Category: books

books

How will we ‘rewild’ the LA River?

When you think about it, most of the conservation buzz for us anglers who deeply care about such things is farther away.

What I mean by that is for Angelenos, catching steelhead means climbing into the car to drive to the airport (because your good buddy wouldn’t think of taking you to LAX), then an airplane, flying to Sacramento or Redding, renting an automobile, hitting the Trinity, or the Klamath or the Rogue. It’s a simple fact of the fishing world. Big river fish are in wilder places.

For many years now, I’ve advocated that while hoisting a chrome is certainly a sign that God loves us, fishing locally isn’t to be forgotten. Stalking the San Gabes in search of wild trout is such a thrill. And if you want to fish locally, you need to have a place in which to do it. All you trash pickers in the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, all you stubborn advocates of the LA, I love you for all the volunteer hours you’ve put in!

Which brings us to the “taking care of what ya got” part of this story. The clever title of this book, “Rewilding the Urban Frontier: River Conservation in the Anthropocene,” uses two current catchphrases in turn. “Rewilding” is defined as “a conservation approach that involves restoring large areas of nature to their natural state.”

How would that truly apply to the Los Angeles River? I doubt the city, nor its homeowners, renters and visitors, would like to wake up one morning to find the LA was once again slipping its course. Flooding, after all, is how our river became encased in concrete and what gave the Flood Control folks an iron grip over conservation efforts.

Back in the day the river’s course could meander over several miles within its alluvial flood plane. So actually “rewilding” the LA? Not gonna happen.

Still, we’ve all waited patiently (and not so much so) for the Army Corps to make good on its promise to at least naturalizing a section of the river near downtown sculpting it to a more natural state, to bring back cooler water temps, shade and more fish-friendly environs. And watch this space for an upcoming article in American Fly Fishing about Trout Unlimited South Coast Chapter’s efforts in the lower river.

(Courtesy Urban Los Angeles.)

For all the money spent, actual “rewilding” is a misnomer. Many scientists, activists, politicians, and good hearts have tried to make things better for years, and maybe that’s enough. To my mind, a wildlife corridor, though essential, is not rewilding.

Of the word “anthropocene,” there can be no doubt that we live in an age in which the human hand has touched just about everything on Earth. The thing I find tricky about this definition, “the proposed name for a geological epoch following the Holocene, dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth up to the present day,” is precisely that it advocates for a geological epoch. Isn’t it a bit fanciful to include human activity as creating a geological epoch? Climate change, yes, leading to increased heat and wildfires, certainly, but to me geologic means something more.

Pegging efforts to the 1972 Clean Water Act, which acted as a catalyst for water clean ups during an era of both budding environmental awareness and explosive urban growth, the book tackles two separate tracks: ideas about preventing further loss of biodiversity; and conversations about environmental and social inequities.

(Courtesy High Country News.)

Brian B. Rasmussen, a professor at Cal Lutheran, wrote the Los Angeles chapter. He contacted me a few years ago and we had a nice chat about all things “riverly” as we used to say. My thoughts are included in his chapter, which dwells mainly on the inequities of the “white river” and the “minoritized river,” in other words “fishing for fun, not food.” The lens through which he views the LA is certainly worth a read, especially for its history of carp and how they got here. The name of his chapter, after all, is “Angling in the Anthropocene: Carp and the Making of Race on the Los Angeles River.” A feature on the homeless fishing for food came out a couple of years ago in High Country News.

Finally, if you’re interested in this topic, Gonzaga Climate Institute will host a YouTube conversation with the book’s editor and some of the contributors on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

books

Which books make your 2022 Top 10 list?

Dear River Enthusiasts,

As year-end approaches, many have asked us once again about recommended river-related books and documentary films that may be available over the upcoming holiday season. While it is difficult to produce an all inclusive list, there are a number of them that have been included multiple times in various Top 10 lists. So starting with books, here’s a sampling for all ages, followed by some film suggestions.

