Customer Reviews

Classic & Antique Fly Fishing Tackle

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is by far the best book that I have read and read and re-read on fly fishing tackle. The history of early bamboo fly rod makers is extraordinary, very informative and extremely interesting. If you are interested in fly fishing rods and reels, this book is well worth the price. This is a large book with lots of information on rods, reels, collecting, tackle manufacturing, tackle value, etc. etc. the list goes on. You won't be disappointed!

I found this volume amazingly useful. Campbell avoided discussing tackle prices that seemingly go out of date in a year or two. The book focuses on the small intracies that each fly rod and reel maker used as their personal signature. Even unidentified tackle is linked to its maker. The author did not elaborate on the later bench-crafted rods by such makers as Powell and Dickerson because a companion collector's book by Martin Keane covered them thoroughly. The researh done on Thomas, Leonard, and Payne rods was awesome. The same for Vom Hofe and Philbrick reels. The b&w illustrations were interesting (and plentiful), but the colored photographs were an absolute work of art. My guess is this will become "the" collectors bible. It will never go out of date; and it reads fresh and enjoyable every time I drool through it. Kudos on a masterpiece.

I have used this book extensively to search for antique fly rods. A very comprehesive study of the craft. As the author of I Never Liked Those C-130's Anyway I found the history and detail very useful while working on a new book about fly fishing.
Very interesting read. I now have a whole new appreciation for the art of rod making.

While the book generally does an outstanding job of deftly balancing good resarch and an entertaining style, it stumbles badly when west of the Mississippi. What happened to (at the least) Winston, or Powell? Neither one is in the index, and I could not find them in the text. The eastern U.S. bias is quite clear.