Fly Fishing Book Review by Bob Triggs - Little Stone Flyfisher : Guide

Fly Fishing Coastal Cutthroat Trout - Flies, Techniques, Conservation By Les Johnson Publisher: Amato Books 2004 Softbound, hardbound and Limited Edition Hardbound 144 pages ISBN 1-57188-333-9 :: UPC:  81127-00165-1 $29.95 (Softbound), $45.00 (Hardbound)

Those readers who are familiar with Les Johnson's first book "The Sea Run Cutthroat", now out-of-print and something of a cult-classic in fly fishing literature, have waited patiently, expectently, for this new and comprehensive work on the Coastal Cutthroat. The book is dedicated to Roderick Haig-Brown, with a salutory essay by Arthur Lingren on the legendary B.C. fly angler, conservationist and author. John Roberts' beautiful painting of Haig-Brown accompanies this opening dedication. Don Roberts firey foreward to the book is a rousing call for all who care about the life and future of the coastal cutthroat to do more than just read about them or fish for them. Perhaps Les Johnson's own Introduction best sums up the degree of work ahead for committed readers and serious students of the fish:

"Ultimately, to get up close and personal with the coastal cutthroat you will have to do your homework, crash through barriers of rosehips, negotiate rain-slick mud trails and spend endless hours tramping along the banks of Pacific slope rivers and saltwater estuaries. You will have to learn to live with the joy of hooking half a dozen beautiful cutthroats one day and not coax up another to your fly during several more trips, and always make sure you are fishing legally. That is how it is with coastal cutthroat. It is how I, all of my angling companions and most other serious anglers developed a relationship with the coastal cutthroat trout. To be right it can happen no other way". 

Along with these opening pages, and the first chapter: "Realm of The Coastal Cutthroat", Les Johnson sets an expository tone, one that is developed and recapitulated throughout this book; that to become any kind of real cutthroat fly fisherman one must also become something much more than just a good technician or a formidable fly fishing predator. Les implores us to learn as much as we can of the life history, habitat, culture and modern social condition of the coastal cutthroat trout throughout it's broad range. And with this learning and understanding, to appreciate, and admire their unique role in our natural world. He wants us to become personally involved, responsible stewards too.

With major chapters on the coastal cutthroat trout in Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington (11pages!), and British Columbia; Les dispells our myths and misunderstandings about so much of the cutthroat's life that most readers are happily corrected and should gain a renewed sense of respect and wonder for these remarkably resiliant wild trout. Les Johnson's life-long romance with the wild coastal cutthroat has lead him on a journey of adventure and inquiry. He has studied these wild fish, in all of their two-fisted tenacity, everywhere that they swim. His careful, committed writing reflects an incisive and precise exploration into his many hours, indeed decades afield, and in his dedication to the scientific data and recognized scholarly papers regarding the trout. There are no wasted words in this exhaustive treatment. The author writes with clarity and dignity, and with a true authority for his subject. He also writes with warmth and candor about the plight of the cutthroat throughout the expansion of the human population in the Pacific Northwest, and the resultant development and loss of habitat. He wants us to understand what these fish have survived. What they are up against. And what we need to do to ensure their survival.

The book is beautifully supported by photography, mostly the author's, and Ron Jenkins fine drawings. The fly chapter alone is an excellent and very deep reference; clear photography in vivid colors, with recipes for the patterns, some histories where possible, and tyer's notes with some of them. Many of the tyers are familiar names to northwest fly anglers and this lends a sense of home to the work. If one were to set a goal of learning all of these patterns, tying them and fishing them for cutthroats too, that would be quite a challenge. A real education, this section could have easily become a volume in it's own right. Alone it justifies the price of the book. 

The chapter I read first was for the fishing "Techniques"; who dosn't want the inside nitty-gritty from the Master himself? Les provides ample coverage from a life spent on the water. The fly fishing chapters, on freshwater, lakes, ponds, rivers, and right on down to the estuaries and beaches and bays, are simple clear and direct. Les includes a chapter on fly fishing from boats that provides some good tips on the topic. And no; he wont tell you were to go and stand and cast. But he does share so much here that you will again have something like a life's work ahead of you in trying it all. But that's the whole idea."Tackle and Accessories" are well covered, with a refreshing absence of graphs and charts and mathematical data. Les has some preferences for all of that and he shares it candidly. A wise reader will appreciate the experience behind the choices. And benefit from them too.

No one seriously interested in the extroadinary wild Coastal Cutthroat Trout of the Pacific Northwest can do any better than to include this refreshing, in- depth look at all things "clarki clarki" in their library. I have no doubt that this book will help many anglers to become better and more successful cutthroat fly fishermen. But the real benefit will be in the appreciation we gain for the fish,( and hopefuly our involvement in securing their future ), from this well presented modern work. It was worth the wait.

 

Article	083
Created	12-11-2004
Modified	9-19-2005
Author	Bob Triggs
Rating