 Pencil sketch by Michael D. Day Recommended by my friend and fellow fly fisherman, Ted, this is the second George Black book I've read, and it was wonderful. I'm a fan of local history, and this entire book takes place in my home state of Connecticut, centered predominately around three rivers. Black discusses the American industrial revolution around moving, clean, cold water, places where trout thrive. He highlights the often shadowy struggles of stake holders laying claim to the management of such waterways. I was particularly impressed with Black teasing apart the murky line in the trout “conservation” world between stocked waters with invasive trout (such as brown trout) and our wild native brook trout.
I recently fished an unnamed tributary to one of these rivers, and it was nice reliving part of this book. It was especially rewarding stumbling upon a thriving population of our wild native brook trout that seemed to navigate many challenges over time, from an industrial revolution, to warming water, to competition with predatory, invasive fish.  Pencil sketch by Michael D. Day A wonderful book discussing the life and bamboo rod building of Gary Howells. Beelart provides an incredible amount of detail concerning Howells’ life, his correspondence with others and his secretive and fastidious building techniques. Howells was so guarded that only a handful of people were allowed a small glimpse into his building world.
Undoubtedly, Howells made incredible rods for the discerning bamboo fly angler, and his work influenced many. After Howells passed, Robert K. Bolt purchased his rod shop and uses some of his equipment to this day. As such, Howells lives on. While gregarious in some ways, many of his building techniques went with him when he passed. Some historical bamboo rod makers were great builders and others were great leaders by promoting the craft. (A small minority bridged both camps.) I’d argue that Howells fell more into the former category. There is no denying, however, that Howells focus and commitment to the craft of bamboo rod building was unparalleled. He never wavered. He remained steadfast in his determination, and in this respect, he provided one of his most important secrets of building: focus. |