Recent Books:

  • Reading the Water; Fly-fishing, fatherhood and finding strength in Nature by Mark Hume – 

A father shares the joys of fly-fishing with his daughters. In this eloquent memoir, the author vividly conveys the details of their adventures and the stunning surroundings;

  • The Little Creek that Could; the story of a stream that came back to life by Mark Angelo –

This acclaimed, best-selling illustrated children’s book tells the true, inspirational story of a 50-year effort to reclaim a local stream, and how nature can heal itself, if only we give it a chance – a wonderful and hopeful message for kids!

  • Rivers Run Through Us; A Natural and Human History of Great Rivers of North America by Eric Taylor  

This is an engaging, informative, and personal exploration of some of the great rivers of North America and highlights the fact that every river has a great story to tell.

  • A River’s Gifts; the Mighty Elwha Reborn by Patricia Newman –

This beautiful children’s book tells how the Lower Elwha Klallum Tribe, known as the Strong People, successively fought to restore the Elwha river and their way of life.

  • River of the Gods; Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the search for the source of the Amazon by Candice Millard –

A harrowing story of one of the great feats of exploration and its complicated legacy.

  • I Talk Like a River by Jordon Scott –

Another impactful and award winning children’s book. When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he’d like, it takes a kind father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice.

It’s also worthwhile re-visiting some of the river classics from past years, which include; 

  • Magdalena; River of Dreams by Wade Davis – 
  • The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko – 
  • The River Why by David James Duncan – 
  • A River Runs Through It by Norman Mclean – 
  • Highland River by Neil M Gunn – 
  • Running the Amazon by Joe Kane from back in 1989 remains a great adventure. –
  • Rod Haig Brown’s classic, A River Never Sleeps as well as
  • Where Rivers Run: A 6,000-Mile Exploration of Canada by Canoe by Joanie and Gary McGuffin are great reads. – 
  • Robert Collins’ The Nile is an excellent and informative book. – 
  • Blue River, Black Sea; a journey along the Danube into the heart of New Europe by Andrew Eames chronicles an incredible journey while providing a sparkling history of south-eastern Europe. –
  • For a white knuckle ride, Hell or High Water: surviving Tibet’s Tsangpo River is as good as it gets,
  • while How to Think Like a Fish by Jeremy Wade is perfect for any fishing aficionado –
  • Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat remains an excellent guide for any serious Thames River pilgrim! –
  • And for those with an interest “down-under,” the book, Rivers: The Lifeblood of Australia, by Ian Hoskins is filled with amazing images and a wealth of information. 

Film – River Documentaries
Here are nine good suggestions from the many excellent river documentaries of the last decade:

  • River (2021); narrated by William Defoe, a cinematic and musical odyssey exploring the relationship between humans and rivers.
  • Riverblue (2017) – the international award-winning film chronicles river conservationist and paddler Mark Angelo’s unprecedented 3 year around-the-world journey by river that uncovered the enormity of fashion-related pollution and its impact on waterways.
  • Chasing Ice (2012) – the ground breaking film documenting the efforts of nature photographer James Balog to publicize the impacts of climate change. It remains every bit as relevant today!
  • The Territory (2022) – from National Geographic Documentary Films (now in theatres, but available soon for streaming), this stunning and thought provoking film focuses on the Uru-eu-wau-wau, an Amazonian tribe only contacted by the Brazilian government in 1980 and who are now fighting to protect their rivers and lands
  • Into the Okavango (2016) – the film chronicles an epic, and often harrowing, four-month, 1,500-mile expedition across three countries to save the river system that feeds the Okavango Delta.
  • The Memory of Fish (2016) – a wonderful documentary portrait of one man, Dick Goin, the wild salmon he loves, and his fight to free a river from dams that had long outlived their usefulness.
  • Last Paddle (2021), the award winning, visually stunning film that delves into Mark Angelo’s lifelong passion for rivers as he documents global river conservation issues as well as restoration successes.
  • The River Runner (2021), a thrilling and adventurous film documenting Scott Lindgren’s 20-year quest to become the very first to paddle all 4 of the great rivers that run off Mt. Kailash in Tibet.
  • Blue Heart (2019) – from Patagonia Films, this centers on the Balkan Peninsula, home to the last wild rivers in Europe. But a deluge of more than 3,000 proposed hydropower developments threaten to destroy the culture and ecology of this sometimes forgotten region.

