Montana Fly Fishing Books
YCFF outfitter Walter Wiese has graduate degrees in creative writing and library science, which might explain why this site is so long-winded. He’s an avid reader and writer, and while his heart is with fiction, writing fiction doesn’t pay the bills. Neither does writing about fishing, but it helps. Walter has been writing professionally about fly fishing since 1999 and has made contributions to most of the major fly fishing magazines, including a bunch of good ones that have gone the way of a lot of good magazines in the past few years (RIP Fly Rod & Reel).
Walter has written three fly fishing books and made contributions to another. Information and purchase links are provided below. The books are listed in publication order, newest to oldest.
If you’re interested in Walter’s writing outside of these books (in particular to learn about his fiction), visit his author website.
25 Best National Parks to Fly Fish
Walter wrote the North Yellowstone chapter of this large-format book discussing the best American national parks for fly fishing. You can purchase it from Amazon.
Fly Fishing Yellowstone Country
Fly Fishing Yellowstone Country is an e-book guide to fly fishing Yellowstone Park and the Yellowstone region in southern Montana, including the Yellowstone River and its tributaries, the Madison and Gallatin Rivers and their tributaries, and the upper Missouri River. It is the most recent book covering these areas in detail and is the only one available in a low-priced e-book edition.
While “basic” this book provides abundant hatch and fly pattern information as well as covers fishing tactics, though it does not include maps.
Purchase Fly Fishing Yellowstone Country in Kindle format from Amazon.
River Characters: Deep Thoughts and Shallow Stories about Fly Fishing
River Characters is a collection of essays and stories about fly fishing. Join the author on fly fishing adventures ranging from chasing carp from a sinking boat in the Ozarks to seeking bull trout in Washington. Hunt for evidence of the elusive Trout Gods or just fall-run brown trout. In these 22 essays and stories, longtime fly fishing guide and outdoor writer Walter Wiese relates these tales and more and ruminates on the deep (and shallow) questions of fly fishing.
Print versions of the book can be ordered directly by calling us. The price is $10.95 plus shipping. The book is also available in e-book and paperback formats from Amazon. River Characters has topped the Amazon Fishing list on several occasions since its publication in December, 2014.
Yellowstone Country Flies
Walter’s first book was published in May 2013. It provides everything you need to know about tying roughly fifty custom fly patterns, plus color variations. It also includes information on the fly designers, some notes on fly design philosophies, and additional resources for anglers interested in tying their own flies for Yellowstone National Park. The book is no longer available in its original spiral-bound format, but we can e-mail you a PDF version for $5.00.