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FLY FISHING TREASURES

The World of Fly Fishers and Collecting

by Steve Woit

Praise for “Fly Fishing Treasures”:

“A sumptuous book, seven years in the making. ..30 interviews, often in the homes–the inner sanctums–of the most knowledgeable, discerning and obsessive hoarders of old rods, reels, books, flies and angling ephemera in the U.K. and USA…”
“Paper quality is excellent. The 800 photographs are exceptional. It is a hefty, lavish, coffee-table book; one that is perhaps itself collectable.”
 – Trout and Salmon Magazine
“It is a coffee table book of the first rank. Each chapter is short and succinct enough to read in a single sitting. There are hundreds of museum-quality photos, many of them original to this book, and most of the others have rarely been seen by the angling public.
Fly Fisherman Magazine
“Woit’s writing is that of a storyteller’s. He allows the voices of those he met to rise from the pages like a river mist at dawn, swirling and drawing us in.”
– The Atlantic Salmon Journal
“…a work of scholarly passion…This classic should be hooked and netted at your first opportunity.”
The Field
“The layout is striking…The book’s approach is fresh and much of the information is new…It will surely be quoted by authors and angling historians well into the future.”
Classic Angling
“Best Visual Production Award”
2020 Classic Angling Book of the Year Awards
– Selection 2020 Forbes Holiday Fly Fishing Gift List

Fly Fishing Treasures is a colorful review of the world of fly fishers and collecting, including 30 interviews with leading collectors, experts, museum and club curators, tackle manufacturers, auctioneers and traders and dealers of antique, vintage and collectible fly fishing tackle.

In its 348 pages, Fly Fishing Treasures includes over 800 color photographs, the largest collection of images of antique and collectible fly rods, fly reels, flies, ephemera and accessories currently in print.

Fly Fishing Treasures is available in both a Standard and Author’s Limited Edition. The Author’s Limited Edition includes a deluxe cover and slipcase (not shown above) and is limited to 150 signed and numbered copies.

U.K. buyers: orders can be placed at Angle Books.
Other International buyers: Please contact us to place your order.

More praise for Fly Fishing Treasures…

Red bass fly - Steve Woit - fly fishing collection book
Golden Kosmic Rod and Flies
“…the work of lifetimes is presented in lively prose and genial interviews that perfectly accomplish Woit’s objective of sharing this fascinating community with the reader. The photographic illustration throughout of tackle, books and artwork–from charming memorabilia to museum-quality pieces–make a stunning visual case for the beauty of what an anthropologist would call the material culture of angling. The pages of antique reels, gleaming and tarnished, and ranks of buttery bamboo rods, as well as flies and books and incidental tackle..will give you hours of enjoyment.”
Gray’s Sporting Journal
“In his new book, Fly Fishing Treasures, author Steve Woit has curated a 348-page flyfishing museum packed with some of the most amazing and rarest flyfishing gear ever made.”
Field and Stream
“A grand tribute to the sport, its people and its heritage.”
The American Fly Fisher Journal
“Steve Woit unearths the holy grails and introduces us to the eccentric experts who’ve been busy cataloging and curating a gorgeous, meticulously crafted past. Antique and collectible rods, reels, and flies come together across 348 pages of interviews and bright images. And if you can spare a couple of inches, this evocative book deserves a coveted spot with the rest of your stuff.”
The Drake Magazine
Fly Fishing Treasures is a beautiful addition to our angling heritage. Steve Woit has unearthed stunning examples of fly fishing craft, along with entertaining and informative stories of the history of these rare objects.”
– James Prosek, Artist and Author
“A sumptuous and moveable feast for the eyes and the soul, Steve Woit’s Fly Fishing Treasures is proof that the performance of modern tackle may have evolved, but our appreciation for the art of fly fishing has not kept pace with the more refined approach of our Victorian and Edwardian cousins. Fly Fishing Treasures is an elegant compendium of where we have been and where we might go with our favorite pastime.”
– Topher Browne, Author of Atlantic Salmon Magic
“Perfect companion to the world of flyfishing…”
–  Scottish Field
“We all owe Steve Woit a debt of gratitude for his book Fly Fishing Treasures. Ostensibly an overview of classic fly tackle and fly fishing figures and institutions, in reality it is a love letter to fly angling’s past, present, and future. The book covers everyone from famed reel collector Jim Schottenham and rod maker Jeff Hatton to auctioneer Neil Freeman and tackle dealer Roger Still. With a stunning layout and world class photography, the author has crafted a work that is destined itself to become a classic.”
–  Dr. Todd E.A. Larson, Publisher, The Whitefish Press
“This is a collection not soon forgotten.”
–  Anglers Journal
“The book is a treasure in itself.”
–  The FlyFish Journal

