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American Fly Fishing: A History, published in 1987, reprinted several times and then reissued in a revised edition in 1999, is the most comprehensive history of the subject yet published. Historian Paul Schullery, who served as the first executive director of the American Museum of Fly Fishing (1977-1982), which funded the writing of the book, subjects the entire colorful saga of this beloved sport to a fresh scrutiny, reconsidering and refining many elements of the story, Drawing from a host of recent research findings, American Fly Fishing: A History was the first examination of the sport's history to treat the subject as a truly national matter. Schullery shifted much of the emphasis away from the origin stories of the east coast to show how the sport evolved and broadened as its practitioners moved into new and unfamiliar watersheds (in the American West, in warm water, and in salt water) that challenged anglers to adapt and develop their own tackle and techniques to meet the needs of the local waters and fish species. So quickly was its authority recognized that in 1989, only two years after its publication, Trout magazine recognized American Fly Fishing: A History as one of the most important trout–related books of the previous thirty years.
American Fly Fishing: A History, published in 1987, reprinted several times and then reissued in a revised edition in 1999, is the most comprehensive history of the subject yet published. Historian Paul Schullery, who served as the first executive director of the American Museum of Fly Fishing (1977-1982), which funded the writing of the book, subjects the entire colorful saga of this beloved sport to a fresh scrutiny, reconsidering and refining many elements of the story, Drawing from a host of recent research findings, American Fly Fishing: A History was the first examination of the sport's history to treat the subject as a truly national matter. Schullery shifted much of the emphasis away from the origin stories of the east coast to show how the sport evolved and broadened as its practitioners moved into new and unfamiliar watersheds (in the American West, in warm water, and in salt water) that challenged anglers to adapt and develop their own tackle and techniques to meet the needs of the local waters and fish species. So quickly was its authority recognized that in 1989, only two years after its publication, Trout magazine recognized American Fly Fishing: A History as one of the most important trout–related books of the previous thirty years.