Why fish salt water with a fly? Because, says Kreh, it combines the best physical and cerebral aspects of fishing and hunting, with the added complication that "no stocked fish roam the seas." Unlike trout fishing ("Trout fishing writers have always tended to complicate a rather simple sport," carps Kreh), where the angler must understand from the start that trout in a pool are relatively stationary creatures that exist only on the food available in that pool, saltwater species are fish in transit, constantly on the move, often in schools, and they gulp down anything they run into. Kreh's bible begins by engraving that difference in stone. Then it patiently introduces you to the sport's basics step by step: the necessary tackle and how to care for it; technique; fly patterns; fish behavior; the long cast; understanding tides and where fish are likely located; and specifics of deepwater fishing, inshore fishing, and fishing at sea from boats.

"The sea has always been a fascination to me, and the creatures in it offer the greatest challenge a fly rodder will ever know," writes Kreh. His unparalleled infectious enthusiasm--just look at the cover photo of the author: a happy man if ever there was one--and expertise make that challenge as reachable as it is alluring. --Jeff Silverman