author
W. (William) Blacker
Best known for a classic guide to fly tying and angling, this 19th-century writer brought practical skill and obvious enthusiasm to the world of salmon and trout fishing. His work still appeals to readers who enjoy traditional craft, outdoors writing, and the history of fishing.
1 Audiobook
About the author
William Blacker was a 19th-century writer associated with Blacker's Art of Fly Making, a well-known work on fly tying and angling first published in London in 1842 and later revised in an 1855 edition. Sources describing the book identify him as a London tackle dealer, and the text itself presents him as a hands-on expert in making fishing flies and teaching the craft.
His writing is practical and detailed, covering artificial flies, materials, methods, and seasonal guidance for trout and salmon fishing. That combination of instruction and personal authority helped make the book an enduring title in fly-fishing literature.
There was also another historical William Blacker, an Irish officer and writer who sometimes used the pseudonym Fitz Stewart, so records under this name can be confusing. For W. (William) Blacker as listed on editions of Blacker's Art of Fly Making, the clearest confirmed picture is of a knowledgeable fishing-tackle maker and author whose reputation rests on this influential angling manual.