Paul Arden | Monday, 4 September 2017
If you were to have just one fly casting book in your library then this should be it.
That's the end of my review, but I'll add some more anyway... 
Jason drop-boxed me a copy of his upcoming book before I got teleported out of the jungle - and let me tell you, it's much harder to read a book on a laptop screen rather than in print! I spent the first couple of evenings going through it looking for mistakes, after all that's what friends are for. As expected I found nothing to report back, apart from one thing...
"There is now no need for anyone else to write a technical single handed casting book! Congratulations Jason!!! This is the book I was hoping you'd write! I love the illustrations too - a fantastic combination of drawings and text. I wish I had had a book like this when I first started to get serious about flycasting..."
To be honest, I am still completely knocked back by the illustrations. There is something so clear in the visual part of the book. The images are line drawings taken from High Definition movie frames. This was actually maked them real (Jason is casting and the videos are shot from a ladder i believe), two or more frames can be superimposed and of course movement can be illustrated as well. Previous books I've read have variaous photgraphs full of background clutter and often the photgraphic sequence is not even from the same cast!
The more I read the book, the more I was amazed by the amount of content contained. This led to the aumtomatic question as to how long the book took to write?
"Seemingly forever! I've been writing it (mentally at least) since the last book. Actual time to complete once I sat down and started making it really happen: 5+ years. Illustrations and layout added to the time."
And this is why I will never write a flycasting book! The amount of time and thoroughness involved really shines throughout the work. It's simply amazing actually.
I've dipped in and read various chapters, scanned page-by-page for mistakes, and have thoroughly enjoyed what I've read so far. I haven't been able to read it straight through, from end to end, yet because trying to read a complete book on a small laptop screen simply leads to insanity. But I have a hard copy coming and I will post my second part to the review then. I am particularly entrigued to see how the panomime/foundation cast in early sections work with unsuspecting students (I'm a huge believer in teaching the foundation cast by the way) and I'm also keen to see if Ashly can learn the various Spey casts using the book - which I believe she can.
There is not one fly fisherman who would not be better off by owning a copy of this book. Copies are very limited and Jason has run off 1001 limited edition hard-back copies. The book costs 60USD and shipping depends on where you are in the world. $10 in the USA, $36 if you are lucky enough to live in Canada, $50 if you live everywhere else. It's worth every penny.
You can order direct from Jason for your signed and numbered copy here: http://www.fishfliesandwater.com/single-handed-fly-casting-book/
It is by far the best flycasting instruction book there is. Congratulations Jason!!!
Cheers,
Paul