Books, Videos, and More - a resource list from FFI
Adopting a Stream: A Northwest Handbook, Steve Yates
University of Washington Press, PO Box 50096, Seattle, Washington, 98145-5096, or Amazon.com. Information on habitat needs, water quality, and salmonids. Learn about biology, ecology, and economics and incorporate school and community groups in restoring a creek.
Amazing Fish, Mary Ling, Alfred A. Knopf
A children's book introducing fish, what makes them unique and their characteristics. All types of fish are shown. Shapes, colors, what fish eat and how they hunt and hide. The salmon life cycle is pictured. This book may be available at the public library.
Aquatic Project Wild, Project Wild
5430 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814, 301-493-5447. Activities to promote awareness and appreciation of water, diversity of wildlife, ecological principles, management and conservation of water and wildlife and the human prospective. Set up for formal education settings but the activities can be easily adapted for camps or outdoor education. Learn more online.
Aquatic Resources Education Curriculum, C. Boyd Pfieffer and Mark Sosin
Order Department, Kendall Hunt Publishing Co., Box 539, Dubuque,Iowa 52001, 1-800-338-5578 or from Future Fisherman Foundation, 1033 N. Fairfax, Suite 200, Alexandria VA 22314, 1-703-519-9691. Information on water safety and aquatic life, Units include A Fishing Primer; Becoming a Better Angler, Understanding Fish and Their Environment, and Water Resources and Our Future.
California's Salmon and Steelhead - Our Natural Heritage, Diane Higgins
Diane Higgins, 4649 Aster Road, McKinleyville, CA 95519. Teacher's Guide and Student Activities, Grades K - 8. No aquarium set up information. Use Salmon and Trout Go to School (a related guide by Diane Higgins) for aquarium set up. Fish anatomy, physiology, and adaptations, fish life cycles, habitats and people and fish. This curriculum contains games, projects and worksheets. Used by the Southern California Trout in the Classroom Project. A video is available reviewing the program.
Discovering Salmon, A Learning and Activity Book, Nancy Field and Sally Machlis
Covers life cycles and different types of salmon, river geography, and predators. For elementary education. You can find this book on Amazon.com.
Essence of Flycasting, video, 60 minute, Mel Kreiger
The basics of good hand position to the complexities of fly presentation and the double haul.
Essence of Flycasting II, video, 60 minutes, Mel Kreiger
For intermediate and advanced casters, distance casting biomechanics of good form, fly rod action, distance roll casting, and beginning spey casting.
Essentials of Fly Casting, Bill and Jay Gammel
Fly Fishers International. Publication available from the FFI Store online. The five essentials of fly casting are given, along with basic casting, false casting, shooting cast, off shoulder casting, double haul, and roll cast in diagrams and photos.
Essential Fly Fishing, Tom Meade, Lyons & Burford Press
Essential Fly Fishing - an all-color handbook - presents the fundamentals of this great sport quickly and effectively. Proven teaching techniques and bright, helpful color illustrations will enable new fly fishers to: find fish in streams, lakes, and salt water; select and assemble proper, balanced tackle; cast a fly line with authority - with rhythm, not strength; recognize and learn to simulate natural fish foods; learn techniques that really work; tie effective knots that have maximum strength; and begin the endlessly interesting process of tying your own flies. This book concisely explains fishing ethics, offers helpful safety precautions, and defines basic angling terms. Get this book through your local library or fly shop.
Field Manual for Water Quality Monitoring, An Environmental Education Programs for School, Mark K. Mitchell and William B. Stapp
William B. Stapp, 2050 Delaware Ave., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103. Help high school classes establish a water monitoring program. Methods for measuring and evaluating physical and biological parameters for stream conditions.
Fish Gallimard Jeunesse Scholastics Inc.
A children's book introducing the physical characteristics, behavior, and habitat of various fish. Get this one from your local library. Also available on Amazon.com.
