As you may have noticed by now, I am a big fan of John Gierach. His prose seems to sum up what fishing is all about in an eloquent and thoughtful manner. No matter how good of a fisherman you are, or even if you don’t fish at all, Gierach’s work is enjoyable.
His book At The Grave of the Unknown Fisherman follows a year of fishing the life of the author. The book begins in early spring, fishing some undisclosed prarie lakes in Wyoming. As the year progresses the reader is taken along on trips for grayling in high Colorado lakes, trout on the Frying Pan River, the green drake hatch on the Henry’s Fork and much more.
As in almost all of his books, Gierach touches on the concept of small, home water. This concept holds a special place in my heart, as there are miles and miles of small, unfished waters within a 20 minute drive of my front door. Everyone has some little creek near them that holds fish. Many of you drive by them routinely, as I do, and wonder about the possibility of trout in such water. Take a hint from Gierach and give it a shot.
The soul of this book is summed up by a quote just inside the front cover, “I was awfully happy, not because life was good, but becuase it was my life, and I was in it.” -Scott Spencer. In today’s hectic and stressful world, it is increasingly rare to find anyone with that attitude. To my eye, the group of people that seem to exhibit it the most are fishermen. There is something very satisfying in a deep way about throwing flies to wild trout.
At The Grave of the Unknown Fisherman is one of the better John Gierach books I have ever read. Not only is it chock full of great fishing stories and lore, but it goes deeper too. If you don’t have it, get it.
