America's Favorite Flies

Book excerpt: America's Favorite Flies: 9 x 12 inches, 656 pages, full-color, case bound with cloth, smyth sewn. America's Favorite Flies, a book by Rob Carter and John Bryan, is a landmark gathering of 224 persons from across North America, each of whom has provided a favorite fly along with comments and materials. Among the book's contents are stunning photographs of the flies and writings by the participants. The list of participants is compelling: President Jimmy Carter, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, fly-fishing matriarch Joan Wulff, salt fly legend Lefty Kreh, 1% for the Planet co-founder Craig Mathews, Riverkeeper founder Robert Boyle, rock musician Huey Lewis, artist James Prosek, author Tom McGuane, and on and on. America's Favorite Flies is dedicated to Norman Maclean, author of A River Runs through It, which spawned the movie that has had arguably more impact on fly-fishing than anything in its history. Norman Maclean's children, Jean Snyder Maclean and John N. Maclean, have given their appreciation and enthusiastic confirmation for this dedication. The book also includes approximately 100 artworks by some of North America's most beloved outdoor artists. 14 influential people in the world of fly fishing have contributed special essays. All of the profits from America's Favorite Flies are donated to two organizations whose work benefits ever healthier fisheries and waters. The James River Association is guardian of the 348-mile James River that begins with mountain trout waters and concludes amid bluefish and flounder waters where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. The Native Fish Society plays a vital role in the conservation and recovery of wild, native fish in the Pacific Northwest, and is an active advocate both regionally and nationally.