The Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fly Fishing, by Nick Curcione

Angler Nick Curcione has been active in the world of fly fishing for many years. He has authored several books and written many articles on the subject. What I like about Curcione's style of writing is that he provides common sense examples and explanations to illustrate what are at times complex topics. If you are just starting out in saltwater fly fishing, or perhaps have experience but want to learn something new, you will enjoy Nick Curcione's book The Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fly Fishing.

The Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fly Fishing is a book that stemmed from Curcione's involvement with Orvis as a member of their Saltwater Advisory Team in the early '90's. As one might expect, The Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fishing takes advantage of each and every opportunity to promote Orvis products. No problem with that really- after all, it is "their" book. What surprised me about the book though was how much genuinely useful angling information I found in it. Curcione does a good job of describing when, where, and how to fly fish for a variety of saltwater species. He covers both inshore and offshore fishing, and includes sections on casting, knot tying, tackle, and flies.

I was pleased to see Curcione include a short section on fly fishing for Jack Crevalle. It seems that jacks are often passed over in literature, perhaps due to their bullish personalities and appetite for destruction. Equally pleasing was Curcione's offshore section. His descriptions of pelagic speedsters like wahoo, tuna, and yellowtails are nicely written and he does a good job of capturing the spirit of fly fishing for these species.

I enjoyed Nick Curcione's The Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fly Fishing. Curcione nicely summarizes the tackle, techniques, and strategies for pursuing a wide variety of inshore and offshore saltwater species. His writing is easy to follow, interesting, and informative, and it is likely to stoke your enthusiasm for saltwater fly fishing.

The Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fly Fishing
By Nick Curcione
206 pp. The Lyons Press
ISBN: 1-55821-491-7