There are clearly many other great books and films that could be mentioned.
Happy reading, and/or streaming, over the season and we’ll touch base again as World Rivers Day 2023 nears, set for Sunday, Sept. 24.

With very best wishes,
Tunde Murphy, World Rivers Day

books

Rainy day reading list from World Rivers Day

Here’s an excellent list of books about rivers from World Rivers Day. Some titles I recognize, some I don’t. With fishing season closed for the winter, these books could keep you company on your fly-tying bench. They’ve got “the movie” at No. 5. I’m definitely going to check out No. 13, “How to Think Like a Fish.” Wonder if it will help me with my backcast?

Tight lines, Jim

  • 1. For those with little ones in their lives, Mark Angelo’s new illustrated children’s book, “The Little Creek that Could; the story of a stream that came back to life” has just been released. Based on a true stream restoration story that unfolded over the past 50 years, the book is an inspirational and hopeful tale about how nature can heal itself, if only we give it a chance – a wonderful and timely message for kids. The book is also a tribute to all those that strive to clean-up and restore rivers.
  •  2. Another much anticipated book is Rivers Run Through Us; A Natural and Human History of Great Rivers of North America by Eric Taylor. This book is an engaging, informative, and personal exploration of some of the great rivers of North America and highlights the fact that every river has a great story to tell. 
  • 3. The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko.
  • 4. The River Why by David James Duncan. 
  • 5. A River Runs Through It by Norman Mclean. 
  • 6. In addition, Highland River by Neil M Gunn is a wonderful story of a young man who returns to the fishing village of Caithness, Scotland, to follow his home river to its source. 
  • 7. Running the Amazon by Joe Kane from back in 1989 remains a great adventure. 
  • 8. Rod Haig Brown’s classic, A River Never Sleeps. 
  • 9. Where Rivers Run: A 6,000-Mile Exploration of Canada by Canoe by Joanie and Gary McGuffin. 
  • 10. Robert Collins’ The Nile is an excellent and informative book.
  •  11. And Blue River, Black Sea; a journey along the Danube into the heart of New Europe by Andrew Eames chronicles an incredible journey while providing a sparkling history of south-eastern Europe. 
  • 12. For a white knuckle ride, Hell or High Water: surviving Tibet’s Tsangpo River is as good as it gets.
  • 13. How to Think Like a Fish by Jeremy Wade is perfect for any fishing aficionado.
  • 14. Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat remains an excellent guide for any serious Thames River pilgrim. 
  • 15. And for those with an interest “down-under,” the book, Rivers: The Lifeblood of Australia, by Ian Hoskins is filled with amazing images and a wealth of information.
books

‘The Los Angeles River’ goes on preorder

From Peter Bennett:

Now on sale. The time has finally come, my LA River book is soon heading to the printer and I am taking orders for both the hardcover and the softcover editions. https://www.citizenoftheplanet.com/lariverbook

When I first started this project, I made a decision to self-publish. This book means a lot to me having spent over twelve years documenting the river. By self-publishing, I felt I could maintain the creative control necessary to tell the story of the river in a way I thought it deserved.

But in order to afford the printing costs, I need to sell as many copies as I can ahead of time. I have tried to keep the prices as low as possible and still cover my costs.

I will be sending to the printer in September and should have copies to deliver by the middle of November, just in time for the holidays (should make a great gift).

