Excellent Story about one aspect of Fly Tying

While not directly about fly tying, I wanted to share a book I just finished reading that is all about the hobby of fly tying, albeit one rather focused aspect. It is a non-fiction book titled The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson. It covers the story of a young, world-class fly tyer who was obsessed with tying classic Salmon Flies and delves into the darker side of that aspect of our hobby when people cross boundaries to feed their obsession. It's an excellent book, well written and fair in its assessments. I enjoyed the story and particularly liked the references to people in the industry whom I had met, and conversed with over the years. Well worth the time to read about one aspect of the fly-tying "industry" during a cold winter night. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Feath...f=nb_sb_noss_1

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Originally Posted by James Smith

While not directly about fly tying, I wanted to share a book I just finished reading that is all about the hobby of fly tying, albeit one rather focused aspect. It is a non-fiction book titled The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson. It covers the story of a young, world-class fly tyer who was obsessed with tying classic Salmon Flies and delves into the darker side of that aspect of our hobby when people cross boundaries to feed their obsession. It's an excellent book, well written and fair in its assessments. I enjoyed the story and particularly liked the references to people in the industry whom I had met, and conversed with over the years. Well worth the time to read about one aspect of the fly-tying "industry" during a cold winter night. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Feath...f=nb_sb_noss_1

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I read that book and I think it's an awesome read.

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Originally Posted by James Smith

While not directly about fly tying, I wanted to share a book I just finished reading that is all about the hobby of fly tying, albeit one rather focused aspect. It is a non-fiction book titled The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson. It covers the story of a young, world-class fly tyer who was obsessed with tying classic Salmon Flies and delves into the darker side of that aspect of our hobby when people cross boundaries to feed their obsession. It's an excellent book, well written and fair in its assessments. I enjoyed the story and particularly liked the references to people in the industry whom I had met, and conversed with over the years. Well worth the time to read about one aspect of the fly-tying "industry" during a cold winter night. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Feath...f=nb_sb_noss_1

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I'll have to read that one. I have the feeling it will be similar to another book I read titled The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean that is based on her investigation of the 1994 arrest of horticulturist John Laroche and a group of Seminoles in south Florida for poaching rare orchids in the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve.

It is very easy to become obsessed with a "hobby" beyond all reason. I know of some parrot people who became that way and will do almost anything to get the one special bird, but even when they get it, there's always one more special bird they absolutely MUST have. This is a good book that I think you will enjoy since it is a hobby that you can relate to.