A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling

A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling
Title Page - 7th Edition 1807
Author	Thomas Best
Country	England
Language	English
Subject	Fly fishing
Publisher	B. Crosby and Co., London
Publication date	1787
Pages	186

A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling- Confirmed by Actual Experiences and Minute Observations to Which is Added the Compleat Fly-Fisher is a fly fishing book written by Thomas Best, first published in London in 1787.

Synopsis

Frontispiece (7th Edition) showing very early renditions of artificial flies

Frontispiece (9th Edition)

Although the first part of A Concise Treatise is a general angling work that provided little new information when it was published, the second part of the book--The Complete Fly-Fisher was one of the earliest how-to books on the subject of fly fishing and artificial fly making. The book proved to be extremely popular and useful, being issued in thirteen editions from 1787 to 1846.

Reviews

In Ancient Angling Authors (1910) W. J. Turrell notes:

A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling. . . . By Thomas Best, Gent. Late of his Majesty's Drawing Room in the Tower, London, appeared in 1787. Thirteen editions of this work were published;, to the tenth and eleventh editions the greater part of Nobbes' Compleat Troller was added. This book, though it contains nothing strikingly original, is a thoroughly practical treatise on the art of angling...^[1]

In Notable Angling Literature (1945) James Robb notes about Best and A Concise Treatise:

He makes mention of the multiplying reel, the first time we hear of it, but evidently not unknown before his day. In the second part of the book, which has the special title The Complete Fly-fisher, he describes the dressing of many flies and their killing powers. Upon the whole, it is a practical and sensible work.^[2]

(From the 9th Edition)

Part I - Art of Angling
- Chapter I - A Description of Fishes, according to Natural History with the best methods of Breeding, mid Feeding Carp, &c
- Chapter II - The best Manner of Making and Chasing Rods, Lines, Hooks, &c
- Chapter III - The general Baits used in Angling, wherefound, and how preserved.
- Chapter IV - Of natural Fly-Fishing, with a Description of Flies generally used, and a choice collection of Rules and Hints to be observed in Angling
- Chapter V - A Description of the Fish generally angled for in England and Wales, with the proper Times and Seasons, to fish for them; their peculiar haunts, spawning Time, and most killing, Baits
- Chapter VI - The most scientific Method of making Fish-Ponds, Stews, &c.; to which are added, several Arcana in the Art of Angling
Part II - The Complete Fly Fisher: or Everyman his own fly-maker
- Chapter I - Observations concerning artificial Fly-angling, with proper Directions for the Angler's Rods, Lines, &c.
- Chapter II - A List of the Materials necessary for an Angler to have, and the best Method to make the Palmer and May Fly.
- Chapter III - The Names and the best Manner of dubbing the different Artificial Flies, which are generally known and will kill Fish on any Water from the beginning of March to the end of September
- Chapter IV - A second List of very killing Flies
- Chapter V - The best Rules for Artificial Fly-fishing
- Chapter VI - Of the principal Rivers in England, and particularly of the Thames
- Chapter VII - Of the Game Laws relative to Angling
- Chapter VIII - Prognostics of the Weather, independent of the Barometer, extracted from the best Authorities
- Chapter IX - Rules to Judge of the Barometer

Other editions

From Bibliotheca Piscatoria, T. Westwood & T. Satchell (1883)^[3]

Best, Thomas (1787). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (2nd ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1794). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (3rd ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1798). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (4th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1802). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (5th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1804). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (6th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1807). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (7th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1808). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (8th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1810). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (9th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1814). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (10th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1822). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (11th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1832). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (12th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.
Best, Thomas (1846). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (13th ed.). London: B. Crosby & Co.

From Antiquarian Booksellers Online

Best, Thomas (1992). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (Limited Edition Facsimile (175) ed.). London: Market Drayton.
Best, Thomas (2008). A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling (Facsimile ed.). Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN 1-4369-0836-1.

Additional reading

Robb, James (1945). Notable Angling Literature. London: Herbert Jenkins Limited.
Gingrich, Arnold (1974). The Fishing In Print-A Guided Tour Through Five Centuries of Angling Literature. New York: Winchester Press.
Herd, Andrew Dr (2001). The Fly. Ellesmere, Shropshire: Medlar Press. ISBN 1-899600-19-1.

External links

Online Version Internet Archive

Notes

↑ Turrell, W. J. (1910). Ancient Angling Authors. London: Gurney and Jackson. pp. 222–223.
↑ Robb, James (1945). Notable Angling Literature. London: Herbert Jenkins Limited. p. 94.
↑ Westwood, T.; Satchell, T. (1883). Bibliotheca Piscatoria-A Catalogue Of Books On Angling, The Fisheries and Fish-Culture, With Bibliographical Notes and an Appendix Of Citations Touching On Angling and fishing from Old English authors. London: W. Satchell. p. 31.

Angling and game fishing

Angling	Boat fishing Trolling Casting Spey casting Reach cast Surf fishing Rock fishing Bank fishing Kayak fishing Centerpin fishing Coarse fish Rough fish Bottom fishing Tackle Techniques Tournaments Traditional fishing boats Angling personalities Television series Confédération Internationale de la Pêche Sportive

Game fishing	Big-game fishing Land-based game fishing Salmon run International Game Fish Association

Sport fish	Bass Carp Fly target species Mahi-mahi Marlin Porgie (bream) Shad Smelt whiting Striped bass Swordfish Walleye

The catch	Bag limits Catch and release Ghille Ike jime Minimum landing size Panfish Priest (tool) Tag and release

Catch records	Europe UK

Fly fishing

Fly fishing	Fly fishing tackle Bamboo fly rod Fly rod building Fly Casting Analyzer Furled leader Spey casting Reach cast Tenkara fishing Float tube Trout bum Target fish Fly waters Bibliography of fly fishing

Artificial flies	Fly lure Fly tying Adams Amadou Clouser Deep Minnow Cul De Canard Dave's Hopper Diawl bach Egg sucking leech Elk Hair Caddis Flesh Fly Grey Ghost Streamer Hare's Ear Klinkhammer Muddler Minnow Parks' Salmonfly Partridge and Orange Pheasant Tail Nymph Royal Coachman Royal Wulff Sakasa Kebari Trolling tandem streamer fly Tube fly Woolly Worm Woolly Bugger

Organizations	American Museum of Fly Fishing Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum Federation of Fly Fishers Trout Unlimited

Literature	Blacker's Art of Fly Making A Book on Angling A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice Favorite Flies and Their Histories Floating Flies and How to Dress Them The Fly-fisher's Entomology Fly Fishing A History of Fly Fishing for Trout Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream Pseudonyms of notable angling authors The American Angler's Book The Salmon Fly The Way of a Trout with the Fly

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