тАЬAfter five decades, twenty books, and countless columns, [John Gierach] is still a master,тАЭ (Forbes) and his newest book only confirms this assessment, along with his recent induction into the Flyfishing Hall of Fame. In A Fly Rod of Your Own, Gierach brings his ever-sharp sense of humor and keen eye for observation to the fishing life and, for that matter, life in general.
Known for his witty, trenchant observations about fly-fishing, GierachтАЩs тАЬdeceptively laconic prose masks an accomplished storytellerтАжhis alert and slightly off-kilter observations place him in the general neighborhood of Mark Twain and James ThurberтАЭ (Publishers Weekly). A Fly Rod of Your Own transports readers to streams and rivers from Maine to Montana, and as always, GierachтАЩs fishing trips become the inspiration for his pointed observations on everything from the psychology of fishing (тАЬFishing is still an oddly passive-aggressive business that depends on the prey being the aggressorтАЭ); why even the most veteran fisherman will muff his cast whenever heтАЩs being filmed or photographed; the inevitable accumulation of more gear than one could ever need (тАЬNature abhors an empty pocket. So does the tackle industryтАЭ); or the qualities shared by the best guides (тАЬthe generosity of a teacher, the craftiness of a psychiatrist, and the enthusiasm of a cheerleader with a kind of Vulcan detachmentтАЭ).
As Gierach likes to say, тАЬfly-fishing is a continuous process that you learn to love for its own sake. Those who fish already get it, and those who donтАЩt couldnтАЩt care less, so donтАЩt waste your breath on someone who doesnтАЩt fish.тАЭ A Fly Rod of Your Own is an ode to those who fish that тАЬbrings a skeptical, wry voice to the peril and promise of twenty-first-century fishingтАЭ (Booklist).