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"First Steps to Fly Fishing: The 1924 Classic Updated for Today" first appeared in 1924, giving beginners fisherman Michael Temple's advice on how to fly fish with better results. As the decades passed, his book became an industry classic and often was the first technical book consulted by newcomers to the sport.
Its reappearance in an updated edition adds new material by Kris Neely and fly fishing expert Joshua Bergan, who saw the necessity for updating the classic to reflect new equipment and approaches. To their credit, they didn't just update the book. They juxtapose old and new ideas about the sport.
This approach results in a contrast and synthesis of the best of fly fishing techniques past and present, retaining the feel of the authoritative classic while adding important new information that modern 21st-century fly fishermen will need to know.
The publisher and writers' attention to maintaining the integral quality of Michael Temple's original is to be applauded. So often, a redo of a classic involves tearing it apart. This production melds the best of both worlds together imparting a unique strength to both that re-places this classic into the hands of modern audiences.
The introduction which talks about the challenges and focus of this process is particularly nicely done: "There are updated sections on rods, reels, lines, and other equipment, loads of information on specific recommended flies, how to cast, where to fish, when to fish, and more. And don’t discount the value of a fly angler’s glossary, which is included as the final section of this book. Temple thoughtfully omits more advanced concepts, such as fly tying, line mending, and entomology (with brief exceptions in the “Flies” section). Reading First Steps to Fly Fishing is quick, easy, to the point, and won’t leave your head spinning."
There could be no better gift to accompany a new fly fisherman's first gear than this comprehensive, lively, readable book. - D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review