The Orvis Guide to Prospecting for Trout: How to Catch Fish When There's No Hatch to Match, Revised Edition

I would never consider myself and expert fly-fisherman by any means, but I try to get out 1 or 2 times a week from March until November here in Montana. Overall this book is a great general read, but it really helped me freshen up on my fishing game, to the point that I consistently catch fish every time I go out. I self taught myself how to fly fish ten years ago, and since then there has always been gaps in how I went about fishing. I went from having the "it's all about the luck" outlook on fly fishing, to knowing if I put the work in I will catch fish every time. The biggest help I took out of it was really learning how to read the water when I'm in my drift boat, and helping my friends/family get in a position where they really have to mess up not to pull a trout out of a hole. If you're like me, somewhere in the middle between learning how to even cast a fly rod and checking under rocks to see what insects are showing up that time of the year, get this book you won't regret it.

An excellent, up to date book on trout fishing in streams. Key take away is that trout feed on what they want to eat and not necessarily the dry fly you want them to take. Nymphing is a skill that is often more productive than waiting for a hatch so you can offer your finely tied dry flies. While we all want the fish to take our dry fly offerings, odds are they may ignore the dry for a nymph. The author goes to great length to explain the why and how to use alternate tactics when there is no hatch and the trout are not taking your dries.

Let me first start by saying that I am a self-taught fly fisherman and without this book I wouldn't know half of what I know. The book starts with a section about how trout feed including how they move in the water column and why they find specific areas of the stream attractive. Next, the book talks about the different kinds of streams (freestone versus spring creeks), their characteristics, and why it is important not to try to fish the two different types in the same way. In this section Rosenbauer also talks about fish distribution in the different type of streams and where you may find them. The last several chapters of the book are dedicated to the different types of flies: streamers, nymphs and wet flies, and dry flies. Each type of fly has it's own chapter and the author covers what type of flies have worked best for him, why, their characteristics, and then several methods of fishing the broad category of fly. Each chapter on the flies is incredibly thorough and I really enjoyed hearing about the authors experience with a few flies of each type and how they have worked for him. Finally, the last chapter of the book is dedicated to approaching trout and how to avoid spooking them in those tough slow pools.Overall, the book includes excellent information grounded in science. It isn't heresy with a bunch of stuff just thrown together into a book. The author does like to tell his anecdotal stories, but if you're a fly fisherman get used to hearing them because everyone has their fishing stories. This is probably one of the best fly fishing books that I have read and as I said, I am self-taught and without this book I wouldn't know nearly as much as the little bit that I do know.

Unlike other books that claim to the the "Ultimate" book on fly fishing, this one focuses on trout, focuses on trout habitat, focuses a bit on entomology, focuses a bit on casting techniques, focuses a bit on time of day - it's fewer than 200 pages long, but it is jam-packed with information. This not a field guide and it's not full of minutia. It's all practical stuff. It's the kind of book you'll pull out again and again as you try to use your mighty human brain to capture an animal with a brain the size of a pea. Just kidding.This is almost a recipe book for trout fishing. And if you have only one trout fishing book, this should be it. This is a case when tmi is a GOOD thing! Seriously.

The best trout fishing guide I have ever read. Been trout fishing for 28 years and have learned more from this book than I ever did flailing the waters in Washington Idaho and Montana.

A great perspective on how to approach waters where it's not obvious what the fish are eating. I've read other Tom Rosenbauer stuff and he is the real deal. In this book he describes techniques he and others use to develop a plan of attack when the fish are not giving great clues. Really an interesting read.

This is the book for the library of anyone who hunts trout. Well written, concise and extremely readable. I keep it on the table by my favorite chair and refer to it daily (when I am at our lake cabin) I really should have gotten a 2nd copy but I will pack this copy when we head back to Idaho this Spring, I don't want think "what was that I read?" while I'm in Idaho and the book is in Texas.

A really good book on learning to read waters. If you're cheap like me, you won't hire a guide. Rosenbauer and some time on the water will give you the education you need to find those fish you want to catch.

Nice soft cover book.

Ce livre est très bien écrit et ce lis aisément. Tom mélange les anecdotes de pêche et les descriptions techniques de façon à rendre la lecture très agréable et jamais lourde. Selon moi Tom est le meilleur communicateur en technique de pêche à la mouche.

Todavía no puedo dar una opinión certera sobre el libro, pero el autor es un gran pescador y espero que no me defraude.Esta en Ingles claro, pero es muy intuitivo.

Great read. Lots of information.

Like the other books written by Tom Rosenbauer, this one delivers all the goods. A great book for the novice fly fisherman as well as the seasoned veteran. A great reference guide when you need it.