Featured in Fly Fishing Treasures:

PRIVATE COLLECTORS & EXPERTS

Hoagy Carmichael

The Impresario: Leading antique tackle expert and bamboo fly rod maker, author of A Master’s Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod and The Grand Cascapedia River, a History

Jerry Girard

Angling Historian, Dean and Archivist of Early American Fly Fishing Tackle: Noted collector, researcher and author of early American bamboo fly rods, and ephemera

Keith Elliott

Editor-in-Chief of Classic Angling: Editor of Classic Angling, the leading journal devoted to antique tackle history and collecting

Moirajeanne FitzGerald

Preserving the Heritage of Women Flyfishers: Collector of art and ephemera related to women fly fishing. Including profile of fly tier Megan Boyd and record salmon fly fisher Miss G.W. Ballantine

Dean Smith

Expert in Vest-Pocket Angling Collectibles: Leading collector of antique fly fishing tools and accessories

 

FLY TREASURES

Paul Schmookler

Grand Master of the Fly: Authority on antique salmon flies, salmon fly tying, fly tying materials and creative fly tying

John Shaner

Master of the Soft Hackle Fly and Hardy’s Man in America: Collector of antique soft hackle flies and materials, and Hardy accessories, sales executive with Pure Fishing/Hardy Company in the U.S.

 

BOOK TREASURES

Charles B. Wood III

Collector of Antique Salmon Fishing Books and Author of Bibliotheca Salmo Salar

Ray Clemens

Curator of Ancient Books and Manuscripts, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscripts Library, Yale University and curator for the Haslinger Breviary, the oldest fly fishing pattern book in the world

REEL TREASURES

Jim Brown

The Reel Historian: Leading authority on the history of the American fly reel, leading collector of American fly reels

John Drewett

The Hardy Master: Leading expert on Hardy reels and the history of the Hardy Company, author of Hardy Brothers: The Master, The Men and Their Reels

Raymond Humble

Master Reel Maker, Hardy (retired)

Jim Schottenham

Side-Mount Fly Reel and Antique Fishing Tintype Photograph Collector: Appraiser/Manager, Lang’s Auction, Past President, Old Reel Collectors Association (ORCA)

 

ROD TREASURES

A.J. Campbell

(1942-2018) Author and expert on antique American fly rods and fly tackle

Short History of the Innovative American Bamboo Fly Rod

Jeff Hatton

Gnomish Rod Works and the Gnome’s Traveling Rod Show: Rod maker and fly rod historian and founder of the Gnome’s Traveling Rod Show

Per Brandin

Master Fly Rod Maker

 

TREASURES IN CLUBS & MUSEUMS

Sarah Foster, Executive Director and Yoshi Akiyama, Deputy Director of the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont: The world’s leading fly fishing museum

John Knott

Curator, Flyfishers’ Club and David Beazley: Librarian, Flyfishers’ Club in London: Profile of the Flyfishers’ Club in London and the club’s collections

Bill Pierce

Executive Director, Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum in Rangeley, Maine

TREASURED TACKLE HOUSES

Grant Ottingnon-Harris

Managing Director, Hardy and Greys, Pure Fishing: Managing Director of Hardy’s, the leading fly fishing tackle company in the world

Tom Rosenbauer

Marketing Manager, Orvis Rod and Tackle, The Orvis Company: fly fishing author and marketing manager for Orvis Rod and Tackle for the Orvis Company in Manchester, Vermont

Short Early History of Farlows

Vladimir Rybalchenko

Proprietor, Farlows: Owner of Farlows, a storied leading fly fishing tackle company in the U.K.

 

TREASURES AT AUCTION

John Ganung

Owner of Lang’s Auction, Inc.: The world’s leading fishing tackle auction company

Neil Freeman

Proprietor, Angling Auctions:  The leading antique fly tackle auction house

 

DEALERS AND TRADERS

Roger Still

The Master Trader: Leading antique tackle dealer in the U.K.

Gary and Laura Siemer

Owners, Vintage Fly Tackle: Antique fly tackle dealer, owners of Vintage Fly Tackle in Boulder, Colorado

Jim Adams

A Western Angler with a Long View: Owner, Adams Angling: Antique Tackle and Book Dealer in Berkeley, California

 

MEET THE AUTHOR

Steve Woit

Author of Fly Fishing Treasures