Home » Addicted to the Rise Reviews
I enjoyed this book. I read it to learn how to be a more successful dry fly fisherman, and I did learn a great deal even though I have been fly fishing for a long time. The surprise was how enjoyable this learning experience was for me. Nate combines instructional text describing what to do and why, then he shows what he means by providing on-the-river video, and he typically follows that up with an excerpt from a blog full of insight, humor, irony and all the other things that make us love this sport.
Nate is a natural story teller and that gift comes through in his blogs. But these excerpts are more than just fish stories, they include illustrations of lessons gleaned from Nate’s extensive experiences on the water. Just like basketball coach John Wooden starting the season by showing his players how to tie their shoes, Nate gets pretty basic at the beginning of each concept and then takes you into the more complex aspects of mastering the dry fly. He is very thorough. I had many discoveries of little things that I was doing wrong that I could correct easily. Some things will take more work, like consistently delivering a fly on a soft cast 18” upstream of a feeding fish, or feeding out line on a downstream presentation while simultaneously keeping the line tight enough to detect a strike but not so tight to create drag. Nevertheless, I have come away with much new knowledge to help me in my quest to master dry fly fishing and it came about without the drudgery of a dry and boring text. I enjoyed the experience and felt like I was having a fishing buddy show me the ropes.
If you are interested in how to become a more skilled fly fisher overall, I highly recommend Nate Brumley’s book, Addicted to the Rise: A Dry Fly Book. This is not a book that condemns or looks down on other types of fly fishing; it is simply a book on how to make you better at dry fly fishing.
“If you’ve ever read Nate’s Dry Fly Innovations fishing blog you might think he’s the typical fisherman who embellishes his reports. After all, how could one guy catch that many fish….day after day? Having the good fortune to fish with Nate a few times I can tell you he is a dry-fly fishing machine! Certainly his realistic fly patterns make a difference, but they aren’t the secret.
In his book “Addicted To The Rise” Nate shares how he does it. And after reading his book I now have the confidence to stick with a dry fly when I used to turn to the dark-side and drift a nymph.
I own dozens of fly fishing books, many of which look pretty on my coffee table but I quit reading part-way through. I’ve read Nate’s book cover-to-cover—TWICE—and I’m now watching the DVD, which is an excellent companion to the book. If you want to catch more trout on a dry fly then, you would be wise to read Nate’s book and practice his approach and deliveries.”
I first met Nate Brumley about eight years ago at a fly-fishing show when I started dabbling in fly tying. I greatly admired all the beautiful flies by his company, Dry Fly Innovations. Still do. All the flies they offer are dry flies. Only dries. I enjoy fly fishing with dries, and I do so at every opportunity I get. But, what about when you don’t see any action on top?
And especially in the dead of winter? I, like most fly fishers, will tie on a nymph or streamer instead. Nothing wrong with that, as it is all part of the joys of fly fishing. For me, however, there’s nothing better than seeing the nose of a trout come up to the surface to take my fly.
“When Nate wrote his book, Addicted to the Rise: A Dry Fly Book, I could not wait to learn about the arty of dry fly fishing. I usually like to skim through the pages of a book, checking out photos and any topics that catch my eye. But, Nate’s book was an enjoyable and informative read from page to page. Nate explained very clearly his style of approach, where fish hang out, rise of a trout, delivery style, and dry flies simplified—yes, simplified! How many of us try to fill our fly box with so many variations of the same fly? I, myself, enjoy tying a variety of patterns, but end up actually fishing with only a few—simply changing colors and sizes.
Nate’s book includes his fly-fishing journals, where he clearly describes everything he observes on the waters, what he’s looking for and why, his problem solving, and how he selects his flies. He also adds photos of the flies, as well as recipes. One of my favorite chapters is “Fine Details” in which Nate explains in great detail all the things you need to consider to help make your dry fly fishing more successful. This chapter discusses topics that include fly rod set up, important details about flies that will make a difference on the water, and conditions of the environment. Nate has also included a great resource for selecting your flies and organizing your fly box: The Master Index Appendix. It explains the fly categories, how to prep your fly, present it, and how to fish well in different water conditions. Nate includes a very helpful guide for setting up your fly box that will make your fly-fishing experience more efficient and organized.
A 90-minute DVD is included which ties in information from his book and a 1-year subscription to his fly-fishing blogs, spanning over 8 years.
