WRITING ON THE FLY
By GEORGE LISET
When I saw that the Great Bay Trout Unlimited Chapter 613 was hosting author David Van Wie I asked Coach Jim Boulanger (Coach B ) to go along for a ride. David has written what I consider a new fly fishing classic. I am an avid reader and writer and I don’t say that lightly.
David was talking about his book “Storied Waters.”
I remember David talking about the book after he had just returned from the 5,700-mile trip he had taken from his home in Maine to the Driftless Area in Wisconsin and iconic fly fishing spots in the Upper Peninsula of Northern Michigan and back, fishing over 35 fabled fly fishing locations.
What makes this book special is that not only does David talk about all the wonderful places he fly fishes, but David also introduces the reader to a plethora of historic and entertaining fly fishing literature. From Thoreaus’ “Walden,” Aldo Leopolds’ “Sand County Journal” and Louise Dickenson Rich’s “We Took to the Woods.”
Each Chapter brings the reader down a different rabbit hole.
In his book, Van Wie visits over 35 legendary fly fishing locations, many that are on my list to fish. If you have ventured out to fish new rivers and streams without a guide or any direction, you know how difficult it is. One can spend more time driving and asking for directions and information than fishing. David takes some of the guesswork out of some of these places and even gives the name of local fly fishing shops where you can pick up some of the local flies that work and get on a river and into fish.
On my list of places David visited were the Beaverkill River in the Catskills of New York, Spring Creek and the Yellow Breeches River in Pennsylvania. The Driftless Area in Wisconsin, the home of Aldo Leopold, and the Fox River in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where Ernest Hemingway fished in the town of Seney, (pronounced See Nee not Sen ay). A sure give away to the locals that you are not from around there.
I have just finished reading Hemingways’ “Nick Adams Stories” which are semi autobiographical, about growing up in the Upper Peninsula. The UP is one of those places where you can’t get there from here, but that is what makes it special. The other river in Michigan is the Au Sable (pronounced Oh Sahble, where the river of the same name in New York is pronounced Oh Sable).
Van Wie mentioned that one of the highlights for him was fishing at Frenchman’s Pond which is the secret pond in upper Michigan where author John Voelker (pen name Robert Traver) who wrote “Anatomy of a Murder,” “Trout Madness” and “Trout Magic” fished. David said he had one of his best days fishing there.
“Storied Waters” is a great read. If you need something to read by the fire or some inside info for your next fly fishing trip, grab a copy for your stocking stuffer or for under the tree and be prepared to go down the rabbit hole.
George Liset of Dover is an award-winning outdoor writer and avid fly fisherman who shares insights of his time on the water exploring New Hampshire streams and rivers as well of those around New England. George is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois, and the University of New Hampshire. His column Writing on the Fly has been honored by the New England Press Association and the New Hampshire Press Association.