Dances with Trout

Always entertaining, often irreverent and illuminating, Gierach invites readers into his enviable way of life, and effortlessly sweeps them along.

Loving Scotland and fly fishing (as well as New Zealand) I love his Chapter 8 titled Scotland and where he writes on page 89 of how the river was held in private hands and 'rented' out which was a subtle reminder to me of how fortunate I am to be able to drive a mere six miles to the Mokelumne here in the Sierras of California and with my California fishing license and my rod and a few flies, fish to my hearts content for native trout no less.

The book is well written and part diary, part educational how to and in an odd way but a positive way, a lesson in the mysteries of fly fishing and the people who are drawn and hooked for life.


Dances has a great beat!   August 10, 2001
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Gierach has a way of lulling the reader into a world of strange illusion. I keep forgetting I'm reading and start thinking I'm eaves-dropping at a campfire. The rhythm of a writer is important and can fan the flame of imagination or dowse it like cold beer on your last match. Dances fans, man...it fans! The stories within the covers are told like stories should be told...easy with lot's of real words. There's too many writers,today,who write like evil spawn of New Age English classes! John bucks 'em all and writes like a story teller...taunting us with worlds filled exotic adventures...like killing porcupines with rocks. Good stuff!


Don't flyfish? Don't fish at all? It doesn't matter!   May 15, 2001
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I'm an avid bass angler who has never done much flyfishing, but after reading a good Gierach,(they're all great,) I'm ready to head out to that little creek in Montana, or that bass pond in Texas, or even Scotland with a fly rod and join him. This was the first book of his I read and now I'm on my fourth. I love how relaxed and fun his writing is, and I, personally, can relate to a lot of his views and feelings about things. Even for the non-angler, John Gierach is alot of fun, even if you have no idea what the heck a #14 Royal Wulff is. If you're looking for some great reading, go with Gierach.


Winter time fishing blues? Read Gierach   November 21, 2000
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Eyes getting tired from tying those #18 cahills? Too Cold to fish? Sit back and go fishing with Geirach. Great Book, great stories!


ANother gem from the best fishing writer today   May 11, 2000
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

You don't have to be a fly fisherman to enjoy Gierach, though it does help. When he waxes ecstatic over bamboo rods, or explains how the Green Drake mayfly (Ephemerella grandis) is differentiated from its cousins, E. doddsi and E. flavilinea, perhaps only a fisherman can understand exactly why this is so important.

But reading Gierach isn't something you do to learn about the technique or the science of fishing, or how to select a rod, or how to cast. He's more about the philosophy of fishing, about why we are willing to stand in the middle of a cold stream wearing silly clothes and waving a stick over our heads. He's the ultimate Trout Bum, to quote an earlier book, a man for whom there really is no other life, and who has made a modest living for years just celebrating this life. And of course he does this in a wonderfully witty way; no jokes, just a lot of observations that will still make you smile the umpteenth time you read them.

"Dances with Trout" is not just about trout fishing, or about fishing, for that matter. The "Scotland" chapter doesn't have much to say about how to fish for salmon; "Fool Hen" is about grouse hunting, and "In the Woods" is about still hunting for deer.

What ties all these stories together is Gierach's feeling of comradery with his hunting and fishing pals, and even more so, a real connection with the outdoors. In a time when for many, "outdoor sports" means something like racing through the woods in a snowmobile, tearing up the peace and quiet of a lake in a jetski or "four wheeling", Gierach writes about the simple pleasures of being outdoors and absorbing the world around you.