The Blitz

I received this book as a birthday present in September of 2011. It was no surprise, as I had requested it a few months earlier after learning of its impending release. As I unwrapped the book and various other gifts at a family dinner and party, I went from being curious to potentially rude. You see, after this book was in my hands I found it very hard to put down, and for a while it sucked my attention away from the party and guests. I told myself that I would quickly thumb through the book just to look at the pictures, but the photography was so great that it simply wasn't possible to do so with any speed.

Tosh Brown's photography alone is worth the price. By design, this work has a definite coffee table book feel and appearance to it. Brown's framing, use of light and shadow, and brilliant capturing of the colors of saltwater fly fishing shine through in wonderful detail. If you are tired of looking at just hero shots in fishing books, you will be more than gratified with the wide selection of images in this book that tell the story of migration fishing through the fish themselves, the anglers, the surrounding nature and environments, and people of vivid local color.

Tracking the annual saltwater migration from north (Maine) to south (Carolina) has all the hallmarks of a daunting task, but McDonald and Brown do it justice. The book's text gives the backdrop for the accompanying pictures, not in instructional technique or gear details, but in the context of the fanatical anglers who get out there and cast flies at these marauding predators. With names like Skok, Popovics, Horsely, and Nelson (to name just a few), we get a peek into what drives some of us to chase the migration blitzes. Whether you are an angler or not, these spectacles are to be appreciated.

The Blitz: Fly Fishing the Atlantic Migration deserves a spot on any fly angler's bookshelf, whether a saltwater enthusiast or not. It's a reminder of not only what we can accomplish with a fly rod, but also why we try to accomplish it in the first place.

There's a great video about the whole project, which you can find in our video channel.