The River Why, Twentieth-Anniversary Edition
by David James Duncan
from Sierra Club Books
David James Duncan's first novel has gained an increasingly wide audience over the years--some might even call it a following. This coming-of-age tale of Gus Orviston's search for the Pacific Northwest's elusive steelhead, a metaphor for Gus's internal quest for self-knowledge, appeals to all who cherish a good yarn and memorable characters. Uncle Zeke's colorful rendition of Gus's conception on the banks of the Deschutes River is itself worth the price of purchase.
Leaving behind a madcap, fishing-obsessed family, Gus decides to strike out on his own, taking refuge in a remote riverbank cabin to pursue his own fly-fishing passion with unrelenting zeal. But instead of finding fishing bliss, Gus becomes increasingly troubled by the degradation of the natural world around him and by the spiritual barrenness of his own life. His desolation drives him on a reluctant quest for self-discovery and meaning—ultimately fruitful beyond his wildest dreams.
Stylistically adept and ambitious in scope, The River Why is a touching and powerful novel by an important voice in American fiction.
In a new Afterword written for this twentieth-anniversary edition, David James Duncan reflects on the genesis of his book and on the surprising link between fishing and wisdom.
The L.L. Bean Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing (L. L. Bean)
by Macauley Lord
from The Lyons Press
Fool's Paradise
by John Gierach
from Simon & Schuster
If John Gierach is living in a fool's paradise, then it's a paradise that his regular readers will recognize and new fans will delight in discovering. Laced with the inimitable blend of wit and wisdom that have made him fly-fishing's foremost scribe, Fool's Paradise chronicles the fishing life in all its glory (catching your biggest fish ever) and squalor (being stranded in a tent during a soaking rainstorm). In Gierach's world, both experiences are valuable, and both evoke humor and insight.
Fishermen everywhere will understand Gierach's quest to discover and explore new waters (and then not to divulge the best locations to anyone), the unlikely appeal of winter fly-fishing ("the ice fishing shanty served the dual purpose of group therapy and the neighborhood tavern"), how impossible it is to predict the best fishing ("Everything that happens is entirely familiar, but I don't always see it coming"), or even the absurdity of the entire exercise ("day after day, you're casting a fly that doesn't look like anything to fish that aren't hungry and may not even be there"). Braving trips on small prop planes and down "Oh-My-God" roads alike, Gierach and his fishing buddies pursue bull trout in British Columbia, steelhead in the Rocky Mountains, and pike so fierce that a wise fisherman wears Kevlar gloves for the obligatory trophy photo.
But as with any activity that depends on unspoiled wilderness, change is constant. Gierach sees this happening both in the landscape ("You never get to point at a meadow full of browsing mule deer and say, 'You know, all this was once condos.'") and at lodges that now require guests to sign liability waivers ("[I] had a brief vision of herds of lawyers coursing over the tundra in search of litigation"). Just the same, he is always awed by the experience of nature, or as he puts it: "You're on a lovely, remote wilderness river in the Alaskan backcountry. There are people who would make this trip and not even bring a fishing rod."
Musing on the enduring appeal of fishing, Gierach theorizes, "We're so used to the fake and the packaged that encountering something real can amount to a borderline religious experience." Equal parts fishing lore, philosophy, and great fish stories, Fool's Paradise may not be a perfect substitute for actually being out on the water, but it's surely the next best thing.
Guide to Fly Fishing Knots: A Basic Streamside Guide for Fly Fishing Knots, Tippets, and Leader Formulas
by Larry V. Notley
from Frank Amato Publications
The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations (Orvis)
by Tom Rosenbauer
from The Lyons Press
This fly fishing guide is a fully-updated, completely revised edition of a classic that's helped more than 200,000 anglers learn or improve upon the basics of fly fishing. The latest edition of this guide has more than 400+ new full color images to make it even easier for thousands more anglers to enjoy learning this great pastime. Our fly fishing guide is heralded as the absolute best source on all aspects of fly fishing.
Fisherman's Ultimate Knot Guide
by John E. Sherry
from J. E. Sherry Company
Ten best fishing knots are clearly illustrated on three waterproof plastic cards. Handy size for pocket, vest, tackle box or boat. Bonus: Also folds out to a twelve inch ruler! Best selling fishing knot guide in the USA with over 250,000 sold.
Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die
by Chris Santella
from Stewart, Tabori and Chang
Amateur or expert, every angler dreams of landing "the big one," but that's only part of the appeal of fly fishing. Because even when hours pass without a bite, nothing beats the rugged beauty of the surroundings. For both armchair travelers and avid outdoorsmen who may have already started a checklist of their own, Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die maps out the meccas of the fly-fishing world.
Through in-depth interviews with the sport's acknowledged gurus, author Chris Santella goes beyond standard guides to convey the very essence of the recommended locations. Readers can vicariously cast mouse pattners to fifty-pound taimen in the wilds of Mongolia, wrangle with wily permit off the Florida Keys, and match the hatch on Montana's Armstrong's Spring Creek. Jardines de la Reina, Cuba (tarpon), the Zhupanova River, Kamchatka (rainbow trout), and the Rio Negro, Brazil (peacock bass) are also included. The essays include a cultural and natural history of each site, along with colorful anecdotes based on the author's and authorities' experiences.
With breath-takingly-beautiful photos of the spots, many by celebrated fly-fishing photographer R. Valentine Atkinson, the book also provides adventurous anglers with enough travel-and-tackle information so that they, too, can start planning excursions to go fish around the globe.
LaFontaine's Legacy: The Last Flies from an American Master (Fly Tyer Books)
by Al Beatty
from The Lyons Press
Trout Flies for the 21st Century: Over 200 Essential Patterns That Catch Fish Anywhere, Anytime (Fly Tyer)
by Dick Talleur
from The Lyons Press
200 Essential Patterns that Catch Fish Anywhere, Anytime
Dick Talleur
Following in the footsteps of the highly touted Stewart & Allen fly-pattern series, and endorsed by Fly Tyer magazine, this extensive trout-fly pattern collection presents 200 recipes for everything trout love: wet flies, dry flies, emergers, nymphs, terrestrials, attractors, and streamers. Master tyer Dick Talleur has collected pattern recipes from across the country, many from professional fishing guides, and thrown in a ton of classic patterns as he ties them. With beautiful full-color photographs of each completed fly and, in some cases, technical photos of crucial tying steps, this book delivers a lifetime’s worth of must-do patterns for the trout chaser.
Handbook Of Hatches: Introductory Guide to the Foods Trout Eat & the Most Effective Flies to Match Them
by Dave Hughes
from Stackpole Books
Fishing success comes from making wise observations on stream and acting on them right away. In Handbook of Hatches, Dave Hughes teaches how to match the hatch and not worry about identifying the insect until later, if at all, and to fish better, focus on shape, size, and color to choose the best fly for the situation. This popular reference work is now updated with full-color photos of the insects. It is an understandable approach and useful guide to fishing hatches that covers mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies, midges, dragonflies, boatmen, alderflies, and hellgrammites.
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