reviews

Trout Fishing Near American Cities

Reviewed by Scott Richmond

Trout Fishing Near American Cities, by Ann McIntosh. Published by Stackpole Books. $19.95. 366 pages, softbound. Some black-and-white maps, no photos. Available online (google the title) or from the publisher.

here are many reasons to travel. Some people travel for business, racking up cross-country air miles and staying in nice hotels. Others pack the kids in the station wagon and drive to the next state to visit Aunt Ida.

But no matter how or why an avid fly angler travels, there's always a burning question: if I have a free day, where could I go fishing? Ann McIntosh attempts to answer that question in Trout Fishing Near American Cities.

For selected U.S. cites, she describes venues that are "close by." Basic maps are included, along with an overview of the fishery, some hatch information, tackle shops, and places to stay, eat, and camp. Readers are pointed to additional resources for more information.

Ms. McIntosh didn't write all the chapters--no angler is that peripatetic. Most chapters are written by others and are edited by her. Naturally this creates some inconsistency. I can't evaluate coverage of Tennessee's South Holston River, but I have a good understanding of west coast streams mentioned in this book. I felt that the Seattle and San Francisco sections (written by Adem Tepedelen and Stephen Trafton, respectively) had enough information to get a visitor pointed in the right direction. I have less confidence in the Portland section, but I admit that I'm very fussy about how my local waters are described.

There are a few other picky points I'll make. There are no lakes in this book. If you're visiting Seattle in April, it's not going to do you any good to read about the Snoqualmie basin, but you might want to know about Pass Lake.

Also, some of the fisheries are not very close to the city. The book describes the Crooked and Metolius rivers as options for Portland visitors, but those streams are almost three hours away. And creeks in the Columbia Gorge, which are much closer but have smaller trout, aren't even mentioned. Steelhead are not covered (it's a trout book), nor are bass, nor are saltwater options, such as the fall coho fishery that you can do within the Seattle city limits.

I suspect that similar gaps occur for all the cities listed in this book. When a publisher brings out a book, hard decisions have to made about what to include and what to leave out.

That's why I don't rely on a book such as this one when I combine fishing and travel. I like to know all my options, so I'll get on the internet and surf around. I'll call a couple of fly shops and pick their brains. So, I suspect, would most of Westfly's users.

Which brings up a fundamental point: in the internet age, is there a need for this book? Wouldn't a traveler be better off to go on-line? Pick up the phone? Order a detailed guidebook for the area he or she is visiting?

A book that covers the entire country, as Trout Fishing Near American Cities does, can't include everything. Information has to be summarized. Details and options have to be left out. That's the limitation of print. Ten years ago, anglers wouldn't have had any choice and this would have been a useful book. In 2002, it's an anachronism.

Bottom Line: In the internet age, this is not a valuable resource; save your money. Reviewer Rating: 2

Scott Richmond is Westfly's creator and Executive Director. He is the author of eight books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River (second edition).

Uploaded 04/02/2002.

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