|
|
GFF book review
Philadelphia on the Fly
Author: ron P. swegman
Reviewed by Martin JoergensenI wish I had more books like this one in my fishing library. I do have a few. Books like Rob Rich's Fish Fights, LaFontaine's Fishing High Mountain Lakes and Bob Nunley's Extreme Fly Fishing spring to mind.
They are characterized by a very personal and entertaining view on fly fishing and they provide a lot of food for thought – even a bit of philosophy if you feel so inclined.
ron P. swegman's Philadelphia on the Fly is exactly that kind of book. I have just read it in a couple of swoops during my holiday. It's an easy read: short, well written and very entertaining. swegman has a very personal style, at one time clearly showing his poetic background, but at the same time being very comprehensible and simple – in the best sense of the word.
The book reflects the circumstances: swegman taking up fly fishing again, swegman fishing a plain 5 weight rod, swegman riding his mountain bike to the water, swegman wading deep rocky pools in hip boots and not least: swegman fishing a lowly city stream with the downtown skyline of a large metropolis in the background.
During the book's short story-like chapters we get the romantic dinner with the girlfriend that gets exchanged with a bass fishing trip, the baptism of channel catfish as hippie trout, the fear of finding a dead body in the water and many other aspects of urban fishing. And we share the joys of finding undisturbed high-quality fishing within the city limits.
Each chapter is illustrated with a small crayon drawing of a fly (including the Fat Brown Pigskin... some fly!) as well as many color photographs of the rivers and their fish. It's not a where-to or a how-to book, but a few facts do sneak their way into the text. Still, any angler from anywhere in the world can read it with great amusement, and thinking – as the title may indicate – that it's for Philadelphians only is dead wrong.
The book may be a small one, but the sum of its qualities earns it a big score: Global Class.
ron P. swegman has his own webpage, which you can visit for more information on the author and his art.
|
Go to a table of all books and videosBook review section
Review section
Did you find the above interesting? | People who looked at the above also looked at:
Do you know what flies to tie for clear water and how to tie them? Follow the Danish flytier Ken Bonde Larsen carefully tie some attractive and yet not too visible flies for the Canadian salmon. Tubes are his favorite and some with new plastic discs.
|
These other stories on "Trout - Content about the most popular fish worldwide" might also interest you:
More about Trout |
A few random articles for your entertainment
|
|
A Global FlyFisher Publication
