Customer Reviews

Flyfisher's Guide to the Northeast Coast (Flyfisher's Guides)

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Phil Shook provides anglers everything that they need to know about saltwater fishing along coastal New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The book is a treasure trove of detailed information about where to go, key features, access points, maps, and useful insights into the best times and seasons. It also provides out-of-towners with a lot of good insight into places to stay and eat and names particular guides to consider fishing with.

I like guide books that bring out the personality of the writer/angler and Mr. Shook's book does this very well. For example, the introduction gives a real sense of his interest and experience fishing these waters. Some of the most intriguing parts of the book are his vignettes about characters like Captain Joe "Maz Man" Mustari of Staten Island or well known surf angler, Bob Popovics. He also tells a lot of insightful stories about fishing places like the Mud Hole Buoy with Captain Frank Crescitelli and provides fly box selections for some of the guides he has fished with.

He recounts interesting tales of seeing a great white shark swimming up a chum slick meant for makos and, further inshore, tells about the poling flats along Westport, Connecticut's Norwalk Islands, which he calls the Florida Keys of New England.

I've read some other guidebooks by Phil Shook and recommend them all.

Most guide books seem to be written by anglers who have tried their hand at a certain fishery and have wriiten the book from their own perspective. Phil Shook not only gave you his own perspective but also focused on talking with the experts who fish these waters hundreds of days a year. Most of this information is a guarded and closely held secret amongst anglers. Yet Phil Shook has befriended many of these expert guides/anglers to not only share their knowledge but actually expose their honey holes to the public and explain how to best fish it in order to be successful. This is a MUST HAVE book and has enough information in it for the novice, intermediate and even advanced angler who plans on wetting a line in the CT, NY & NJ tri state area. Phil Shook has truely unlocked what is usually a closed door that we fly anglers seem to encounter when trying to learn a specific fishery.

Phil Shook is a gifted writer who's articles I have been reading for years in magazines like Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Fly Fisherman. Having chased saltwater gamefish along the Northeast Coast for almost three decades, I can tell you that Shook's guide will increse you fishing knowledge, success and reduce the amount of time you waste trying to find access to top coastal hot spots.
"Flyfisher's Guide to the Northeast Coast" more than paid for itself on my first trip with it in my car, just in the amount of gas I saved by not having to go around Robin Hood's barn looking for beach access. I certainly got more than I expected in terms of where and when to target coastal gamefish. My knowledge of several of the waters covered in the guide assures me that Shook's research is accurate and I can rely on it to guide me to new waters.

My only complaint is that he didn't write it 25 years ago!

Collected in this book by Phil Shook are innumerable resources for all fly fisherman living in or visiting the tri-state area. The salt water fishery along the Atlantic Ocean shores from New Jersey up to New York Harbor, the shadows of NYC and along the sandy beaches of Long Island as well as the rocky pebble stone shoreline of Connecticut of the Long Island Sound are highways and home to some of the best fishing for Striped Bass, Bluefish, Weakfish and Albies. Inside this book you won't find cute stories or tales of the one that got away. Its purpose which it achieves 200 percent is to guide anglers looking to find their catch when they find themselves away from home waters. Utilizing local experts, fishing guides and tackle shop owners Phil has accumulated some of the best intelligence from those in the know to help put you on fish. I find this book useful in so many ways but especially when traveling and able to find myself a few extra hours to wet a line.
Heading to Island Beach State Park in Jersey for a family reunion this weekend? Take a look in Mr. Shook's book for when, where and how to fish certain beaches in that area. Not only with you discover new fishing grounds but you will also save yourself time and catch more fish by weeding through the soft spots and instead finding hot spots to catch fish.
In-disposable resource for any shore angler looking to catch stripers and blue in the Northeast Coast.