Storied Waters: 35 Fabled Fly-Fishing Destinations and the Writers & Artists Who Made Them Famous

by David A. Van Wie

Overview

Storied Waters chronicles the author’s six-week odyssey from Maine to Wisconsin and back to explore and fly fish America’s most storied waters and celebrate the writers and artists who made them famous. In a 5,000-mile odyssey covering over 50 locations in eight states, Van Wie follows and fishes in the footsteps of giants from Thoreau to Hemingway, Robert Traver to Corey Ford, Louise Dickinson Rich to Aldo Leopold to Winslow Homer and many more. Storied Waters provides a virtual roadmap through 200 years of fly-fishing literature and a literal roadmap—complete with local fishing tips—to the hallowed waters of our sport. In each chapter, informative sidebars detail fishing spots, best times to fish, major hatches, and other intel. Storied Waters is a grand vicarious adventure, driving the backroads for weeks at a time exploring beautiful places, and meeting fascinating people who share a common interest. With an easy, conversational writing voice enhanced with spectacular photographs, Van Wie relates an eclectic mix of travel narrative, natural history, and fishing tips and advice, as well as a deep (but sometimes humorously irreverent) appreciation for the writers who have created such a rich legacy of stories about fishing over the past 200 years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811738200
Publisher:	Stackpole Books
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

David A. Van Wie writes a monthly column for The Maine Sportsman magazine, has published feature articles in Northern Woodlands magazine and the Maine Sunday Telegram, and is coauthor of The Confluence: A Collection of Essays, Art and Tall Tales about Fly-fishing & Friendship, now in its second printing. After a 35-year career in environmental consulting and government (director of Bureau of Land and Water Quality, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and member of Maine House of Representatives in the 124th Legislature), he now writes and lives in Lyme, New Hampshire. He is an accomplished photographer, a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, and writes a blog on fly-fishing and environmental issues at www.watchyourbackcast.com.

Table of Contents

Preface vi

1 Fishing for Inspiration at Walden Pond 1

2 Big Water on the Battenkill 13

3 The Four Freedoms 21

4 At Home on the Hudson River 25

5 In the Catskills: The First American Fly-Fishing Story 28

6 Bug Soup on the East Branch of the Delaware 32

7 Beaverkill Blues 41

8 Mud Run in the Poconos: A Touch of Graystones 51

9 Spring Creek & Spruce Creek: Fine Fishing in State College, Pennsylvania 58

10 Yellow Breeches & the Letort Spring Run 66

11 The Limestone Creeks of Southern Wisconsin 74

12 Leopold's Driftless Area Legacy 83

13 Exploring the Flambeau & Namekagon Rivers 90

14 Onward & UP-ward: Amazing Grace 99

15 Fantasy Fulfilled at Frenchman's Pond 104

16 On Hemingway's Fox River 112

17 The Auspicious Au Sable River in Michigan 117

18 Stories Told & Untold in the Adirondacks 127

19 Vermont Rivers 141

20 Delightful Days on the Upper Connecticut River 152

21 The Twisted Rivers of Northern New Hampshire 159

22 Louise Dickinson Rich's Forest Lodge on the Rapid River 169

23 Kennebago to Katahdin: Back in Thoreau Country 179

24 Dud Dean's Kennebec River 193

Epilogue: The Storied Waters Chronicle 203

Bibliography 208

Index 211