The book looks beautiful, I think everyone will really like it.  Thank you so much for the support.

books

Bibliophiles take note: Volumes from Bill O’Kelly’s incredible book collection for sale
Reading about fly fishing is almost as much fun as a line on the water. (Jim Burns)

From the Southwest Council:

As most of you know by now, Bill O’Kelly, past president of the Southwest Council and of Sierra Pacific Fly Fishers, passed Aug. 12. If you never had the opportunity to attend a fly fishing show with Bill, you missed an experience. He loved to cart around boxes of books to procure signatures from noted show attendees and authors. He was forever crunching his spreadsheet to see who else was available to sign his books. It was such a delight to witness his excitement when he would preview a show program and realize how many signatures would be his. Needless to say, his UPS bills were extraordinary.

His family has asked for our assistance to sell this vast collection and this is the first step. If you click here, you will get a Word document listing almost 1,200 titles. Many are first editions. If you are interested, please reply to this email (specialprojects@swcffi.org) with the title AND item number (first number on the line). We will find the book to ascertain its condition and quality and get back to you with a price.

If you know you would prefer a signed copy or a first edition, please note this, or on the other hand, if you just want a reading copy, please indicate that as well.

Other than whether something is hardcover, paperback, signed or personalized to Bill, we do not know what some of Bill’s other notes on the spreadsheet may mean.  We will let you know if we figure it out as we proceed.

Nothing about this process will be fast so we ask for your patience as this moves forward. Once we know which book(s) you hope to purchase (since there may be multiple offers), we can discuss delivery options. With over 20 clubs in SoCal and Nevada, we should be able to get books from place to place and maybe avoid some shipping costs.

All net proceeds will be going directly to the family.

Michael Schweit, Special Projects Director SWCFFI

books

‘Wild LA’ invites readers to explore urban nature

Let’s get to know the Great Blue Heron, although it could just as easily be the Monarch Butterfly, or the Black Bear, or even the Red-eared Slider.

All of these creatures have their own pages in the breezy and fabulous new book “Wild LA,” created by the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.

When the rest of the country thinks of LA, it’s Disneyland, beaches, babes, wildfires, but probably not our wildlife. Yet, this pithy guide would have us “explore the amazing nature in and around Los Angeles.”

To accomplish this for the reader, the museum put together a formidable cast of writers and photographers, including Charles Hood, who teaches English and occasionally journalism, shoots engaging nature photography and writes in his book-jacket biography that he is a reformed birder, who stopped counting at 5,000 species.

He and the book’s other authors explore what the term “urban nature” means in several essays about wild Los Angeles, including one about water and the LA River, viewed through the journal of Franciscan missionary Gaspar Portola some 200 years ago, to its current-day role as “an unlikely gem in the city — still a place for wildlife to survive and for humans to thrive.”

IMG_4342
THE AUDUBON SOCIETY was created at the end of the 19th century, in part by women activists, to regulate the feather trade and bring herons and other birds back from the brink of extinction. Believe it or not women’s hats — and the huge amount of feathers needed to create tens of thousands of them — were to blame. (Jim Burns)

Going back to that Great Blue Heron, in the field guide section of 101 LA species readers learn he stands some four feet tall, with a wingspan of six feet. Fair enough. But what makes this book such a gem is that once you’ve read up on a favorite species — and probably discovered many a new one in the book’s pages — the text cross-references trips to areas where, with a little patience,  you can see them.

Sure enough, our Great Blue Heron can be spotted on five itineraries in the book’s final section that features 25 trips for nature lovers, including the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, Ballona Wetlands and the LA River at Frogtown. Here, herons hunt with that impressive, sharp bill any unwary “fish, frogs, crayfish, lizards, snakes, mice, birds, grasshoppers and dragonflies.”

Make room for this fun guide in your day pack and don’t forget your fly rod.

