He moved to Lyons in Colorado to live the life of effectively carrying out his passion of fishing as much as he could and damn everything else. To fund this he wrote columns in local newspapers and to avoid getting “shack-nasties” in winter resorted to writing books. With his dry wit and somewhat different outlook on life these became an instant hit and thus he has never looked back. With a few exceptions the recipe he utilises in his writing is straightforward and that is about 20 chapters covering all subjects within the fishing world but none related. However, these can be somewhat absurd. For instance in his first book “Trout Bum” he wrote a whole chapter on the ideal camp coffee from the type of pot, to preparation, to type of beans.
He has become a critic of diners and composed pages on the perfect camp set-up as well as the ideal truck to carry all your kit when on extended trips. He thinks nothing of travelling 500-1000 miles to fish and these can be new waters or familiar haunts. Likewise he thinks nothing of fishing in mid-winter when the air temperature is well below zero and snow levels are measured in feet and not inches. That requires dedication; or is it madness?
John frequently fishes with AK Best a commercial fly-tyer and when you read some of his prose on their trips it reminds one of the film with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in “Grumpy Old Men” where they are far from happy about the world but in complete harmony when it comes to fishing. Don’t ever get involved with a discussion around politics with him for there is a strong chance you will emerge a lot worse for it!
Anglers by nature tend to be creatures of habit and John is no exception. He has a love affair with cane rods made by highly respected rod-builders and using very small dry flies. Likewise he abhors crowds and will walk for hours into a canyon or up a creek to avoid them. Effectively, and he will admit it, he falls comfortably into the old fart camp and he is proud of it. Although his passion is fly-fishing for trout he will target non-game species with bass, bluegills and pike frequently sought after and despite having a phobia over flying he will tolerate it just to fish somewhere else and tick another box.
His latest book “No Shortage of Good Days” fits comfortably into his writing formula and for someone who has never read his writing is as good an entry point as any. If I have a criticism it is I get the feeling his writing is nowadays somewhat jaded as he is struggling to come up with new ideas and thus many chapters are somewhat a rehash of previous ones from his vast repertoire. Nevertheless there continue to be some real gems and I particularly like when he discusses ailments as one ages but purely from the effect on limiting one’s angling ability! As Gierach will always say a bad day on the river beats a good day in the office. Well worth a read and make sure you have a good cup of coffee along with it.