John Gierach’s latest book, All Fishermen Are Liars, lives up to the sort of writing we have come to expect from him; meaning entertaining and interesting, often poetic and contemplative, laced with his own brand of sardonic wit and his masterful use of the surprise one-liner. Let me give you just an example from this book.

When I was asked by an interviewer if I considered myself a fisherman first and a writer second or vice versa, I truthfully answered, ‘Yes’

The first chapter is especially interesting as it amounts to Gierach’s autobiography told in a nutshell and cleverly relayed in the third person.  There are interesting glimpses of fishing for trout, salmon, coasters (lake-held brook trout) and steelhead as well as chapters on fly rods, fishing Tenkara and an eclectic mix of visits to interesting venues and rivers. His chapter on fishing new water, in this case a small stream, is a masterpiece. It will touch so many of your own on-stream life experiences so precisely that you will forgive yourself the goose bumps you get reading it.

Here’s a quote from this very chapter:

‘We fishermen constantly overestimate the intelligence of fish so that matching wits with them doesn’t seem too ridiculous,…’

This book is Gierach at his best.

Simon & Schuster New York. Hardcover, 2011 pages, with pen and ink chapter heading sketches.

Copies, including a few signed copies, are available as direct sales or mail order from Craig Thom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.