Habit of Rivers: Reflections On Trout Streams And Fly Fishing - Paperback

by Ted Leeson (Author), John Gierach (Foreword by)

The story of a passion for rivers, trout, and fly fishing, and their sustaining power.

Back Jacket

With wry humor and rare insight, The Habit of Rivers tells the story of Leeson's passion for rivers, trout, and fly fishing, and his experiences as a newcomer to the Pacific Northwest - "the land of unceasing seasons." Leeson looks beneath the surface of fly fishing to explore questions that engage most fishermen: What is the strange gravity of a trout stream? Why are we so irresistibly drawn to rivers? Why does fly fishing seem such an aptly suited response? Above all, The Habit of Rivers is a book about ways of seeing the wonderfully textured world that emanates from a river. In pursuing these paths, Leeson finds everything from salmon, steelhead, and trout, to drift boats, art, insects, gravity, death, philosophy, books, fly tying, and microbreweries - and links them together with an intelligence that is provocative, witty, and illuminating. The Habit of Rivers begins with a deep respect for trout and trout streams, and ends in wisdom earned by hard and faithful attention to the natural world.

Author Biography

Ted Leeson's essays and articles have appeared in Fly Fisherman, Field & Stream, The Utne Reader, Gray's Sporting Journal, Men's Journal, and Fly Rod & Reel. He teaches English at Oregon State University in Corvallis and lives in Corvallis, Oregon.