john gierach........

I enjoy Gierach's books as well. I've got them all. McGuane is good too, and feels similar to Gierach when you read his work (at least I think so). The only thing I don't like about Gierach is that the overwhleming majority of his writing is about Western streams. Actually, let me re-phrase that, I love Geirachs work, but I wish there were an eastern Gierach as well. Writing about North Eastern streams tends to be too steeped in the "cradle of American fly fishing" angle, and the Limestoners dominate everything.

I read Trout Bum, but it didn't live up to the hype. I received an original printing hardback over the summer from a friend that found it at home and didn't want it. Read it with great anticipation, but it didn't blow my hair back as I've read and heard it was supposed to. I found some of his other books to be much, much better.

As for the comment about wishing he wrote about Eastern waters, I'm glad he doesn't. Our streams are crowded enough and don't need any more publicity than they already get. In the same vein, a well written story won't matter what stream/river it is set on.

If you really want a good read, check out "Trout Magic" and "Trout Madness" by Voelker.

I love reading his stuff in the dead of winter. No better way to keep fly fishing on the brain and in the heart.

i always loved hunting stories as fireside reading. other than gordon macquarrie, fishing writers never peaked an interest, not even hemmingway. sorry. i think i will enjoy geirach, though.

"The best fly fishing related book I've read so far is "A Good Life Wasted, or Twenty Years as a Fly Fishing Guide" by Dave Ames. It's about a guy who gives up a good paying steady job to live broke, but happy doing what he loves... something I can relate to."

if only i was 30 years younger.............

ORIGINAL: rapala11

i always loved hunting stories as fireside reading. other than gordon macquarrie, fishing writers never peaked an interest, not even hemmingway. sorry. i think i will enjoy geirach, though.

Rap, check out this book if you can:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Best-of-Field-and-Stream/J-I-Merritt/e/9781932378795

There are some fishing stories, but the hunting stories are absolutely amazing. They blow me away every time.

Snag it next time you have a few extra bucks to spend on a book. "When The Eider's Flew" is my fav. from that book, Like any anthologies there'll be a few stories that don't do it for you, but on the whole its great.

A book I particularly enjoyed is James Prosek's Joe and Me.  Some of you might also enjoy David Duncan's The River Why  about a young man who looks for the meaning of life in steelhead fishing.  I'll have to try Ame's book again.  Picked it up last fall but then did more fishing than reading and never quite got back to it. 

ORIGINAL: anadromous

If I ever did find the meaning of life I would probably quit work.

Fixed.

ORIGINAL: rapala11

true to tradition, my daughter and i went to the local book store tonight as we have every saturday for a few years. i deviated from my usual browsing of history or social issues and picked up john gierach's "trout bum". i have been trying to put some distance between myself and flyfishing, but because of posted pictures here and dt's articles, i keep getting pulled back in. gierach's book doesn't help the issue. what a terrific read.

My dad truly loves flyfishing and last Christmas I bought him this book, which he really enjoyed:

http://www.amazon.com/Flyfishers-World-Nick-Lyons/dp/0871136287/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0

I am certainly not a devoted flyfisherman, but I have to say that everything by Nick Lyons I have read, including his edited collection of stories, was wonderful.

There is something in this book for every sort of fisherman:

http://www.amazon.com/Gigantic-Book-Fishing-Stories/dp/1602390134/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288789141&sr=1-1

When I first read Gierach's stuff I really liked it. Then for awhile I thought I didn't like it so much after all. But recently I tried reading his stuff again, and thought it was pretty good.
Most of his stuff doesn't "blow your hair back", it's more low key, but I think that's fine. He has a lot of interesting observations.

I didn't like the River Why. Too self-centered, too egotistical.

My favorite fishing book is "Vanishing Trout" by Charles Lose. That is about northcentral PA trout fishing, and Lose was a superb writer.