Wild LA

By Lila Higgins & Gregory B. Pauly

with Jason G. Goldman 7 Charles Hood

332 pps

$24.95

http://www.timberpress.com

See you on the river, Jim Burns

books

Book review: True bizarre crime story sizzles in ‘The Feather Thief’

FeatherThief_7-12-3

Just in time for summer reading, this engaging true-crime thriller is actually three books in one. As the title implies, this is one bizarre crime: on a June evening in 2009, 20-year-old American music student and accomplished fly tyer Edwin Rist smashed an alley window and hoisted himself into the renowned British Museum of Natural History in Tring with a singular purpose, to steal some of the world’s rarest old birds to finance buying a gold flute. This may seem an odd way to finance a $10,000 instrument, yet individual skins can sell for $2,500 or more in an underground fly-tying market bordering on the fanatical. After his arrest, Rist estimated he’d made northwards of $165,000 selling feathers to private collectors as well as through niche fly-tying forums and on EBay.

According to its website, the museum’s avian skin collection is the second largest of its kind in the world, with almost 750,000 specimens representing 95 percent of the world’s bird species. Included are nearly 700 skins collected by Charles Darwin and Capt. Robert FitzRoy during the six-year voyage of the HMS Beagle, and, more importantly for Rist, the extensive collection of Alfred Russel Wallace, that included rare originals needed to complete authentic Victorian flies. At one point in the book when Rist is in his late teens, his mentor gives him a bag of Indian Crow and Blue Chatterer feathers worth $250, enough to tie about two flies.

Like any of the world’s most precious substances the feathers for classic fly recipes are expensive — and usually illegal to purchase. About the only legal sources are great grandmother’s Victorian bonnet, complete with a Flame Bowerbird’s carcass, or the zoo, where perhaps a Resplendent Quetzal died of natural causes.

To understand the arcane world of showy feathers from rare or endangered birds, such as these, Johnson first introduces readers to a broad historical stage, one in which “the sun never sets on the British Empire,” and the greed for the exotic went unquenched, much like the sport hunting to near-extinction of the buffalo in our West. Women’s fashion fueled the slaughter of tens of thousands of exotic birds from the Malay Peninsula and South America for their intensely colored and sometimes iridescent feathers.Those same feathers were also thought to be best for catching fasting Scottish salmon as they came back from the ocean to spawn. Books such as George Kelson’s “The Salmon Fly” included the most precious materials — think orange and black seal’s fur — to build an engaging watery fusilade ensuring a hungerless salmon to strike.

The second section goes into detail about the heist, itself, how it was planned and what was taken. Science lovers will be particularly bereft when they realize Rist destroyed the tags on the 299 skins he stole that told where the specimen was collected, as well as when and other critical data, some in the hand of Wallace himself. As ornithologist Jessie Williamson wrote in her review of the book, “It’s hard to overstate the tragedy of destroying irreplaceable scientific objects. Natural-history collections are vital to our understanding of biodiversity, evolution, and environmental change, and they only grow more valuable with time. In the late 1960s, museums were critical to discovering the link between the pesticide DDT and eggshell thinning.”Kelson

Yet for what a British judge deemed “a natural history disaster of world proportions,” Rist did no jail time after pleading an Asberger’s defense, which leads to the last section, and most incredible, in which the author literally goes on a quest for justice worldwide to find and return all of the stolen skins to the Tring. After tracking Rist to Dusseldorf, the author sets up an interview with the thief, complete with a non-English speaking clandestine bodyguard outside his hotel room. Besides this dazzling piece of journalistic bravado — at this point, the cops had closed to case — Johnson also interviews a South African who is sure the rapture is forthcoming, a Norwegian, code name Goku, who may have been an accomplice and a tough American ex-cop, who now hosts a salmon fly-tying forum.

