The American Museum of Fly Fishing was established in 1968 in Manchester, Vermont, by a group of anglers who believed that the history of angling was an important part of American culture and tradition.

The museum was created to serve as an institution to research, preserve, and interpret the treasures of angling history.

Today, the museum serves as a repository for and conservator to the world's largest collection of angling and angling-related items, numbering in the thousands.

The collections and exhibits document the evolution of fly fishing as a sport, art form, craft, and industry in the United States and abroad, dating as far back as the sixteenth century.

Rods, reels, flies, tackle, art, photographs, manuscripts, and books form the museum's permanent collection, including the oldest documented flies in the world.