Fish Eggs to Fry, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
PO Box 59,Portland, OR, 503-229-5400, or www.dfw.state.or.us. How to set up an aquarium, get fish eggs and raise them with help from you state DNR and FFF club. No teaching curriculum. How to set up an aquarium and raise eggs to fish, trouble shooting, do-it-yourself cooling units, pop-machine incubators, trout and salmon life cycles, related curricula and reference sources.
Fishy Science - A hands on approach to learning about fish
The Ohio State University Extension, Aquatic Maestro Publications, Inc., 1993, Ohio 4-H Youth Development, Ohio State University, RM 25 Agriculture Administration Building, 2120 Fytte Road, Columbus Ohio, 43210. A hands on approach to learning about fish suitable for third to fifth graders. Learn how fish swim, breathe, sensory features and special adaptations fish use to survive. This is set up for classroom study but provides good basic background for youth camps.
Flies in the Water, Fish in the Air, Jim Arnosky, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, New York, 1986
A children's book introducing fly fishing. Available on Amazon.com.
Fly Fishing Basics, A Handbook for Young Anglers, Mid Atlantic Council of the FFF
A photo ready copy to reproduce for your camp. Contact Joe Swam, VP Education, MAC, 2421 Rocks Road, Forest Hills, MD 21050. A handbook plus all related paperwork, press releases, letters, etc. to run a three day youth camp. Equipment, knots, fly casting basics, fly tying basics with diagrams, entomology, conservation, etiquette, and where fish live.
Fly Fishing Basics - A Beginner's Guide video 60 minutes, Bennett/Watt Inc.
Discusses equipment, knots, and casting basics.
Fly Fishing Made Easy, video, 60 minutes, 3 M
Learn to pick the right equipment and put it together, fly casting, and how to fish for bluegills, trout and largemouth bass.
Fly Fishing Tactics, American Fly Fishing Trade Association
Cowles Magazines, Inc., PO Box 248, Eugene, OR, 97440. Includes tackle and rod selection and assembly; casting basics; leaders; what fish eat including life cycles of mayflies, caddisflies, midges, stoneflies and how to fish them; and knots with diagrams for tying the trilene knot, the Duncan loop, the improved clinch knot, the triple surgeon's knot, the needle knot, the blood knot. Bass and Panfish fishing are explored. Next is a crash course in selecting flies including a guide to dry flies and nymphs and the hatches they match, fishing streamers and a guide to the hatches they match. Fishing requires finding fish and the guide shows how to find panfish, bass and pickerel, trout and saltwater fish. Also subsurface and surface fishing. Catching and handling fish for release, wind casting and types of lines are discussed.
Fresh Water Anglers Pocket Guide - Knots
Shows 7 knots on waterproof cards to be carried in your vest. Printed by Creative Publishing International and available through your local fly shop.
Fly Fishing Workshop for Women, by Ann Miller and Dorothy Schramm
Gives information on teaching a basic course just for women.
Fly Tying Basics, video, 90 minutes, Al Beatty
Basics of fly tying, tools and materials, hooks and how to tie basic flies. This video is structured to teach a person who has never tied, the art of fly tying and systematically leads a student through a series of flies. It can be adapted to teach a group.
Freshwater Fish and Fishing - A Guide for Beginners, Jim Arnosky
Scholastic Press, 1982. This book is written for grade schoolers. It introduces the reader to trout, sunfish, perch and pike, and catfish and carp and how to fish for them. It also shows how to make fish prints and tie basic knots. Find this one through the public library or interlibrary loan.
How to Know Aquatic Insects, Dennis M. Lehmkuhl, W.C. Brown Company Publishers, Dubuque, IA
This book contains a detailed discussion of what aquatic insects are and their varied life cycles, then goes on with a chapter on how to collect and preserve them. This is a very detailed book and may not be a good choice for a beginner. Also available on Amazon.com
Introduction to Aquatic Insects, Marvin Nolte
Fly Fishers Interntional. Publication available from the FFI Store online. Types of aquatic insects, arthropods, true bugs, true flies and information about each family and how they relate to fish and fishing. Good basic background for your kids camp or club.
