The Art of Deception

You might suppose that fly-fishing is about catching fish. But that’s not really the goal; if it were, we’d all be out on the river tossing in sticks of dynamite, which would be a lot more effective and probably less expensive. But no, the real aim of fly-fishing is catching fish in the right way, and the right way is less a matter of athletics than of aesthetics. The right fly at the right moment with the right cast is a thing of beauty. Who needs a fish?

The Classic Guide to Fly-Fishing for Trout, by Charles Jardine (Random House, 288 pp., $35)

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About the Author

Wick Allison

You might suppose that fly-fishing is about catching fish. But that’s not really the goal; if it were, we’d all be out on the river tossing in sticks of dynamite, which would be a lot more effective and probably less expensive. But no, the real aim of fly-fishing is catching fish in the right way, and the right way is less a matter of athletics than of aesthetics. The right fly at the right moment with the right cast is a thing of beauty. Who needs a fish?

The Classic Guide to Fly-Fishing for Trout, by Charles Jardine (Random House, 288 pp., $35)