fishinglibrary

As the Fishing Museum was originally conceived, it would have had a permanent headquarters in a specially provided building, complete with a display area, restaurant, a conservation department and a library. Of these, the restaurant would have been the most important, because little can be achieved in this life without a reliable supply of decent espresso. As it is, to some extents and purposes, the Internet has led many to question the requirement for a physical museum, although the need to conserve books - and in particular, magazines - still exists.

One of the dreams of every committee that has sat down to plan an angling museum has been to make texts available over the web in a searchable format. This has already been done with many books, thanks in particular to a grant from Microsoft,and we present some of these works here, where they may be freely downloaded.

However, there is a pressing need to preserve and make available magazines like the Fishing Gazette and Land & Water to a wider readership, as many copies of these journals are deteriorating fast and are held in private collections that have limited access and limited ability to preserve copies for future generations.

At the minute our library is in a bit of a mess, with the books just stuck in anywhere they can go, but if Jon or I experience an outbreak of organisation, we will fix it and make it alphabetical and all. My advice is not to hold your breath on this one.

These books can be downloaded by clicking either on the image of the book itself, or the title to the left. Depending on which browser you favour, the pdf file will most likely open in the browser itself and then you will be able to save the book to the desktop and read it at leisure.

 

Pritt Yorkshire Trout FliesPritt - Yorkshire Trout Flies 1885

The major reference book for North Country spiders, presented here in the rare first edition.


 

Theakston British Angling FliesTheakston - British Angling Flies 1862

One of the classic lists of 19th century trout patterns.

 


 

Houghton - British Fresh-water FishesHoughton - British Fresh-Water Fishes 1879 Vol 1

The Reverend Houghton's classic work on fresh water fish.

 


 

Houghton - British Fresh-water FishesHoughton - British Fresh-Water Fishes 1879 Vol 2

The Reverend Houghton's classic work on fresh water fish.

 


 

Francis - A Book on Angling 1876Francis - A Book on Angling 1876

Francis Francis' magnum opus on fishing, the textbook for a generation.

 


 

Martin -  Float fishing and spinning in the Nottingham styleMartin - Float fishing and spinning in the Nottingham style 1885

One of the classic works on coarse fishing of all time.


 

Pennell - The Book of the PikePennell - The Book of the Pike

One of the first books devoted to a single species, this was the bible of pike fishermen for generations.

 


 

Bailey - Angler's InstructorBailey - The Angler's Instructor 1857

A classic text and one of the first really good manuals on coarse fishing.

 


 

Halford Floating FliesHalford - Floating Flies and How to Dress Them 1886

The first of Halford's authoritative series on the dry fly method.

 


 

Ogden on Fly TyingOgden - Ogden on Fly Tying 1887

James Ogden was a pioneer of the floating fly and a talented fly dresser.