by Kirk Deeter

At this time of year, I start hearing about all the new fly fishing products planned for next year... new rods, reels, waders, and all of that.

You know what product category I am most impressed with, in terms of what I have seen so far? Books. I have a tall stack of fly fishing books on my desk now... and most of them are great. Great writing. Great production. It's as if the publishing world decided, "Gee, people actually do read beyond the computer screen," and are back in the business of making good fishing books.

I'll be sharing more reviews on these books in the coming weeks, but I'll start at the top of the stack (it's on top for a reason): Chris Santella's "Fifty More Places to Fly Fish Before You Die." Now, I'm admittedly biased, because I was included in this book, recommending place number one, the Karluk River on Kodiak Island in Alaska. And a guy named Tim Romano is also in here, having recommended fishing the Hill Country in Texas.

What I like most about the book, however, is that, while it is clearly about exotic destinations, many of which are far off the lifetime radar of most anglers (it's still okay to dream... that's the point), Santella has rounded the offering out by including some "lifetime" destinations that aren't necessarily eight time zones away. For example, he lists carp fishing in the South Platte River (recommended by Will Rice). Is the Dirty South Platte one of the 50 (now 100) greatest fishing destination rivers on the planet? No. But is the experience there worthy of including on a life list? Absolutely. Same is true for shark fishing off of San Diego, or floating Romano's Hill Country.

Let's face it, if you knock off five of the 50 before you, well, knock off, you're in the lucky crowd of anglers. But dreams are for everyone. And having some of those well within reach makes this book shine. I like it as much, or a little bit more, than the first 50 Places, making this a rare "sequel." The photos are sharp, the prose is compelling (Santella is one of the best in this business), the research is supremely thorough... and as such, the ride through "50 More Places" is very much worth taking. Published by Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, price is $25.

Comments (8)

from buckhunter wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

Most Friday nights I visit the local Barnes and Noble for a coffee and new book. Hope to see it on the shelf soon.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sayfu wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

Floated the entire length of the Karluk River years ago, and will never forget the incredible experience. Caught steelhead returning back out of Karluk Lake, caught dollies, and caught chrome bright King Salmon fresh in during the month of June. Never rained a drop from the time I got off the plane, and when I got back on the plane it started raining. Left the guns at home, and took fire crackers to fend off the Kodiak Brown Bears.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from WesMcCormick wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

spent plenty of time in the hill country, especially while I was at Fort Hood, but never fishing, always with my butt on a tube and a beer in my hand. Would love to fish the Guadalupe though. Have seen plenty of rainbows @ the Horseshoe. The water is freezing there!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from ckRich wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

I'll be keeping an eye out for this one. Thanks for the heads up Kirk.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jamesti wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

i have fished the s. platte since i was a kid and remember a time when it wasn't polluted in the denver area. i also fished it on the slope and it wasn't affected by mining. guess those days are over.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sayfu wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

jamesti..Mining goes way, way back. Are you as old as dirt? :)

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from badsmerf wrote 40 weeks 2 days ago

sayfu, who was the smart person suggesting firecrackers for the brownies? I would have asked them if they wanted to be shot too lol. Being from Alaska, I wouldn't go anywhere with brown bears without a handgun (a powerful one at that).

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sayfu wrote 39 weeks 4 days ago

The guy who organized the trip was an incredible outdoorsman. He spent many a nites in the outbacks of Canada and Alaska. One time his Canadian fishing trip for Kings was cut short because he had to shoot a Brown bear...filled out forms, had to skin it out for the authorities. We had no problems because we slept on Islands, that the bears could have swam out to. We tested the firecrackers several times during the day, and a bankside bear would scurry off.
The guy never used a tent, just a blue tarp tied down from a tree. He even slept in dirt road culverts that animals traveled through...said they wouldn't bother him. His two boys that went on the trip were Alaskan, commercial crab fisherman.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

from buckhunter wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

Most Friday nights I visit the local Barnes and Noble for a coffee and new book. Hope to see it on the shelf soon.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sayfu wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

Floated the entire length of the Karluk River years ago, and will never forget the incredible experience. Caught steelhead returning back out of Karluk Lake, caught dollies, and caught chrome bright King Salmon fresh in during the month of June. Never rained a drop from the time I got off the plane, and when I got back on the plane it started raining. Left the guns at home, and took fire crackers to fend off the Kodiak Brown Bears.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from WesMcCormick wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

spent plenty of time in the hill country, especially while I was at Fort Hood, but never fishing, always with my butt on a tube and a beer in my hand. Would love to fish the Guadalupe though. Have seen plenty of rainbows @ the Horseshoe. The water is freezing there!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from ckRich wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

I'll be keeping an eye out for this one. Thanks for the heads up Kirk.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jamesti wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

i have fished the s. platte since i was a kid and remember a time when it wasn't polluted in the denver area. i also fished it on the slope and it wasn't affected by mining. guess those days are over.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sayfu wrote 40 weeks 3 days ago

jamesti..Mining goes way, way back. Are you as old as dirt? :)

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from badsmerf wrote 40 weeks 2 days ago

sayfu, who was the smart person suggesting firecrackers for the brownies? I would have asked them if they wanted to be shot too lol. Being from Alaska, I wouldn't go anywhere with brown bears without a handgun (a powerful one at that).

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sayfu wrote 39 weeks 4 days ago

The guy who organized the trip was an incredible outdoorsman. He spent many a nites in the outbacks of Canada and Alaska. One time his Canadian fishing trip for Kings was cut short because he had to shoot a Brown bear...filled out forms, had to skin it out for the authorities. We had no problems because we slept on Islands, that the bears could have swam out to. We tested the firecrackers several times during the day, and a bankside bear would scurry off.
The guy never used a tent, just a blue tarp tied down from a tree. He even slept in dirt road culverts that animals traveled through...said they wouldn't bother him. His two boys that went on the trip were Alaskan, commercial crab fisherman.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.