Engaging, infuriating and horizon expanding, this is one for your nightstand, one that will become a classic of fly-fishing literature.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

The Feather Thief

By Kirk Wallace Johnson

Hard Cover $16.20

Kindle $13.99

320 pages

 

 

books

‘Carping’ about your summer reading list

image
THE BIG FOUR, for those who hunt the mighty carp, include an oldie and three relative newcomers. (Jim Burns)

If you’re like me, you probably spend more time reading about fishing than actually tossing in a line. But when the prey is carp, the more time spent in front of a page or a screen, the better prepared you’ll be when you do actually have time to get on the water.

Four books can really ease the learning curve when it comes to catching this temperamental, magnificent fish. I’ve reviewed all of them separately, so follow the link if you want more.

Way back in 1997, three fly fishers spotted what would become one of the biggest fly-fishing trends of this century. Barry Reynolds, Brad Befus and John Berryman actually extolled catching this “trash fish,” when nearly everyone else was laughing them off the water. Well, he who laughs last, laughs best, as the adage goes. “Carp on the Fly” is the keeper classic I turn to, over and over again.

The chapter heads alone tell you there’s a full education within these pages, everything you need before you pull on those waders: Locating feeding carp (italics mine); what carp eat; presentation. And, interesting for you historians out there, the first chapter is entitled, “Why Not?” “Yes,” the first sentence begins, “this really is a book about fly fishing for carp.” Part of the fun of reading this book is its underdog approach.

In 2013, Kirk Deeter wrote “The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing for Carp,” showing carp had arrived, now being ballyhooed by both a famous outdoor author and a famous company. The book is much slicker than its predecessor, and Deeter put in lots of water time to present the valuable tips contained within its pages. Four-color throughout, publisher Stonefly Press didn’t spare expenses or design talent: After all, So. Cal’s own Al Q. designed the front cover.

Orvis then followed up the next year with “The Orvis Beginner’s Guide to Carp Flies,” which I find a perplexing title. Penned by the admired Colorado carper Dan Frasier, and filled with flies from the sports most trusted tie-meisters, it, nonetheless, seems odd to me that the company puts the word “beginner” in the title, yet only provides recipes for the flies. If a beginner can look at, for example, Jay Zimmerman’s Backstabber, check out the recipe, and reproduce the fly, please let me know.

What makes the book a fun read is all of Frasier’s field work that tells the reader where and when to use the 101 patterns listed in the book.

Two years later , in 2015, Headwater Books published Zimmerman’s own magnum opus, “The Best Carp Flies.” I have purchased many dozen of dollars’ worth of very cool stuff to tie some of these flies, and can tell you I don’t (yet) have the tying skill to do them justice. Zimmerman gives you a deep, long dive into the art of tying. He sources the flies, telling us, for example, that the Carp Carrot first appeared in 1950! He talks creative process, development and “tank tinkering.” I mean, wow, this book is the real deal.

So, if the last time you put a boot into the water, the carp disappeared like you were a fox in the hen house, step back and do some summer reading. I’ll bet things improve thereafter.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

 

 

 

 

books

Book review: Author’s new carp flies book truly the ‘best’

HUNGRY? Here's a carp smorgasbord of deliciousness.(Jim Burns)
HUNGRY? Here’s a carp smorgasbord of deliciousness.(Jim Burns)

We’re currently in the salad days of books about carping, with Orvis releasing two during the last two years. Both are good, and, as they say “three’s a charm.”

For the carp enthusiast as well as fly-tying fanatic, Jay Zimmerman’s “The Best Carp Flies: How to Tie and Fish Them”(Headwater Books; $29.95) is that home run for which you’ve been waiting. Zimmerman is a wordsmith among his many other talents, penning two previous books. His care with the plume certainly shows, as the writing in this big volume is crisp, clean and engaging. I only wish the copy editor had taken more care with his marvelous prose.

