A Classic on Fly Fishing
Posted by Literary Titan

First Steps to Fly Fishing is the definitive book on fly-fishing and provides invaluable, and actionable, advice readers can use to the fishing technique or begin their fishing journey. Why was this an important book for you to refresh for modern readers?
There were a couple of reasons. First, the original book was considered one of the “go-to” books on fly fishing in its day. Its patient, step-by-step approach to one’s first foray into this sport/art is worth preserving in a world where many times people automatically believe that text from a hundred years ago must ipso facto be bad, inaccurate, outdated, or just plain wrong. Not the case here. The basics of fly fishing 100 years ago have, to a high degree of correlation, synergy with those of today (i.e., e.g. to catch fish you need to know how to read the fish, the water, the weather, the flora, and the fauna. How to present the fly, and so on.) So a proven voice from yesterday, matched with updated tech information from today to me represents value for today’s reader/fisherman.
What were some goals you set for yourself as the editor in updating this book?
To preserve a classic on fly fishing for today’s audiences while at the same time updating the work to reflect contemporary technologies and definitions in particular. To preserve as much as practical, Michael’s ‘voice’ — so as much as I could I left his words and phrasing alone unless my copy editor and I were concerned it might cause confusion for a contemporary reader.
What was something that was new to you and that you learned from this book while working on it?
I wasn’t aware just how pervasive the use of horsehair and silk was in fishing back in the day. On the other hand, bamboo rods were quite the thing back then and these days they are back-in-style — back to the future, as it were.
What were some parts of the book that were included specifically for the modern audience, and what were parts that needed no revisions?
There is quite a bit of new material in this book. Just a quick list of the new parts would include:
- The History of Fly Fishing
- The images of the flies
- The introduction by noted Fly Fishing expert Joshua Bergan
- The period-specific advertisement images
- The basic fly fishing knots and loops illustration
- All of the content on the contemporary fly collection list
- The Glossary of Fly Fishing
Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads | Website
In 1924, Michael Temple wrote what for decades was the ‘bible’ on learning how to fly fish: “First Steps in Fly Fishing.” Now Cresting Wave Publishing has updated this classic for the 2020s! With an introduction by noted fly fishing expert and author Joshua Bergan, and additional material from Editor Kris Neely, “First Steps in Fly Fishing” is now the definitive book for your budding fly fisher.
About Literary Titan
The Literary Titan is an organization of professional editors, writers, and professors that have a passion for the written word. We review fiction and non-fiction books in many different genres, as well as conduct author interviews, and recognize talented authors with our Literary Book Award. We are privileged to work with so many creative authors around the globe.Posted on February 17, 2021, in Interviews and tagged author, author interview, book, book recommendations, book review, book reviews, book shelf, bookblogger, books, books to read, ebook, education, First Steps to Fly Fishing, First Steps to Fly Fishing: The 1924 Classic Updated for Today, fishing, fly fishing, goodreads, kindle, kobo, Kris Neely, literature, Michael Temple, nonfiction, nook, novel, outdoor, read, reader, reading, sport fishing, story, travel, writer, writing. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
Comment Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Leave a comment
Comments 0