Trout [Paperback]

Ray Bergman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2000

Trout is arguably the finest single volume ever produced on how, why, and where to catch trout. In spite of being originally published in 1938 (Penn Publishing Company), it remains utterly relevant.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It remains thoroughly sound and enchanting. (Nelson Bryant The New York Times )

The only true American angling classic still read widely is Ray Bergman's Trout...It remains the best all-around basic text, managing to cover fundamentals of theory and practice in a smooth and relaxed way...Trout remains our Old Testament, the first and only book many anglers look to for guidance. (Harmon Henkin The New York Times )

The only true American angling classic still read widely is Ray Bergman's Trout...It remains the best all-around basic text, managing to cover fundamentals of theory and practice in a smooth and relaxed way...Trout remains our Old Testament, the first and only book many anglers look to for guidance. (Harmon Henkin The New York Times )

Trout is one of the classics of fishing, and like all classics, seems timeless. Despite innovations in rods, reels, and waders, fly fishing for trout has an enduring quality that partly explains many of its devotees' passion. (Randy Bishop The Dallas Morning News )

Trout became the standard text for spin-fisherman and flyfishermen of several generations. (Scott Bowen Outdoor Life )

Trout became the standard text for spin-fisherman and flyfishermen of several generations. (Scott Bowen Outdoor Life )

Derrydale Press has recently reissued a beautiful reprint of the second edition of Trout from 1952 in a softcover format with elegant French folds. I am especially fond of the second edition because in it, I first enjoyed the lessons that Bergman had to offer me as a budding fly-fisherman and fly tier. (Walt Young Pennsylvania Outdoor Times )

Derrydale Press has recently reissued a beautiful reprint of the second edition of Trout from 1952 in a softcover format with elegant French folds. I am especially fond of the second edition because in it, I first enjoyed the lessons that Bergman had to offer me as a budding fly-fisherman and fly tier. (Walt Young Pennsylvania Outdoor Times )

This edition of the book...has very attractive and charming plates taken from period water colours of fish, flies, streamers, and spinners painted by William J. Schaldach. (Terry Lawton Fish and Fly, (Uk) )

Bergman had the easy going style of a favorite uncle coupled with a sharply analytical mind that made the subtle sides of trout fishing easy to understand and fun to read....If you haven't yet met Bergman in print, I envy the joy of your discovery (John Merwin Field and Stream )

About the Author

The late Ray Bergman was born in Nyack, New York in 1891 and died there in 1967. He wrote for Outdoor Life magazine for 26 years.

The late Ray Bergman was born in Nyack, New York in 1891 and died there in 1967. He wrote for Outdoor Life magazine for 26 years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Derrydale Press (September 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158667014X
• ISBN-13: 978-1586670146
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #820,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic of American trout fishing literature, November 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Trout 3rd Ed Enlarged (Paperback)

Mention the name of Ray Bergman to any group of grey-haired flyfishermen, and they will nod knowingly. Even today, Trout is looked upon as a must in any fisherman's, and especially a flyfisherman's, library.

Why? Certainly there is no shortage of literature on fishing and flyfishing. Many gifted writers have turned their talents to both the beauties and practicalities of fishing; yet Bergman is one of the few whose work has endured well past the author's lifetime. Ted Janes, editor of the book's last edition in 1976, goes so far as to include Trout in the same category as such cornerstones of the fishing literature as Dame Juliana Berners' Treatyse on Fysshynge with an Angle, Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, Alfred Ronalds' The Fly-Fisher's Entomology, and W.C. Prime's I Go a-Fishing.

Trout speaks in a unique voice, and its voice is independent of the listener's time era. When the reader absorbs the information, he can almost picture Bergman sitting down next to him and talking to him. His very first words in the book - the dedication - immediately invite the reader to a closeness, a camaraderie.

"To you all - The many good fellows I know and have fished with, and those whose paths may never cross mine except through the medium of these pages. This is my visit with you, our fishing adventure together. I trust it will be enjoyable, instructive, and memorable."

Bergman's talents of observation and instruction are a pleasure to read. They allow the reader to immediately envision what the water is doing, what the weather is like, and how the fish are behaving. And the reader can just as easily picture himself working through the approaches that Bergman describes to the different angling puzzles he presents. Bergman details step-by-step trials, including some errors, that culminate in each puzzle's solution.

In one example, he describes an episode fishing with a companion at Brodhead's Creek in Pennsylvania. As happens with all of us, initial efforts proved fruitless.

