- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: Fireside (Aug 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671707388
- ISBN-13: 978-0671707385
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,986,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Sports Illustrated"If Mark Twain were alive and a modern-day fly-fisherman, he still would be hard put to top John Gierach.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
On a stretch of one of the forks of a small river near where I live in northern Colorado, there is, in the month of July, a fabulous Red Quill spinner fall. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
On a stretch of one of the forks of a small river near where I live in northern Colorado, there is, in the month of July, a fabulous Red Quill spinner fall. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
John Gierach hit the nail on the head with this collection of stories and I personnally think this is his best offering yet, along with Good flies. It is light-hearted and informative and makes you want to be at the waterside. Reading a book like this is the next best thing to actually fishing.
The story about 'Anyone's St. Vrain' is one that I can really connect with. If you have a favourite water then read this one. Sometimes fishing tales can get repetative but not this book. Gierach has a way of describing things in this book so that it draws the reader in.
If you are looking for a book of fishing tales then pick up John Gierach and I would suggest it was this one!
Be warned though, I have found these books to be addictive.
Format:Hardcover
Philosophical musings, and humourous as always - in short a brilliant read. One of his best collections, and stands up there alongside 'Trout Bum' (geirach) and 'Casting at the Sun' (chris yates) as one of the classics of this period. Even if your not interested in fishing this book will entertain you no end!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Amusing views of flyfishing, worth a few chuckles
26 Jan 1997
Format:Paperback
John Gierach is one of the better-known names in the flyfishing literature, and he continues his tradition of lively, entertaining anecdotes in this volume. Although his often-biting tone can get somewhat tiresome, the book nevertheless has some very amusing stories - a couple of them downright hilarious. Although everybody will find aspects of the book worthwhile, anglers (especially flyfisherfolk) will see aspects of themselves reflected here, and laugh heartily
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
It's About the Bugs
11 Feb 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Prurient readers titillated by the title will be disappointed. The only references to sex and death in this book have to do with the behavior of bugs - mayflies that is.
Here's an example. "A mayfly spinner lies on the surface of the stream in what fishermen call the `spent' position. To picture it accurately remember that the insect has just had the first and only orgasm of its life and is now, in the natural course of things, dying from it. His body lies flush with the water, wings spread, legs out flat, tails splayed wistfully. Usually he's limp. If he struggles at all, he does it feebly at best. There's probably a silly look on his face, although it's hard to tell with insects".
So accept it. What this book really is about is fly fishing, and the sex and death are there just to hook you. But can this kind of stuff also reel you in? You'll find yourself wading through material such as the following: "I tied on a #14 Michigan Chocolate spinner, a fly that A.K. had turned me onto years before. This thing has fine split tails of pale dun hackle fibers, spent hen hackle wings of the same color, and a thinly dubbed, dark brown body...".
You would think that this kind of gobbledygook would be accessible and interesting to hard core fisherpeople only, but it's not the case. I've never fly fished, and I was captivated by it.
I think the author puts it well: "I don't know exactly what fly fishing teaches us, but I think it's something we need to know".
Here's an example. "A mayfly spinner lies on the surface of the stream in what fishermen call the `spent' position. To picture it accurately remember that the insect has just had the first and only orgasm of its life and is now, in the natural course of things, dying from it. His body lies flush with the water, wings spread, legs out flat, tails splayed wistfully. Usually he's limp. If he struggles at all, he does it feebly at best. There's probably a silly look on his face, although it's hard to tell with insects".
So accept it. What this book really is about is fly fishing, and the sex and death are there just to hook you. But can this kind of stuff also reel you in? You'll find yourself wading through material such as the following: "I tied on a #14 Michigan Chocolate spinner, a fly that A.K. had turned me onto years before. This thing has fine split tails of pale dun hackle fibers, spent hen hackle wings of the same color, and a thinly dubbed, dark brown body...".
You would think that this kind of gobbledygook would be accessible and interesting to hard core fisherpeople only, but it's not the case. I've never fly fished, and I was captivated by it.
I think the author puts it well: "I don't know exactly what fly fishing teaches us, but I think it's something we need to know".
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
The Birds and the Bees?
27 Oct 2008
Format:Paperback
The book is a collection of essays written more about fly-fishing than sex. The writing is crisp and avoids any notion of being "flowery." Gierach is at his best when things go bad - real bad. In the context of fishing that is. The worst fishing conditions bring out his laser-focused wit in Sex, Death, and Fly-Fishing. And nobody or nothing is off-limits. He'll take a swing at "selective" trout and those "tweed-coat" types along with anyone else who happens to be near where he's fishing. A good example which had me laughing was "The Drought Years."
But it's not all laughs. Gierach has the unusual talent of sneaking in very lucid observations. Just when you think he's going to continue on his comedic-roll... Bang, he hits you with a simple truth of the matter. A truth you probably knew, but never saw put in words so simply and clearly.
Gierach can even render the philosophical without sounding philosophical. Again, he finds a way to express a concept like an "ecosystem" in terms I think we can all understand:
"A good ecologist can dovetail into dovetail until the whole thing stretches out of sight. We call it an ecosystem now; earlier Americans called it the Sacred Circle. Either way it can make your little head swim with a vision of a thing of great size and strength that still depends on the underpinning of its smallest members."
Makes sense... So, maybe it is about the birds and bees afterall.
But it's not all laughs. Gierach has the unusual talent of sneaking in very lucid observations. Just when you think he's going to continue on his comedic-roll... Bang, he hits you with a simple truth of the matter. A truth you probably knew, but never saw put in words so simply and clearly.
Gierach can even render the philosophical without sounding philosophical. Again, he finds a way to express a concept like an "ecosystem" in terms I think we can all understand:
"A good ecologist can dovetail into dovetail until the whole thing stretches out of sight. We call it an ecosystem now; earlier Americans called it the Sacred Circle. Either way it can make your little head swim with a vision of a thing of great size and strength that still depends on the underpinning of its smallest members."
Makes sense... So, maybe it is about the birds and bees afterall.
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