No doubt about it, I’m a Gierach fan (actually, both of us who write for the site are).  I have all of his books except his poetry works, and will buy that one when I can remember to search for it with my next book order (it must not be in current publication - it’s not listed on Barnes and Noble’s site just now).

Standing in a River Waving a Stick is another of Gierach’s works - published in 1999 in hardback by Simon and Schuster, and the paperback version came out in 2000.

Like many of Gierach’s books, this is not a “how to” treatise, but a collection of very well written thoughts on the zen of fly fishing, and a personal look at the “why” of fishing, with a bit thrown in about the “where”.  I admire Gierach in particular as he is not a “kiss and tell fisherman” - most of the destinations he describes are not named, but you can get the general idea and track down the locations with some elbow grease, some targeted deduction, and some luck.

In Standing in a River Waving a Stick, I particularly enjoyed his description of the tension we all feel when fishing in Grizzly country - his experience was in British Columbia, though we’ve had our share of Griz encounters around Yellowstone and Montana this year. 

His chapter on “Fish Camps” was great (we tend to camp as we go too), as was the chapter “Getting Skunked” - after reading this I no longer have the pangs of old on a fishless day (thankfully not that often, but it can and does happen to most of us anyway). 

Finally the chapter titled “Taking it Personally” rings true for me, and I think it will for you too - as many of us shift our focus from the crowded “big name” rivers to the solitude and pleasures of smaller, more remote waters. 

Gierach’s style is unique, entertaining, thought provoking, and very down to earth, and this book fits the mold.  A great read, and another must have for your library…..

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