American Trout Streams

The Penobscot, Penns Creek, the Little River, Guadalupe, Firehole, Copper River--these streams and ninety-four others like them provide the best trout fishing in America say members of Trout Unlimited (TU). With a dozen or more streams in each of eight regions, one of America’s one hundred best trout streams flows within a few hours’ drive of most of the nation’s anglers. These are the rivers that anglers dream of visiting. Describing species, hatches, the flies and lures, and when to fish, each profile contains information and maps that boosts angler success. Profiles present, as well, the environmental challenges facing each stream and the role that TU and others play in protecting the fishery. Extensive interviews with anglers for whom each stream is “home water,” add depth to personal observations formed when award-winning writer and angler, John Ross, fished many of these streams himself. Many who buy the book set out to fish all the streams. For others, the guide is an essential ingredient in the planning of fishing and family vacations. It’s a book that’s as at home next to a fly tyer’s bench as it is tucked in the console between the seats of a pickup truck. A portion of the sale of each book goes to Trout Unlimited to help protect and sustain coldwater fisheries.

A guide to fishing the hatches of North American trout streams.

Learn to read and understand western water and what to expect in each season on different types of streams. How to select the best, most effective patterns for western trout. Includes a western hatch chart.

A book “that has very little to do with trout fishing and a lot to do with the lamenting of a passing pastoral America . . . an instant cult classic” (Financial Times). Richard Brautigan was a literary idol of the 1960s and ’70s who came of age during the heyday of Haight-Ashbury and whose comic genius and iconoclastic vision of American life caught the imaginations of young people everywhere. Called “the last of the Beats,” his early books became required reading for the hip generation, and on its publication Trout Fishing in America became an international bestseller. An indescribable romp, the novel is best summed up in one word: mayonnaise. This new edition features an introduction by poet Billy Collins, who first encountered Brautigan’s work as a student in California. From the introduction: “‘Trout Fishing in America’ is a catchphrase that morphs throughout the book into a variety of conceptual and dramatic shapes. At one point it has a physical body that bears such a resemblance to that of Lord Byron that it is brought by ship from Missolonghi to England, in 1824, where it is autopsied. ‘Trout Fishing in America’ is also a slogan that sixth-graders enjoy writing on the backs of first-graders. . . . In one notable exhibition of the title’s variability, ‘Trout Fishing in America’ turns into a gourmet with a taste for walnut catsup and has Maria Callas for a girlfriend. Through such ironic play, Brautigan destabilizes any conventional idea of a book as he begins to create a world where things seem unwilling to stay in their customary places.”

Host Tim Linehan explores trout fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park, South Platte River, Bear Valley Creek, and the Teton River.

One of America's top experts shares decades of experience to cover trout fishing history, stream ecology, various trout behavior, and fly tying tips to aid any level of fly fishers.

In this completely updated and expanded second edition, veteran anglers Jim Humphrey and Bill Shogren have added information on dozens of new streams. The authors describe their native trout waters with an evocative sense of place and anecdotes that convey not only the details but also the experience an angler can expect.

This beautiful and definitive guide brings together the world's lead leading expert on North American trout and salmon, Robert Behnke, and the foremost illustrator in the field, Joseph Tomelleri. North America is graced with the greatest diversity of trout and salmon on earth. From tiny brook trout in mountain streams of the Northeast, to cutthroat trout in the rivers of the Rockies, to Chinook salmon of the Pacific, the continent is home to more than 70 types of trout and salmon. How this came to be, how they are related, and what makes them unique -- and so breathtaking -- is the story of Trout and Salmon of North America. The more than 100 illustrations of trout and salmon by Joseph Tomelleri showcased here exhibit a genius for detail, coloration, and proportion. Each portrait is made from field notes, streamside observations, photographs, and specimens collected by the artist. The result is a set of the most accurate and stunning illustrations of fish ever created. Robert Behnke has distilled 50 years of his research and writing about trout and salmon in completing this book. No one understands better than Behnke the diversity and conservation issues concerning these fishes or communicates so lucidly the biological wonders and complexities of their particular beauty. Also included are more than 40 richly detailed maps that clearly show the ranges of populations of trout and salmon throughout North America. An irresistible delight for anyone who appreciates natural history, Trout and Salmon of North America is a master guide to the natural elegance of our native fishes.