The Curtis Creek Manifesto: Being a Basic Guide to the Art of Fly Fishing on Moving Water

Right after coming to Montana, it was made clear to me that I HAD to learn flyfishing, so I got my rod, line, flies, waders, boots and this book. After 7 years of creeping, crawling, cursing, casting, bushwhacking and reading this book probably 20 times, I can catch some fish. Every time i read this book I realize how much knowledge it delivers. Over the time I read many fancy flyfishing books and I never found anything useful that was not explained in these 40 pages. The only thing missing in this book is ... your own experience. BUY IT!

The Curtis Creek Manifesto was one of the first primers on fly fishing for trout that I picked up when I became interested in the sport in the mid-1970s. It remains the best. It has elegance: all the big themes of fly fishing are explained here with deceptive simplicity and wry humor from an insider's perspective. You get the feeling that Sheridan Anderson, God rest his soul, just smiled and shrugged when he saw the hundreds (now thousands) of books and magazines covering every arcane aspect of presenting a fly to a fish. The simpler you keep your approach, the wiser and more successful the fly fisherman you will be. The Curtis Creek Manifesto tells you everything you need to know in order to catch fish with a fly, and to enjoy your hours on the stream.

I got my first copy in approximately 1979 and have gotten copies for my daughters since. Anderson presents essential information in a well though out, logical, and entertaining fashion. A must-read for anyone getting into fly fishing, as well as a good refresher for those with some experience. Contrary to what some would have you believe, fly fishing can be a simple and straight-forward sport; this book makes that clear.

This light hearted introduction focuses on the right things. It starts with stealth, not with what stuff to buy or another re-hash of the history of fly fishing. The points are well thought out, brief and on the mark. Despite what tackle manufacturers may have you think, the elements of this sport are unchanged from the 1978 date this book was published.

The Curtis Creek Manifesto was the first fly fishing book that I could read and truly understand. It is filled with simple illustrations and descriptions that make getting off the ground with fly fishing a breeze. so many other books that I tried to read were filled with tech talk and jargon that confused and frustrated me. I believe that this book saved my trip to Colorado and my first fly fishing experience two years ago. I have reccomended it to all of my fishing buddies and I continue to use it even now.