Synopses & Reviews
Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers.
For the first time, two of John Gierach’s most popular fishing books are collected in one volume—a double dose of delight for longtime fans or first-time visitors to Gierach country.
As Gierach astutely observes in Dances with Trout, “Fly-fishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some hands, poetic in others, and laced with conflicting aesthetic considerations. It’s not even clear if catching fish is actually the point.” This observation might also describe Gierach’s writing—catching fish might be the subject, but most of the fun and (mis)adventure comes well before that point. Whether it’s fishing close to home waters (Colorado) or farther afield (Alaska, Scotland, Texas); ice-fishing, tournament fishing, or night fishing; fishing for trout, salmon, carp, splake, or grayling; fishing with familiar companions like A.K. Best or the enigmatic “Zen master among fishing guides”; no detail of the fishing life is too insignificant or too absurd for Gierach.
As he writes in Another Lousy Day in Paradise, “The real truth about fly-fishing is, it is beautiful beyond description in almost every way, and when a certain kind of person is confronted with a certain kind of beauty, they are either saved or ruined for life, or a little bit of both.” So start reading and be saved—or ruined—by Gierach’s wonderful insights into the world around us.
Synopsis
2 of John Gierach's popular fishing titles, Another Lousy Day in Paradise and Dances With Trout, published together for the first time in one volume.
Synopsis
Two of John Gierach’s most popular fishing books—
Another Lousy Day in Paradise and
Dances with Trout —now together in one convenient volume.
• From streams to rivers to oceans: From the Smokies in eastern Tennessee to his home waters of Colorado, from the Canadian Maritimes to salmon fishing in Scotland, Gierach ventures into all kinds of territory to capture the allure and diversity of the sport. His themes are similarly wide-ranging and adventurous. He writes about the charms of familiar, third-rate streams and the value and etiquette of fishing guides; about night fishing when the trout and the mosquitoes are both abundant; about the relative merits of browns, rainbows, brookies, and cutthroats; and just about anything else that has to do with fishing.
• America’s favorite fly-fishing writer: “Gierach is a first-rank fishing writer—in the same league as Nick Lyons and Bill Tapply—but his thoughtful meditations on friends and family evoke Garrison Keillor,” says Booklist . His wit, eloquence, and wisdom transcend the confines of the stream or river in which he casts his line and his observations are never less than rewarding, and often profound. Gierach’s marvelously entertaining prose is a pleasure not just for those who love to fish, but for anyone who loves to read.
Synopsis
For the first time, two of John Gierach’s most popular fishing books are collected in one volume—a double dose of delight for longtime fans or first-time visitors to Gierach country.
As Gierach astutely observes in Dances with Trout, “Fly-fishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some hands, poetic in others, and laced with conflicting aesthetic considerations. It’s not even clear if catching fish is actually the point.” This observation might also describe Gierach’s writing—catching fish might be the subject, but most of the fun and (mis)adventure comes well before that point. Whether it’s fishing close to home waters (Colorado) or farther afield (Alaska, Scotland, Texas); ice-fishing, tournament fishing, or night fishing; fishing for trout, salmon, carp, splake, or grayling; fishing with familiar companions like A.K. Best or the enigmatic “Zen master among fishing guides”; no detail of the fishing life is too insignificant or too absurd for Gierach.
As he writes in Another Lousy Day in Paradise, “The real truth about fly-fishing is, it is beautiful beyond description in almost every way, and when a certain kind of person is confronted with a certain kind of beauty, they are either saved or ruined for life, or a little bit of both.” So start reading and be saved—or ruined—by Gierach’s wonderful insights into the world around us.
About the Author
John Gierach is the author of numerous books on fly-fishing, including At the Grave of the Unknown Fisherman, Standing in a River Waving a Stick, Dances with Trout, Another Lousy Day in Paradise, and No Shortage of Good Days. His work has appeared in Field & Stream, Gray’s Sporting Journal, and Fly Rod & Reel, where he is a regular columnist. He also writes a column for the monthly Redstone Review. He lives in Lyons, Colorado.