Introduction to Fly Fishing, Judy Lehmberg
Fly Fishers Interntional. Publication available from the FFI Store online. Fly rods, lines, leaders and knots with diagrams, equipment, casting, finding fish, fly selection and presentation, entomology, landing larger fish, ethics, and catch and release. Also included is a humorous Fly Fisher's Classification Scheme by John Hannah.
Introduction to Fly Tying, Al Beatty and Bob Lay
Fly Fishers Interntional. Publication available from the FFI Store online. Tools including vices, scissors, bobbins, bobbin threaders, bodkins, hackle pliers, hair stackers, whip finishers, and hackle gauges are discussed. Hooks, thread and body, wing, and tail materials are reviewed. Basic techniques included are wrapping ,thread torque, material roll, finger-thumb tuck, dubbing, gauging hackle size,the half hitch and the whip finish. Fly patterns including the wooly worm, grey hackle yellow, Montana nymph, hare's ear nymph, post wing dry fly, elk hair caddis, marabou streamer, and alternatives are diagrammed step by step.
Kids Gone Fishin', Dave Mass, Creative Publishing Int., Inc, 2001
This kids book teaches mainly bait fishing but does have a good chapter on warm water species - sunfish, crappies, bass, catfish, bullheads, pike, muskies, perch and walleye. It also shows pictures of where in a stream, pond, lake or river these warm water species will be found.
Kokanee Karnival
Kokanee Karnival was started in the hopes of raising the awareness of today's students regarding tomorrow's needs of our fisheries and is recognized by the Oregon State Department of Education for its applicability to several areas of the required education program. Each school must first complete the "Eggs to Fry" portion which teaches the students about the development of the eggs to the fry, discusses how and where the fish can be released and why they are released there. Fish dissection, "Catch and Release" and "catch and keep" and the proper handling of the fish are discussed. Angling 101, adapted from the Oregon DFW, covers numerous subjects including fishing equipment, ethics, regulations, water safety and basic knot tying. In April each year the classes attend a session called the "Kid's Angling Clinic." This portion covers water safety, regulations, equipment, safety, fish biology and a game called "Hook and Ladders. The classes have agreed to do one day of community service as a form of payment for what they have received. Updated by Phil Hager, Central Oregon Fly Fishers. Contact him at othapus@hotmail.com or Central Oregon Flyfishers, PO Box, Bend, Oregon, 97702 for more information.
FFF Leadership Seminar Guide, by the Oregon Council and John Colburn & Keith Burkhart
A guide to getting the leaders of you clubs together to share and compare ideas and effective ways to run a club. Available from Keith Burkhart at valfly@open.org or phone 503-363-8324
Lets Go Fishing - A Book for Beginners, Gerald D. Schmidt, Robert Rinehart, Inc. 1990
This book covers fresh water fishing in North America. It illustrates and describes many of the fresh water species, what insects they eat, both bait fishing and fly fishing techniques, ice fishing; catch and release; and cleaning and cooking fish. "Reading the water" of ponds, lakes, streams and rivers is explained. There is also a chapter on fishing ethics. This book is a good basic for a grade school based program. Available at Barnes & Noble.com
Lightning's Tale - the story of a wild trout, Hugh Campbell, Amato Publishing, 1994
This children's book teaches the important stages of a wild trout's life and how it interacts with it's environment. Each 2-page chapter covers a specific area of a life cycle of the trout, or insects, or environment involved, through a narrative about the trout and through the eyes of Danny, a young worm fisherman and his grandfather, a fly fisherman. Although there is one short chapter on tying flies to "match the hatch" the main emphasis in this book is on the fish, not the fishing. Written on a grade school level, each chapter can be expanded on in connection with a science course on fish or used on its own to give good basic information on trout and the environment they need to live. This book is available through Amato Publishing ormay be available through your public library or inter-library loan.
