• Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West (nonfiction)
• Travers Corners (fiction)
• The Run to Gitche Gumee (fiction)
• Killing trout and Other Love Poems (poetry)

Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West by Patrick Trotter

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
The most complete and up-to-date science and history concerning native cutthroat trout. This is a must have for all trout fishermen. Well researched and written.

All 12 cutthroat subspecies (and the two extinct ones) are covered in the book. Each cutthroat has an entire chapter dedicated to it. Each chapter is approximately 30-40 pages long. There is some repetition from subspecies to subspecies, but the author wanted to make sure that all information about a given species could be found in the chapter about that subspecies.

There are two introductory chapters that cover extremely useful information about identifying cutthroat, history and geographical distribution.

There are helpful footnotes in the text. Some great pictures of each subspecies. A few charts, tables and graphs are included.

There is a 60 page annotated bibliography covering more than 1000 sources for additional research.

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Travers Corners: Classic Stories About Fly Fishing and a Small Montana Town by Scott Waldie

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Scott Waldie has created a wonderful small town in Montana. These stories often have fly fishing in them, but they are not fly fishing stories, they are stories of life in a rural town. The characters are memorable. The situations are authentic. The stories are told with humor and compassion.

“The Carrie Creek sign creaked in the evening breeze and cottonwood blooms spiraled halfway up its posts, then spun free on the wind to scurry and drift into corners and the doorway of the Boat Works. The sign read CARRIE CREEK BOAT WORKS AND GUIDE SERVICE and the words would have been lost to the night had it not been for the light shining down from the upstairs window. Jud’s shadow moved along the walls and ceiling and grew larger as he walked to the bookcase.

“He stood browsing for some time, hoping that some title, either previously, partially, or never read would leap out at him. Then he looked to the top shelf thinking that things forgotten seem to march their way to oblivion in some kind of universal order. Old photos seem to find their way to the back of the closet, old music slowly sorts itself to the rear of the stack, and old books make the climb to the top shelf to gather dust and respectability.

“The summer wind parted the curtains and filled the room with that rarefied and seldom-felt warmth that loosens you and sends you tumbling through the memories born on such nights, those top-down and whistling, rocking in baby’s arms, halcyon nights. Romance and laughter sail on such a wind. It sets the dreamer to dreaming. It blows the reader to the top shelf.”

So begins “Three Yahoos,” a wonderful look back at that day when children become adults because of the experiences they have, good or bad.

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The Run to Gitche Gumee: A Novel by Robert F. Jones

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
A little too over-the-top for me. It needs to be read as an allegory or something at some level other than trying to take it at face value. Portions of the plot are just too unbelievable, which made it hard for me. I have no problem suspending my disbelief when it comes to fantasy or science fiction, but when it seems like the book is realistic fiction, it needs to believable for me (I’m sure others don’t have this problem). Anyhow, there are shooting at people scenes and “coincidences” that just didn’t ring true.

It was a good story about friendship and heartache. About innocence lost. About renewing friendship and seeking to find one’s way in the battle with aging.

The story is about a couple of kids who have recently graduated high school. They are off on a final adventure together. They are fishing a river from higher up to Lake Superior (Gitche Gumee). As they travel they meet some hillbillies who want to kill them. A couple of gals they enjoy by the light of the moon. A tyrannical father (of one of the girls) who wants to kill them. They make it to the lake. That is part 1 of the book, 130 pages in 1950.

Then one of the boys is off to Vietnam and the story follows him for 20 pages.

Then it is part 2, in the year 2000, for the final 120 pages. The old men try to recreate their first trip. I found this to be the best part of the book as it explored the difficulties of aging. I figure the first part could have been contracted to 50 pages and the second part expanded by 50 pages.

Language alert: I’m a bit of a prude when it comes to “crude” language, and I found the frequent use of the F word a bit bothersome (obviously not enough to not finish the book). So that may be something to take note of for anyone else bothered by that.

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Killing Trout & Other Love Poems by David Fraser

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
The poems were fine for the most part. Concrete images. Real world experiences. The poet obviously spends much time outdoors, which is reflected in the content of many poems. He fishes, but the majority of the poems aren’t about trout (some do have fish in them).

I believe the poems are all free verse (my scansion isn’t the greatest, so I could be wrong). I can’t remember any use of end rhyme. He has a gentle hand with the use of alliteration, assonance and consonance.

I have a small nit, purely cosmetic. For some reason Fraser chooses not to capitalize the beginning of sentences, although he does use standard punctuation. All proper nouns are capitalized.

Randy has written a number of essays and short fictional pieces, as well as a book. I thought I’d take a few lines and point you toward some of his work.

The following two pieces are both fictional. The two stories, “The Second Fly Caster” and  “The Immigrant and the Fly-Casting Tournament of 1909: A Novel Excerpt,” are both found on Randy’s own site: The Fly and Spin Casting Site. Both stories feature a young boy protagonist and are set in the world of fly casting tournaments.

I believe (although I have not yet read) that Randy’s book, The Fly Caster Who Tried to Make Peace with the World also features fly casting tournaments. The book takes place shortly after WWI on some of the historic fly fishing waters of the east.

I’m a big fan of the essay, and I especially enjoyed Randy’s essays because they have  aunique geographic distinction—he lives and fly fishes in the New York City area. His essays are definitely different than most of the standard fare receiving press because his experiences with “city fishing” are so different from what many of us experience.

“New York Pier Fishing (with a fly rod)” and “City Angler” are found at the non-commercial online magazine Rackelhanen Flyfishing Magazine. It is in both Swedish and English. “The intention of this magazine is that flyfishermen and women, both “professionals” and beginners, should be able to find information that is both educational and interesting and that may contribute to add yet another dimension to their flyfishing.”

“Different Levels of Fishing And…” is found in an archive of many fishing stories at The Readers Cast from Fly Anglers Online.

It’s never too early to start stocking up on the winter supplies.

Do you like reading well-written fishing stories? Enjoy "Gray’s Sporting Journal" but wish it came out more frequently so you could read some decent outdoorsy type poetry? Are you a closet writer? Have some great photos you’d like to share with a larger viewership?

Then StoryArc is the place for you. David Motes, a published writer and professional guide (although I don’t know if he still guides) has started the "Literary Outdoor Blog," StoryArc. If you like reading outdoor literature, or you would like to get your own work published, check out StoryArc. In addition to reading the fine pieces offered there, make sure you also read his "A Rationale" in the bottom right corner of the blog.

Here is the blurb from StoryArc’s homepage:

StoryArc is a cooperative nonprofit publication of fiction writers, poets, photographers, and artists with a focus on the outdoors, conservation, nature, and wildlife. Its mission is to present quality work to a discerning readership.

Full disclaimer: he does have one of my poems on there, "Last Hole."

You may (or maybe not) have noticed a new page on my website listed in the top right corner: "Fly Fishing Literature." That page will have posts about the reading and writing of fly fishing. Swing by and leave me some comments.