2012 PAFF Eastern PA Fly Tying Jamboree

My first fly fishing book was Charlie Meck's "Meeting and Fishing the Hatches". I bought it when I started flyfishing in the early '80's.
It was my first guide for fishing and tying. And got me to start fishing the little juniata river, along with quite a few other PA streams

 

my first book was titled, a beginners guide to flyfishing, or at least that's what I remember, I have long since passed it on to someone else just starting out. my second book was "trout bum" by john geirach, which was a long time ago, I believe it was just written. since then I've aquired every book geirach has written, great writting.
the curtis creek manifesto is another great read for beginners.
landis's book should be required for anyone who owns a flyrod!

 

Being new to this sport in the past few years, I can attest that many of the books mentioned are proven "winners". The LL Bean book is great for covering all aspects of fly fishing right up through tying flies. The Meck book is also great for reading up on all the different popular trout streams this state has to offer. It's an invaluable resource to hatches, locations, etc.
The 'Hatches II' book I picked up at the local factory outlets for a dirt cheap price. It is a great book on entymology although it can be too in-depth for a beginning fly fisher. It's not the type of book you can sit down and read for an hour or two at a clip.
Lastly, I can't say enough about ordering books through Amazon.com. I've picked up many books for a fraction of the new price through that website and most of them have been 'used'. Don't be fooled by the 'used' description as often times it's nothing more than a minor blemish!

 

I have read/own the L.L. Bean ultimate FFish book and still go back for refrence almost everytime i'm tying flies or days before and after trips.

 

I have a TU book called "Guide to Pennsylvania Limestone Streams" by A. Joseph Armstrong. The author basically fished every limestone stream in PA and wrote his experience at each stream in this book. I'm not sure many places have this book, I found it while looking for surf-fishing books in O.C. maryland. Have never seen it anywhere else. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. the trick is finding it.

 

Dryflyguy,

I think I had another Charles Meck book, Pennsylvania Trout Streams and Their Hatches. Covered a lot of PA in the the late 80's.

 

Dave - "Meeting and Fishing the Hatches" is Charlies's first book, written in 1978 if I remember correctly. It's mostly about PA fishing, even though the title doesn't really suggest that. And he does touch on a little western fishing in it.

The later "PA Trout Streams" is certainly a lot more in depth guide book to all of the better streams in out state, however

 

The Armstrong book mentioned in the first comment (the one with the photo of Frank Nale on the cover) was a project Joe undertook with the noble purpose of having all/some of the royalties from the book going to support the TU mission in Pennsylvania is specific.

It's a good book for what it is; an honest speculative exploration of as many of PA's limestone streams as possible sample and assess their worthiness as fishing destinations.

It isn't that hard to find.. As of this writing, Amazon has 6 used copies for sale: http://www.amazon.com/Trout-Unlimiteds-Pennsylvania-Limestone-Streams/dp/0811729443/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265325491&sr=1-1

Joe's book is not the definitive or only PA trout stream guide you'll ever need. It is a neat book though with a lot of anecdotal delights. if you buy it (I imagine the deal still holds), you'll also help the TU mission in PA.

 

To all PAFF members, family, and friends:

The 2012 PAFF Eastern PA Fly Tying Jamboree will be held on Saturday December 15th, from 10AM - 6PM.

This event will be held at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center - a beautiful facility on the banks of the Lehigh River, near the intersection of Rt 873 and Rt 248. Information and directions to the Nature Center can be found here: http://lgnc.org/

Tyers of all skill levels are encouraged to attend this event, and as usual, this event is free of charge. This will be a great opportunity to showcase your tying skills, help others learn your favorite patterns, and will allow everyone to improve their skills and learn new patterns and techniques.

We'll have tying space for at least 30+ tyers, and room for spectators as well. Newcomers to the art of tying flies are encouraged to attend, and there will be an opportunity to practice on tying equipment that will be provided, as well as an instructor to teach basic techniques.

After the Jam, we'll be heading over to Riverwalck's Saloon for dinner and refreshments - we have an entire room reserved for us.

Check out the post in the Tying forum for further details on what to bring. Please sign up for this event in the post in the Fly Tying Forum, so we know who'll be attending and the flies being tied. Please note the categories of tying techniques, and try to pick a pattern that fits into one of the categories.

A raffle of tying equipment and supplies will be held at the end of the day, with all proceeds being donated to the Nature Center. We should have some great items to win!

Looking forward to seeing old friends, and meeting new ones. This should be a really fun day!

Photo and fly by David Weaver