Living in Water Valerie Chase, National Aquarium in Baltimore
501 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, 1-301-576-3887. Read more about Living in Water here.
Montana Angler Education Program, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 1995
Uses the Sport Fishing and Aquatic Resources Book, Montana Habitat posters etc., Project Wild Aquatic Book and Pathways to Fishing to teach Equipment, Fish ID, Anatomy, Ecology, Montana Fish, Habitats, Ecosystems, Fly Tying, Insects, Angling Ethics, Hatcheries, Ice Fishing.
Montana Fly Fishing Opportunities, T.M. Travis
Fly Fishers Interntional. Publication available from the FFI Store online. A review of some of the fishing opportunities in a 125 mile radius of Livingston, Montana. Wading freestone streams, fishing different seasons and times of the day, and hatch charts are included for many of Montana's most famous rivers and spring creeks.
Notes on Rod Building, Fred Chaney and Keith Burkhart
Fly Fishers Interntional. Publication available from the FFI Store online. This booklet provides a "beginner a lower-powered place to start" when building a rod. A list of parts and equipment are included along with the steps needed to mount a reel seat, glue the cork ring for the handle, turn the handle, fit the Tip-Top, grind the guide feet, space the guides, wrap the guides and finish the rod.
Noxious Weed Game
The Noxious Weed Game is a game to illustrate to students how noxious weeds spread and effect the environment.
Observations on Teaching Flycasting, FFF by Mel Kreiger
Fly Fishers Interntional. Publication available from the FFI Store online. A booklet for instructors to help them instruct and communicate with students.
All pocket guides listed below are published by:
Pocket Guides Publishing, Inc., 1-866-748-4337, www.pocketguides.net
Pocket Guide to Basic Fly Tying Techniques, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine
A waterproof spiral bound basic fly tying guide.
Pocket Guide to Emergency First Aid, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine,
A short concise waterproof guide to common medical emergencies found while fishing.
Pocket Guide Dry Fly Fishing, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine,
A short concise waterproof guide to food sources, trout line of vision, feeding, rises, feeding locations, fly patterns and categories, leaders, weather, stealth, strategies, flies and major hatches.
Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing for Large Mouth Bass, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine
A concise waterproof guide to bass fishing.
Pocket Guide to Fly Casting, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine
A concise waterproof guide to basic fly casting.
Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine
A short concise waterproof guide to rods, lines, leaders, knots, hooks, flies, hatches, rises, strategies, casting, and first aid.
Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing Knots, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine
A water proof spiral bound guide to basic fly fishing knots.
Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing for Steelhead, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine
A waterproof spiral bound guide fly fishing tactics for steelhead.
Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing the Lakes, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine
A waterproof spiral bound guide to lake fishing tactics.
Pocket Guide to Nymph Fishing, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine
A waterproof spiral bound guide to nymph fishing tactics.
Pocket Guide to Saltwater Fly Fishing, Ron Cordes and Gary LaFontaine
A waterproof spiral bound guide to salt water fly fishing tactics.
Red Tag Comes Back, Fred Phleger
Harper and Row, New York, 1961. Simple story of a salmon's life for primary grades. Find this book at your local libray or interlibrary loan or on Amazon.com.
Salmon and Trout Go To School, Diane Higgins
Available from Diane Higgins, 4649 Aster Road, McKinneyville, CA 95519. (Not copyrighted). Aquarium set up and maintenance plus an equipment list and sources, how to convert a refrigerator to an aquarium chiller, how to get and raise fish eggs in a school setting, sources of equipment, related classroom projects, and fish life cycles.
