Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Our Fly Fishing Heritage

I'm proud to say that I have facilitated yet another fly fishing book. I use the word facilitated because in this case I did none of the writing. The author, Alen Baker, wrote it all. I was the middleman, middlewoman, between Alen and the publisher.

Alen Baker had a vision. He could imagine a museum featuring the art and history and lore of the great sport of fly fishing here in the Southern Appalachians. Eventually he did more than imagine. He planned and he cajoled and he sought out equally minded individuals who would help him make this vision come true. It happened. The Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians opened in Cherokee, North Carolina in June, 2015. I toured it last summer and learned so much.

And then he wrote about it, beginning with the early days of his own fly fishing experiences and his deep love for the sport. He tells the why, the how, and the who about creating a museum from scratch. His passion shows on every page.


We just finished the book. That's his hand on the cover, a selfie. 

Quotes from the back cover:

Alen Baker has led the way in creating a museum to capture a sporting legacy of great importance. This book traces the evolution of the museum and provides a vital resource for anyone who cherishes the high country, wild trout, remote places, and the waters of the good earth. It is a work no lover of the lure and lore of southern trout fishing should overlook.
-Jim Casada, author of numerous fly fishing books including "Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Insider’s Guide to a Pursuit of Passion"

Alen Baker’s quest to see a Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachian Mountains is borne out of years of experience as a dedicated fly fisher, an advocate for Trout Unlimited, and as such, a dedicated restoration practitioner. Few are more qualified, knowledgeable, or literate in calling for a museum to commemorate the practices, history, culture, and mores that make fly-fishing in the southern Appalachians so important.
-Chris Wood, President and CEO, Trout Unlimited    

Publication date, May 27, 2016, in time for Father's Day. It makes for great reading. Give it a try. 

Catch of the day, (literally!)

Gretchen

No comments:

Post a Comment