After a straightforward introduction to the sport, as well as a guide to what should be on your fly-tying table, he gets into the meat of the book, 22 must-have patterns and variations. OK, so he didn’t include our river’s Tortilla Fly, but you’ll find such notables as the Swimming Nymph, Near ‘Nuff Crayfish and Barry’s Carp Fly. Each recipe comes with a couple dozen steps and color photographs. I mean, even in the era of YouTube, this book is exactly what you need to become a better fly-tier and fly fisher.image

Also, Zimmerman addresses those trying to tie the “next great carp fly.” His depth of knowledge will put you ahead in the next carp fly swap. He’ll have you checking your fly’s weight, buying a testing tank and, most probably, upgrading your equipment. This book pushed me over the edge to finally buy that rotating vise I’ve been craving. The book’s price of $29.95 is well worth admission to a greatly expanded carping world.

If you read California Fly Fish magazine, look for my detailed review in next month’s issue.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

books

Book review: New Orvis guide to carp flies delights, confounds

imageThe Orvis company is publishing a concerted effort to woo literate fly fishers intent on catching the difficult common carp. Witness “The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing for Carp,” released in 2013, and now the follow-up, “The Orvis Biginner’s Guide to Carp Flies.”

I’ve yet to read Jay Zimmerman’s “The Best Carp Flies: How to Tie and Fish Them,” which was release just four days ago, but I imagine the grandfather of the sport, Barry Reynolds, who penned with co-authors “Carp on the Fly: A Flyfishing Guide” in 1997, must have a good laugh every now and again, for the fish has gone from the river scourge, to the hippest score an urban hipster can make. And, folks, that’s a good thing. Call it hip hop on the fly.

I find the presentation to be glitzy, with some very solid information, but this Orvis book by the reputable Dan Frasier left me wanting more. For example, the subtitle: “101 patterns & how to use them” is certainly addressed, and Frasier reached out to well-known carp sites and bloggers to find many of these patterns. Yet, each of them only merits a color snapshot, with the fly recipe. There are no in-depth instructions on how to tie the patterns, and that certainly belies the “beginner’s guide” part of the title.

Also, there’s a lively discussion of flies — divided into Meat, Nymphs, Dry Flies, Super Meat and Universal — as well as behaviors to watch for when choosing the correct fly. That’s good, but, again, I wanted more. Anyone who’s ever perused Gary LaFountaine’s masterwork “Caddisflies,” released in 1989, knows what a deep dive it can be when a fly fisher discusses fish behavior and edibles.

Perhaps that’s an unfair comparison: Orvis would never have published LaFountaine’s book.image

That said, as I turned to the section on eggs, my most productive pattern on our river, a name came off the page right at me. When I first began this site Gregg Martin frequently commented, and I count him as one of the friends I’ve made through blogging. His story goes from paratrooping to paralysis, and is one of real heroism and bravery. Of course, he also loved carping and sent me shots of his various eggs.

From the book: “Twenty-nine years after the accident, Gregg is still out there fly fishing. Where lesser men would have given up the fly rod and lamented their misfortune, Gregg devised fly patterns and fishing techniques that allowed him to be successful on the water he could access.”

Gregg Martin
gdjrb@q.com
71.33.105.219
Submitted on 2011/11/25 at 9:57 pm

As McTage knows my go-to fly here in SW Idaho is an egg tie, I don’t call it a glo-bug as I tie it with spun and packed material, mostly in different colors in one fly with one predominate. Such as peach marbled with salmon and yellow, oe such as the day before Thanksgiving when I took a late season fish on a size 6 white marbled with salmon, yellow and orange, or something similar. Of course I fish other flies, but a size 6 or 10 fly under an indicator, for me, works real well. I do not think they take them for an egg, I believe it’s just a visible piece of protein down there. The last one had the fly so deep I couldn’t see it, a first for me. I have seen your site before, how dog gone interesting your fishing.
Gregg

Bottom line: Give this book a read. Enjoy the color snaps and witty writing. Fumble through the flies at your vise. If nothing else, it will provide you with lots of inspiration, and will give you something to think about next time you’re stalking an L.A. River carp.

See you on the river, Jim