A new John Gierach book is an event for many fly anglers who eagerly anticipate publication. Pete Tyjas has just read his latest book: All Fishermen Are Liars
John Gierach's Trout Bum along with Mike Weaver's Pursuit of Wild Trout were life changing books for me. When it comes to Gierach it has shaped a lot of how I approach fishing and for that matter some aspects of my life too. I have been lucky enough to fish his home water, the St Vrain, in Colorado and hang out with his long time fishing pal A K Best and Mike Clarke too. I am a big fan.
You know exactly what you are going to get – beautifully crafted short stories about trips he has made either with friends we know from previous books or alone where he has headed out and hiked into the high country for peace, solitude with only a few trout for company.
I have followed all of his books with great interest and often amusement too. It doesn’t bother me if it is about a form of fishing or hunting that I may not be as interested in, I still enjoy reading.
For me though the last few books had lost the edge a little. I am not sure why this might be. Perhaps the success he has achieved in angling circles has made him a little uncomfortable or he feels he is seen as an expert by many, despite the fact that he does his best to ensure this isn’t the case in his writing. It might be that as we age we look at things a little differently than we did with younger eyes. No matter what it is it the last three or so books didn’t work for me in the way they did before.
I received his latest book All Fishermen Are Liars from my daughter Charlie for father’s day. It is inscribed with the words ”Something to read about fishing when you’re not fishing”.
I secretly hoped I would enjoy this one a little more. The answer is yes, I did. As far as I am concerned Gierach is back on form. Some of the stories are written from posher camps than he might have visited in the past but I guess he was invited to them by the owners with the hope he would write about them and I for one say good on him for taking the invitations too. Others are from camps he had fished at for a number of years.
Don’t worry it will be a thinly veiled advert for these places, it isn’t and there are plenty of stories about him fishing the St Vrain and camping out with pals too. These are the ones I really enjoy. I have also always liked reading about him deciding to fish during the winter months too. Reading about the long hike to an unnamed river in the hope of a few hours of rising fish really interest me; sometimes they are successful other times not.
The mood of the book, in some parts, is also reflective. He is clearly thinking about his age, what he has done, how he did it and some of the people he has met and the impact they have had on his life too.
Writing a new book must be similar to a rock band writing a new album. As musicians they want to please their fans, show the critics they are growing musically and to perhaps take themselves in a new direction. This can sometimes come with disastrous results.
For me, the last few of Gierach's books have had little tweaks that he has possibly wanted to use with his writing so that each one isn’t just the “same old, same old” formula. As I look at it though, it is exactly what I have always wanted – to read about him going fishing and this book does exactly that. I’m pleased.
Buy All Fishermen Are Liars From Coch y Bonddu Books