Careful with this light-hearted little collection of essays, there is wisdom sprinkled in there and you just might learn something that will improve your fishing. Gierach is well loved and well read by fly fisherman and for good reason. You sense a little of his philosophy background in his belief that simple is generally better, and his writing is without the pretentiousness that one often finds in fly fishing literature. This is THE book for the guy who fishes in jeans and a t-shirt. All you high-brows with the top shelf gear, 15 retractables on your vest, and perpetually upturned noses will still enjoy it, but I like to think of it as a diamond FOR the rough.

Careful with this light-hearted little collection of essays, there is wisdom sprinkled in there and you just might learn something that will improve your fishing. Gierach is well loved and well read by fly fisherman and for good reason. You sense a little of his philosophy background in his belief that simple is generally better, and his writing is without the pretentiousness that one often finds in fly fishing literature. This is THE book for the guy who fishes in jeans and a t-shirt. All you high-brows with the top shelf gear, 15 retractables on your vest, and perpetually upturned noses will still enjoy it, but I like to think of it as a diamond FOR the rough.

John Gierach is to fly fishing what Will Rogers was to social commentary. It's the common human experience of anticipation, joy, anger, humor, camaraderie, disappointment and resilience we can easily relate to in John's elegant stories. If you are a fly fisher then the tales are just that much better. You will read the twenty chapters of this book and immediately want to go back and enjoy your favorites again. Yes, it's that good.

Every fly fisherman has his favorite writers. It's a necessity, because it's so much easier to find time to read than it is to find time to fish. Gierach is wonderful. I've read most of his books. I like Bill Tapply too.

This book is just terrific. A timeless classic. Even if you don't fly fish it is well worth reading.

John's travels and travails with A.K. Best and a world class Trout addiction are literate, light and great fun to read when you can't be fishing yourself