I love reading books, especially books about fishing. Any type of fishing stories, fishing tips, or the like and they’ll keep my attention.
There are literally hundreds of fishing books, but I’ve narrowed this list down to the Top 100 Non-fiction Fishing Books, including my “Must Read List” which you can find at the end.
Let’s jump right in!
Top 100 Non-fiction Fishing Books
Check out the table below for our top picks. You can sort the table by fiction or non-fiction, and you can also search the table for certain keywords or titles.
*You can read the bottom of this post for an explanation of how we ranked the books.
| Rank | Cover | Title | Category | Where to Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Total Fishing Manual | General | Amazon |
| 2 |  | The Total Fishing Manual: 317 Essential Fishing Skills (Field and Stream) | General | Amazon |
| 4 |  | The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea | True Story | Amazon |
| 5 |  | The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide | Fly Fishing | Amazon |
| 6 |  | Basic Fishing: A Beginner's Guide | General | Amazon |
| 7 |  | Fishing for Dummies | General | Amazon |
| 8 |  | The Orvis Guide to Beginning Fly Fishing: 101 Tips for the Absolute Beginner | Fly Fishing | Amazon |
| 9 |  | The Complete Book of Fishing Knots, Leaders, and Lines | Knots | Amazon |
| 10 |  | How to Think Like a Fish: And Other Lessons from a Lifetime in Angling | General | Amazon |
| 11 |  | Florida Sportsman Sport Fish of Florida Book | Florida | Amazon |
| 12 |  | Incredible and True Fishing Stories | True Story | Amazon |
| 13 |  | Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die | Fly Fishing | Amazon |
| 14 |  | Kids Gone Fishin' (The Freshwater Angler) | Kids | Amazon |
| 15 |  | The Complete Guide to Surfcasting | Casting | Amazon |
| 16 |  | Fishing on the Edge: The Mike Iaconelli Story | True Story | Amazon |
| 17 |  | Tactical Fly Fishing: Lessons Learned from Competition for All Anglers | Fly Fishing | Amazon |
| 18 |  | Roland Martin's Bass Catching Secrets | Bass | Amazon |
| 19 |  | Fly Fishing for Trout: The Next Level | Fly Fishing | Amazon |
| 20 |  | The Greatest Fishing Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Eight Unforgettable Fishing Tales | True Story | Amazon |
| 21 |  | Fishing: A Guide to Fresh and Salt-Water Fishing | Saltwater | Amazon |
| 22 |  | Saltwater Fishing Made Easy | Saltwater | Amazon |
| 23 |  | Freshwater Fishing Tips & Techniques: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Freshwater Fishing | Freshwater | Amazon |
| 24 |  | Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish | Saltwater | Amazon |
| 25 |  | National Geographic Kids Chapters: Monster Fish!: True Stories of Adventures With Animals | Kids | Amazon |
| 26 |  | Saltwater Sport Fish of the Gulf Field Guide (Fish Identification Guides) | Saltwater | Amazon |
| 27 |  | Knot It!: The Ultimate Guide to Mastering 100 Essential Outdoor and Fishing Knots | Knots | Amazon |
| 28 |  | Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Freshwater Fish | Freshwater | Amazon |
| 29 |  | Fish Florida Saltwater: Better Than Luck―The Foolproof Guide to Florida Saltwater Fishing | Saltwater | Amazon |
| 30 |  | Fly Fishing for Beginners (The Freshwater Angler) | Fly Fishing | Amazon |
| 31 |  | The Orvis Guide to Leaders, Knots, and Tippets: A Detailed, Streamside Field Guide To Leader Construction, Fly-Fishing Knots, Tippets and More | Knots | Amazon |
| 32 |  | Secrets of a Champion: Bass Superstar Reveals His Winning Tips | General | Amazon |
| 33 |  | Sportsman Best: Offshore Fishing Book | Offshore | Amazon |
| 34 |  | Sportsman's Best: Dolphin Book | Dolphin | Amazon |
| 35 |  | Freshwater Fishes: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar North American Species (Wildlife and Nature Identification) | Freshwater | Amazon |
| 36 |  | The Pocket Guide to Fishing Knots: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Most Important Knots for Fresh and Salt Water | Knots | Amazon |
| 37 |  | Kayak Bass Fishing: Largemouth, Smallmouth, Stripers | Bass, Kayak | Amazon |
| 38 |  | OutdoorIQ Ultimate Fishing Guide Just For Kids! | Kids | Amazon |
| 39 |  | Practical Fishing Knots | Knots | Amazon |
| 40 |  | Trout Magic | Trout | Amazon |
| 41 |  | 250 Amazing Fishing Tips: The Best Tactics and Techniques to Catch Any and All Game Fish | General | Amazon |