Save Our Streams, Izaak Walton League
1401 Wilson Blvd., Level B, Arlington, VA 22209, Materials on stream care and water quality. Guidelines on how to adopt a stream and monitor it, including teaching guide, background materials and activities. Read more here
Save Our Streams: Monitor's Guide to Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
Kellogg, Loren & Izaak Walton League, 1401 Wilson Blvd., Level B, Arlington, VA 22209. 301-548-0150. This guide is used in connection with the Izaak Walton Leagues' Save Our Streams, It uses the "dichotomous key" system to help you name the insects you find in the stream and refers you on to the section that applies. This is a user friendly book for kids and adults. Sampling methods are also discussed. Find it online.
Scales and Tales, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, British Columbia
Shows the development of salmon from egg to adult with illustrations and text meant for kids. It's all from the viewpoint of the fish and an easy read for kids or adults. Contact the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, British Columbia, 555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6B5G3 to get a copy.
Sport Fishing & Aquatic Resources Handbook, Bob Schmidt
Kendall/Hunt Publications, Dubuque, IA 1991. Lessons and activities on safety, becoming a good angler, pollution, what is a fish, what fish eat, where fish live, and conservation. Good background for a kids camp or in the classroom projects. Purchase onlinehere
Starting A High School Fly Fishing Club
Based on a guide by George Hobson and gives all the information and lots of handouts for starting and running a high school fly fishing club. This guide is available from Susan Halblom at 515-274-5855 or Davidhalblom-bugtyer.worldnet.att.net.
Streamkeeper's Field Guide, Adopt-a-Stream Foundation
Tom Murdoch and Martha Cheo with Kate O'Laughlin, 600-128th Street SE, Everett, WA, 98208-6353 or online. How to adopt a stream, evaluate it, and publicize its needs. Everything your club will need to adopt and protect your favorite stream.
Tips for Saltwater Catch & Release, available from the FFI at 5237 U.S. Highway 89 South, Livingston, MT 59047 or 406-222-9369. Tips on saltwater tackle, how to land your catch, how to handle your catch,remove the hook and release the fish.
Trout in the Classroom
Trout in the Classroom is a school based program using fish to promote good stewardship of aquatic resources and to teach science, language arts, math, social studies, art and Internet use. The curriculum guide "California's Salmon and Steelhead - Our Natural Heritage" provides lesson plans and reproducible pages for kids including classification, anatomy, life cycles, importance of fish to people, states of fish populations, declines in populations and what we can do about it. It has related writing and art projects and is appropriate for grades K to 8. While it was originally written for California, the information is pertinent to all cold water fisheries. A second guide, "Salmon and Trout Go to School" gives instructions on setting up a rearing tank and successfully raising fish. It also contains information specific to California, which again could be adapted to any cold water fishery. How to convert a refrigerator to a cold water aquarium and sources for chillers and aquariums are included. Contact Dr. Doug Spieske at 1605 Country Club Drive, Redlands, Ca 92373 or phone 909-798-4151 or E mail at dspieske@aol.com.
Volunteer Stream Monitoring, A Methods Manual
Environmental Protection Agency, 1997 E.P.A. 841-B-97-003 or online. Including E.P.A. standard data sheets, this book is a resource on doing stream surveys, bio-surveys, testing water quality, sampling insects and managing data.
The Way of a Trout, video, 30 minutes, Jim Wilkie
The life cycle of a trout from egg to large mature female.
The Whitlock Vibert Box Handbook
A handbook that contains a section on "Incubation and Nursery Observation." This section can be adapted by a club for use in a classroom aquarium to hatch fish eggs. All the details for set up and use are included in the handbook. This handbook also contains information on the natural reproduction of salmon, trout and char and all the information needed to use the Whitlock Vibert box in flowing and standing water of a stream. Click here to view the videos.
Where the Trout Are, video, Gary Borger
Tomorrow River Press, PO Box 1745, Wausau, WI 54402-1745. The story of trout and the places they are found and the importance of clean fresh water. This video is divided into sections to accommodate classroom viewing and discussions. The educator's manual gives major issues and discussion topics for each section for class use and related topics and activities to enhance the learning experience. Also easily adapted to kids clubs and camp programs. To order call 406-222-9369.