Gary LaFontaine is well known for his
wonderful book Caddisflies, as
well as Challenge of the Trout,
The Dry Fly: New Angles, and
Trout Flies: Proven Patterns.
He is perhaps less known for what
must be his true passion - fly fishing mountain lakes
seldom visited by man - or even the local mountain goat.
Just released, Fly Fishing
the Mountain Lakes is the first in a series,
that Gary is calling the Summer of Discovery Series.
Quoting from the book, "Each summer season for me is a
chance to learn and a chance to have fun. One without
the other would make it a wasted summer. The books in this
series are about the very good summers of my fly fishing
life."
This book is laid out in alternate
chapters - the even-numbered chapters are the how-tos,
and the odd (Hmmmm) numbered ones are about the fun of
fishing the lakes. The fun parts really are! Check out
an excerpt in this weeks
Lightside. I'm not going to mention at all his
preference to a short pack animal - a goat! You
need to read that for yourself.
Of particular interest were the
chapters on techniques and the gear Gary uses in various
lake fishing situations. He really has doped it out so
he rarely gets skunked. In some cases it requires packing
in two rods, and nine different lines. The specific
use for each line is detailed.
Gary says the how-to parts of the
book are based on the premise that "a fly fisherman can't
be a good mountain lake anglers without being an all-around
stillwater fanatic." And a backpacker. To that purpose,
he includes a section on getting in shape - and the standards
for "in shape" at various ages. (For both men and women.)
The period in early spring, called
"ice-out" is full of opportunity for the fly anglers.
Gary and his friends experiences chasing the ellusive
possiblilities for hitting this occurance provide a
fascinating insight on how determined die hard, avid
lake anglers can be.
Also included in Fly Fishing
the Mountain Lakes is a super list of recommended
books for anyone interested in fishing these remote lakes.
One more plus, Gary's list of the
"Basic Twenty-Six Patterns For Stillwater Fly Fishing,"
You will have to buy the book to get the list - but it
does include 11 dry flies, 3 emergers, 2 wet flies, 7 nymphs,
2 streamers, and 1 egg fly. And yes, the tying recipes
are there.
I read Fly Fishing the Mountain
Lakes last weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It
is a easy to follow book, with technical stuff in plain terms.
The mix with the humor is great, and does give your mind a break
between the more techincal chapters. I highly recommend it! ~ DB