| 42 |  | 1,001 Pearls of Fishing Wisdom: Advice and Inspiration for Sea, Lake, and Stream | General | Amazon |
| 43 |  | Fishing Stories (Everyman's Library Pocket Classics Series) | True Story | Amazon |
| 44 |  | Encyclopedia of Fishing Knots & Rigs | Knots | Amazon |
| 45 |  | The Ultimate Guide to Kayak Fishing: A Practical Guide (Ultimate Guides) | Kayak | Amazon |
| 46 |  | First steps in fishing: a beginners guide | General | Amazon |
| 47 |  | Amazing But True Fishing Stories | True Story | Amazon |
| 48 |  | Winning Strategies of the Bass Pros | Bass, Kayak | Amazon |
| 49 |  | The Pocket Fishing Basics Guide: Freshwater Basics: Hook, Line, and Sinker | Freshwater | Amazon |
| 50 |  | South East Guide to Saltwater Fishing and Boating | Saltwater | Amazon |
| 51 |  | Kayak Fishing: The Complete Guide | Kayak | Amazon |
| 52 |  | Sportsman's Best: Kayak Fishing | Kayak | Amazon |
| 53 |  | The Complete Book of Saltwater Fishing | Saltwater | Amazon |
| 54 |  | Kayak Fishing: A Guide to Freshwater Rigging, Lures, Baits, and Techniques for Kayak Fishing Success | Kayak | Amazon |
| 55 |  | Caught Me a Big'Un...and Then I Let Him Go!: Jimmy Houston's Bass Fishing Tips 'N' Tales | General | Amazon |
| 56 |  | Sportsman Best: Inshore Fishing Book | Inshore | Amazon |
| 57 |  | Sportsman's Best: Baits, Rigs & Tackle | Rigs | Amazon |
| 58 |  | Inshore Salt Water Fishing | Inshore | Amazon |
| 59 |  | Fishing Stories: A Lifetime of Adventures and Misadventures on Rivers, Lakes, and Seas | True Story | Amazon |
| 60 |  | Kid's Incredible Fishing Stories | Kids | Amazon |
| 61 |  | Bass Fishing: Tips and Tricks for Catching Largemouth Bass (Fishing Guide, Freshwater Fishing, Bass Fishing Books, How to Fish, Fishing Tackle) | Bass | Amazon |
| 62 |  | Offshore Pursuit: A Complete Guide to Blue-water Sport Fishing | Offshore | Amazon |
| 63 |  | Kayak Fishing: The Ultimate Guide 2nd Edition | Kayak | Amazon |
| 64 |  | Tuna: An Angler's Guide to a Great Gamefish | General | Amazon |
| 65 |  | 101 Bass Fishing Tips: Twenty-First Century Bassing Tactics and Techniques from All the Top Pros | Bass | Amazon |
| 66 |  | Sportsman's Best: Sailfish | Sailfish | Amazon |
| 67 |  | Sportsman's Best: Snapper & Grouper | Snapper, Grouper | Amazon |
| 68 |  | Offshore Salt Water Fishing | Offshore, Saltwater | Amazon |
| 69 |  | Sportsman's Best: Surf Fishing | Surf | Amazon |
| 70 |  | How to Bass Fish Like a Pro | Bass | Amazon |
| 71 |  | The Total Fishing Guide For A Novice: Saltwater To Freshwater | Saltwater | Amazon |
| 72 |  | Fishing for Kids: A Complete Guide 100 Pages | Kids | Amazon |
| 73 |  | A History of Baitcasting in America | Casting | Amazon |
| 74 |  | Fly Fishing Made Easy: A Manual for Beginners with Tips for the Experienced | Fly Fishing | Amazon |
| 75 |  | The Everything Fishing Book | General | Amazon |
| 76 |  | Sportsman's Best: Snook | Snook | Amazon |
| 7 |  | Bass Pros' Season by Season Tactics | Bass | Amazon |
| 78 |  | The Ultimate Fishing Book | General | Amazon |
| 79 |  | Bass Fishing 101: Your Guide To Largemouth Bass Fishing | Bass | Amazon |
| 80 |  | Sportsman's Best: Redfish | Redfish | Amazon |
| 81 |  | Sportsman's Best: Trout | Trout | Amazon |
| 82 |  | Bass Fishing: A Beginners Guide to Bass Fishing | General | Amazon |
| 83 |  | How to Fly Fish: Your Step By Step Guide To Fly Fishing | Fly Fishing | Amazon |
| 84 |  | Bill Dance's Fishing Wisdom: 101 Secrets to Catching More and Bigger Fish | General | Amazon |
| 85 |  | Florida Bass Fishing: Locations and Techniques for Largemouth and Peacock Bass Fishing in Florida | Bass | Amazon |
| 86 |  | Sportsman's Best: Sight Fishing | General | Amazon |
| 87 |  | Inshore Fishing: A Guide to Baits, Lures, Tackle, and Targeting Saltwater Species | Inshore | Amazon |
| 88 |  | Bass Fishing: A Guide to Mastering Freshwater Bass Fishing Techniques | Bass | Amazon |
| 89 |  | Saltwater Kayak Fishing: Inshore Fishing Tactics and Techniques | Saltwater, Kayak | Amazon |
| 90 | | Orvis Guide to Family Friendly Fly Fishing | Fly Fishing | Amazon |
7 Must Read Fishing Books
1. Incredible and True Fishing Stories
The best fishing book I’ve ever read, and my top pick is a book full of fishing stories. The book is titled “Incredible and True Fishing Stories” written by Shaun Morey.