"Because a few fish were rising we first used dry flies, but after a half hour without results we changed to wets. I don't know how many times Fred changed his flies, but I know that I tried a dozen patterns before I got a rise - to a size 14 Orange Fish Hawk that was being manipulated close to the surface by the 'hand twist' retrieve. Because occasionally the trout were breaking on the surface, we kept fishing our flies near the top, but after an hour of hard work we still had only one fish, which had taken the Orange Fish Hawk the first time it was used."

He proceeded to experiment with different depths, keeping the Hawk on and using the same retrieve style. After finding the proper depth, he exults that the "combination of depth and retrieve proved to be what was needed, and we both took quite a number of fish before tiring of the location."

This illustrates the kind of analysis that Bergman used, his powers of observation, and attention to detail. His unproductive efforts in the episode are an important part of the analysis, and he is not shy about recording them faithfully.

The appeal of his anecdotes is timeless, because, after all, a trout's gene pool and its inherent behavior patterns have changed very little over the past hundred years - and we don't expect much change for another hundred years. The types of puzzles Bergman describes are just as likely to be encountered by today's angler as by the anglers of half a century ago.

As Bergman himself observes, his life occurred during that in-between era of history, which saw the last of the so-called "old-fashioned ways" typified by stateliness, Victorian values, and a much slower pace of life. That culture was supplanted by the beginnings of the modern era, characterized by scientific and technological advances and the consequences (both good and bad) thereof. He describes it in the chapter "Early Experience:"

"When I was a boy, conditions were quite different from what they are today. I am old enough to have experienced the old-fashioned ways of the latter part of the nineteenth century and the rapid-fire progress of the twentieth. I saw the horse and carriage give way to the automobile, the dusty roads change rapidly from macadam to Tarvia and then to concrete. Each advance of progress had its effect on fishing."

This bridging or blending of eras has a curious effect on his writing. The Victorian literary style is evident throughout, yet his approaches are clearly influenced by scientific method.

Another aspect of Trout that has helped its longevity is that it appeals to the thinking angler. Much of Bergman's success can be attributed to his powers of observation and deduction, and he clearly communicates the value of these. By encouraging the reader to follow the dictates of his own reasoning rather than simply following the crowds or conventional wisdom, he strikes a chord in the intellectual snob lurking in all of us. The following comes from the chapter "Water Types and How to Fish Them."

"Most of us have so little time,... we think we must fish the best-looking spots where everyone else fishes because they must be good or no one else would fish them. This is false reasoning, because we are relying on precedents established by easy fishing and in most cases by anglers who have followed the established rules rather than the dictates of their own minds. It would pay larger dividends if we spent more time at thinking and observing than at fishing. Remember that locating fish is more than half the battle. When you know exactly where they are, then you can intelligently fish for them. Otherwise you are simply trusting to luck."

All of these factors came together at one time in history, in one man, and in a book called, simply, Trout. As long as there are members of the genera Oncorhynchus, Salmo, or Salvelinus swimming in streams and lakes, and there are people trying to deceive them into taking a pointed, bent piece of metal in their mouths, Trout's place will remain secure.

Oliver Shapiro

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twenty Years have passed, September 4, 2000

By 

James Piazza (Scotia,New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trout 3rd Ed Enlarged (Paperback)

I was given a paper back version of this book by a young lady who knew I was into fly fishing. She was going to throw the book out but I was lucky enough to be the recipient of her kind deed. This was the only book I ever read about trout fishing. The way he described his youth in developing his skills in becoming a fly fisherman made me feel comfortable in the start of long journey to enjoy catching trout with flies. The description on how to fish streams helped me in my effort to hunt for trout. If it was not for this book I probably would not have pursued this sport with the enjoyment I have for the last 20 years. I have a deep regret that this book magically disappeared from my house a few years ago but I can still see the pages in my mind when I am on a stream searching for trout. For me this was my text book for learning about fly fishing for trout.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buyers Beware, May 19, 2011

By 

Frederick Skinner - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trout (Hardcover)

Trout. One feature of this classic study that I have always treasured are the color plates of fly patterns painted by Dr. Edgar Burke for the 1938 first edition. These, along with four additional plates (two of fly patterns and two of spinning lures) that Burke painted for the 1952 second edition, have been faithfully reproduced in all subsequent editions and printings --- until now. In this current incarnation, published by the Warren Press in November 2010, the plates are rendered in poorly defined black-and-white photographs that make a mockery of the original art work and serve no useful purpose in helping to identify the fly patterns. The book lacks even the most rudimentary bibliographical information and gives every impression of being simply a photo reproduction of the second edition set in a new binding. Buyers interested in the original art work are therefore advised to search elsewhere for a genuine copy of Bergman's book or purchase the paperback version, which, though I have not seen it, appears to include the color plates.