Excellent, witty, perceptive essays on the subject of fly-fishing, the natural world, and lifestyle in general by the acknowledged expert of fishing authors

In Still Life with Brook Trout, John Gierach demonstrates once again that angling, when done right, is as very much a philosophical pursuit as a sport.

Gierach moves to Wyoming and Maine and points among, searching out new fly-fishing adventures and savoring familiar waters with old friends. Along the way he meditates on the importance of good guides (‘ about Still Existence with Brook Trout Really, the only thing a psychiatrist can do this a good guideline can’t is compose prescriptions’), the task of salmon fishing (‘Salmon prowl. If they are not here today, they may be here in half an hour. Or tomorrow. Or following month’), and the zen of angling by itself (‘I also appreciate where my mind goes when I’m fishing alone, which is normally nowhere in particular and by a predictable route’). On a far more critical note, he ponders the damaging ramifications of disasters both natural and man-made: drought, wildfires, as well as the politics of dam-building, among others.

Reflecting on a journey to a little creek near his house, Gierach writes, ‘In my brightest occasions, I think slowing down . has opened huge fresh vistas on my outdated home water. It’s such as a a friendly relationship that not merely endures, but gets better against the chances.’ Similarly, Still Existence with Brook Trout proves that Gierach, like fly-fishing itself, becomes deeper and richer with time.