It’s filled with exciting tales of some amazing fish catches. Everything from a crew hauling in seventy-five marlin in a single day, to a man battling a tuna for over seventeen hours, this book has it all!
I read this book over and over throughout my childhood and couldn’t get enough of the stories within it. I would recommend it to anyone who loves reading about fishing.
2. Kid’s Incredible Fishing Stories
Also written by Shaun Morey, “Kid’s Incredible Fishing Stories” is another awesome read. This book is all about kid anglers with unbelievable fishing tales.
From the boy who fished very day for more than 1,200 days, to the youngster that caught a fish while riding home on his bike. This book is filled with some epic fishing adventures of young anglers.
3. Amazing But True Fishing Stories
The book “Amazing But True Fishing Stories” is also made up of a number of insane fishing stories. Everything from one man catching nearly 600 fish in less than an hour using a single fishing rod to the group of anglers who managed to land eighty-three sailfish in one day.
If you enjoy reading tales about fishing, this book is for you.
4. Roland Martin’s 101 Bass Catching Secrets
If you love catching bass and want to learn more about the great sport of bass fishing, this book is for you. Roland Martin is a very experienced and skilled bass angler. He has won many bass tournaments and Angler of the Year titles throughout the course of his career.
His book is includes endless tips and tricks on how to catch more bass, plus a few of Martin’s fishing own stories. If your looking for an all around interesting and entertaining read, be sure to check this book out.
5. Secrets of a Champion
Kevin Vandam is considered by some to be the greatest bass fisherman of all time. He has won 25 major bass tournaments, throughout his seasoned career, including 4 Bass Master Classic championships. Plus, Vandam has also won 7 Angler of the Year titles.
His book reveals some of his secret tactics when it comes to catching bass. If you want to learn how to catch bass even on the toughest days, you should give this book a read.
6. Sportsman Best: Inshore Fishing Book
If you’re a saltwater angler and enjoy catching inshore species, I would definitely recommend this book full of tips and tricks.
It includes valuable information about how to effectively target and catch a wide range of inshore species, such as snook, redfish, spotted seatrout, flounder, and more. This is an awesome book for the anglers who wish to further their inshore fishing knowledge.
7. Sportsman Best: Offshore Fishing Book
If you prefer offshore fishing and targeting pelagic species, this book is certainly one you should read. It includes a number of tips and techniques for catching variety of offshore fish, such as sailfish, mahi, marlin, tuna, kingfish, wahoo and more.
This book is a great read for anyone who wants to go beyond the basics of offshore fishing.
We used a combination of Amazon star ratings and review counts to rank the books. The formula creates a point system on a 10 point scale.
Star rating. Number of star rating points X 2. For example, a book with 4.0 star rating receives 8.0 points.
Review count. The book is given points based on number of reviews. (> 500 = 10, > 250 = 9, > 200 = 8, > 150 = 7, > 100 = 6, > 75 = 5, > 50 = 4, > 25 = 3, >10 = 2, > 0 = 1) For example, a book with 127 reviews would receive 6.0 points.
The points from the star rating and review count are then averaged to give a final score. Books are ranked using this final score.
Example 1. Book 1 has a 4.5 star rating and 125 reviews, Book 2 has a 4.5 star rating and 50 reviews. Book 1 in this scenario will be rated higher.
Example 2. Book 1 has a 4.5 star rating and 1,000 reviews. Book 2 has a 4.9 star star rating and 10 reviews. Book 1 in this scenario will be rated higher.
