would be either Nick Lyons or Thomas McGuane, depending upon one's taste and mood, or maybe Middleton.
I find the concept of only 5 very limiting, almost impossible to keep to!
Re: Top five
#7Ernest Schwiebert, Dana S, Lamb, Nick Lyons, Sparse Gray Hackle and Gene Hill: though he wrote much more about shooting than angling, he is still Gene Hill.
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Re: Top five
#12Totally agree on Ernie's skill with the language and his phenomenal research talents. I think I've read and reread and enjoyed just about everything he's done. Notwithstanding all of that, I still occasionally wonder if he ever caught a trout less than three pounds.
Eric . . . just being a PITA.
A mountain is a fact -- a trout is a moment of beauty known only to men who seek them
Al McClane in his Introduction to The Practical Fly Fisherman . . . often erroneously attributed to Arnold Gingrich
Al McClane in his Introduction to The Practical Fly Fisherman . . . often erroneously attributed to Arnold Gingrich
Re: Top five
#14In no particular order....
Roderick Haig Brown
Dana Lamb
Harry Plunkett Greene
John Gierach
John Ashley Cooper
Roderick Haig Brown
Dana Lamb
Harry Plunkett Greene
John Gierach
John Ashley Cooper
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Re: Top five
#17Odell Shepard “Thy Rod and Thy Creel” Norman Maclean “A River Runs Through It”,W.D. Wetherell”Vermont River”,Ted Leeson “The Habit of Rivers”,Harry Middleton “The Earth Is Enough”. Of course Lyons, Hilyard, Traver, Gierach, McGuane, Schwiebert, Proper, are all candidates also.
Re: Top five
#18Marinaro, Bergman, Carmichael Jr, Charlie Craven, Stephen Sautner.
Love Raymond Carver's fishing related stories, too.
Love Raymond Carver's fishing related stories, too.
Re: Top five
#19Reads like more than five, but some some excellent authors and great reads mentioned in throughout thread...reelytrout wrote: ↑06/29/20 11:13Odell Shepard “Thy Rod and Thy Creel” Norman Maclean “A River Runs Through It”,W.D. Wetherell”Vermont River”,Ted Leeson “The Habit of Rivers”,Harry Middleton “The Earth Is Enough”. Of course Lyons, Hilyard, Traver, Gierach, McGuane, Schwiebert, Proper, are all candidates also.
How could anyone not like Ernie Schwiebert... plus if you're of a Catskill bent, American Trout Fishing and The Complete Fly Fisherman, the Notes and Letters of Theodore Gordon should be included in "the single category" entry....
Schwiebert was my hero, and over time I acquired almost all his books, though his second two-volume version of Nymphs could put one to sleep reading all the nuisances if not careful, IMHO...
Ed
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Re: Top five
#20In no particular order:
Ernest Schweibert.
Roderick Haig Brown.
John Voelker/Traver
Nick Lyons
Vince Marinaro, and as you go through the stacks you may find Charlie Fox, well worth a read.
Ernest Schweibert.
Roderick Haig Brown.
John Voelker/Traver
Nick Lyons
Vince Marinaro, and as you go through the stacks you may find Charlie Fox, well worth a read.