Sex, Death, and Fly-Fishing »

John Gierach is the author of several previous books, including At the Grave of the Unknown Fisherman, Standing in a River Waving a Stick, and Dances with Trout. His work has appeared in Gray's Sporting Journal, Field & Stream, where he is a contributing writer, and Fly Rod & Reel, where he is a columnist. He also writes columns for the Longmont (CO) Daily Times-Call and the monthly Redstone Review. He lives in Lyons, Colorado.

From the irrepressible author of Trout Bum and The View from Rat Lake comes an engaging, humorous, often profound examination of life's greatest mysteries: sex, death, and fly-fishing.

John Gierach's quest takes us from his quiet home water (an ordinary, run-of-the-mill trout stream where fly-fishing can be a casual affair) to Utah's famous Green River, and to unknown creeks throughout the Western states and Canada. We're introduced to a lively group of fishing buddies, some local "experts" and even an ex-girlfriend, along the way

Contemplative, evocative, and wry, he shares insights on mayflies and men, fishing and sport, life and love, and the meaning (or meaninglessness) of it all.

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt

"Sex, Death and Fly-Fishing" is just a mite on the wordy and undisciplined side. Any subject serves his muse. He even builds an essay, "The Chairman's Bass," around a huge fish he saw but never even tried to catch. But at any point in its 18 essays, one is likely to find a useful tip, a funny line or a passage that catches the mood of a stream exactly right. -- New York Times

1 Sex, Death, and Fly-fishing

2 Bass Fishing by the Numbers

3 Midge Fishing

4 Expertizing

5 I'd Fish Anyone's ST. Vrain

6 The Less-loved Fishes

7 Sticks

8 The Drought Year

9 Neither Snow, nor Rain, nor Gloom of Night

10 Fly-fishing's National Bird

11 Guiding and Being Guided

12 The Chairman's Bass

13 Rivers

14 A Quiet Week

15 Wyoming

16 British Columbia

17 The Trout Wars

18 Autumn