“The first time that I fished after reading Addicted to the Rise I thought about approach and stealth that Nate emphasized. I stopped short of the river and watched very closely. Along my bank was some slow deep water that could likely hold some fish. I found a way to drop my bug into that slow edge, still standing 10 feet from the river and “sonamabeech” if I didn’t catch a big trout before getting my boots wet!
Before reading Addicted to the Rise I would have been standing where I caught that fish before making my fist cast!
This book is loaded with pearls on every subject related to dry fly fishing. I just finished my second time reading the book and I picked up tips that I missed the first time through. The book is highly detailed and while I think beginning fishermen would learn from the book, I also think that more advanced fishermen would benefit even more. This book is worth a study if you want more fish in your net on your outings to the river.
“Brum’s dry flies should probably be outlawed. Trout don’t stand a chance with his realistic patterns. But the flies alone are only half of the equation. Addicted to the Rise is a celebration of dry fly fishing and a powerful how-to guide written by a self-taught trout master.
Clear and crucial guidance — is delivered to the reader accompanied by actual fishing diary entries and video footage that bring these important concepts to life — covers the key elements a dry fly fisherman needs to master to elevate his/her game.
I am not just saying this because I read and enjoyed the book. I’m saying this because I have had the good fortune to rub shoulders with the Dry Fly Innovations team over the last several years and have seen firsthand how to combine their premium dry fly patterns with the specific tactics and techniques covered in this book. They taught me about fly selection, hatch stages, reading rise forms, approaching fish and presenting with care. And most importantly, how to SEARCHER fish when no fish are feeding on the surface. I used to do a lot of streamer and nymph fishing and switch to dry flies when the hatch was on. Now I am almost exclusively a dry fly fisherman and expect to catch 18″ to 20″ trout every time I hit the river. (Confidence is important in fishing, right?)
For those of you who want to catch more and larger fish on dry flies, this book is the ultimate learning curve accelerator. I probably would have been 80 years old before I had nailed these tactics on my own. Do yourself a favor: Buy the book and take decades off your own learning curve. Become a ‘dry fly guy’ and enjoy the visual treat. But be warned – successful dry fly fishing is highly addictive!”
The book is great. Like many, I’ve believed that most of the time fish are feeding under the surface, so a nymph or other wet fly would be more productive. Your book has changed my thinking. This summer I will spend more time dry fly fishing, as this what I enjoy the most. I plan to tie some of your patterns to use this year. Thanks.
“I feel this took decades off my learning curve and I’m incredibly excited and feel so much more confident with Dry Fly Fishing now, both moving and still water. You are also helping my family, because my Dad relies on me to be his “guide” because he doesn’t have the patience/time to learn all this stuff, but I LOVE absorbing the information and putting into practice.
Thank you again so much, and I can’t wait to pass this knowledge down to my Son (now 18 months old) someday. Hopefully I’ll have MANY stories of catching/releasing beautiful trout by the time my Son is ready!”
“After years of experience as fly fishers, authors, and photographers, we tend to think we’ve seen and/or done it all. In fact, we approached this book with that attitude until we dug into it. Let us warn you in no uncertain terms, if you really delve into Addicted to the Rise’s pages and associated DVD, it will hit-you-between-your-eyes just like it did us. Never in the many years we’ve reviewed other author’s books have we been so impressed with the precepts of dry fly fishing Nate Brumley brings to the fore within this book.
This is not just a book with long-known ideas rewritten by another author, Addicted to the Rise is a new adventure and a compete education in dry fly trout fishing. The last chapter, “Brum’s Top 12 Flies,” is worth the price of the book alone. Brumley not only reviews his “top 12” patterns, but he explains why each pattern made his “list”and backs up those reasons with real log-book entries of real fishing trips where the fly earned its stripes.
One of the things we really enjoyed about the book was just opening it to a page and discovering what gem of wisdom Nate had waiting for us. For example, on Page 53 Nate discusses short strikes (he calls them short bites) or false takes. He tells you what the indicators are, the weather conditions, and a video concept to support his lesson. When you finish reading and viewing the section on “bites,” you’ll have a much better idea of what’s happening and what the condition looks like on the water. Best of all, you’ll know what to do to fix any potential problem.
We could go on and on about the volume of valuable information within this book’s pages, but then you would have no reason to buy it and we would be doing our friend Nate Brumley a disservice. We suggest you do yourself a favor and advance your fly fishing skills a lifetime in 240+ pages and a 90-minute DVD. Buy it! You’ll Like it!
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