A nice, somewhat reflective collection of narrative essays about fly-fishing. Chatham is a good/evocative writer and, unless he's a liar, an incredible fisherman. The book is scattered with photos, none of which are very interesting or varied, except that they show you how expletiving big the fish in question are. There's an interesting fly-vs.-spinners thread throughout, sort of a sail-vs.-powerboat thing, which Chatham keeps effortlessly in check. Kind of funny. There's the occasional cheesy e More...

A collection of essays about fly fishing in California in the 1970s, Chatham's book is evocatively written about a time -- and fisheries -- that really don't exist any more.

He's something of a fly fishing bum and the stories reflect it (he'll fish almost anywhere for anything). I'm not sure what Chatham's intent was when he wrote the book, but over the decades, it's become something of a historical document -- a look back at fisheries, some of which don't exist.

I enjoye More...

Fantastic stories of fly fishing on the west coast.