Fool's Paradise (John Gierach's Fly-fishing Library)

Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers.. If John Gierach is living in a fool's paradise, then it's a paradise that his regular readers will recognize and new fans will delight in discovering. Laced with the inimitable blend of wit and wisdom that have made him fly-fishing's foremost scribe, Fool's Paradise chronicles the fishing life in all its glory (catching your biggest fish ever) and squalor (being stranded in a tent during a soaking rainstorm) . In Gierach's world, both experiences are valuable, and perhaps inevitable. . Fishermen everywhere will understand Gierach's quest to discover and explore new waters (and then not to divulge the best locations to anyone) , the unlikely appeal of winter fly-fishing, or his dismay at encroaching development ("You never get to point at a meadow full of browsing mule deer and say, 'You know, all this was once condos.'") . Braving trips on small prop planes and down "Oh-My-God" roads, Gierach and his fishing buddies pursue bull trout in British Collumbia, steelhead in the Rocky Mountains, and pike so fierce that a wise fisherman wears Kevlar gloves for the obligatory trophy photo.. Equal parts fishing lore, philosophy, and great fish stories, Fool's Paradise may not be a perfect substitute for actually being out on the water, but it's surely the next best thing.