I read Jim Casada's new Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Insider's Guide to a Pursuit of Passion last week in something of a state of wonder. You just don't get a lifetime of wisdom packed into most guidebooks anymore. Many of the regional guides I read are adequate but incomplete -- good enough to get you started, but hardly more than a handoff when it comes to specific stream knowledge. Casada's book is a clear exception.
His 35 guides to locations in North Carolina and Tennesse are rich with history, descriptions of local flora and fauna, access details, and local rigging, technique and fly selection advice. To top it off, he gives elevation and mileage graphs, with waypoints, for major streams, and provides a photography section at the end with some very interesting historical images. But the soul of this book is Casada's friendly, informative writing. I never felt like I was trudging through details in order to absorb the content and put the book away. More often I was delighted by some anecdote or reference that made me sense I was getting more than the full picture.
You can order the book as either a softbound paperback ($24.95) or a hardback ($37.50) from High Country Press, 1250 Yorkdale Drive, Rock Hill, SC 29730 or by calling 803-329-4354. For more info, visit Casada's Web site at www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com.
From last week's Chattanoogan.com: "Sam Venable, a long-time student of the Smokies and columnist for the Knoxville News-Sentinel, comments that 'a detailed how-to book like this can only come from someone who has 'been there, done that' and knows how to put those experiences on paper. If your passion is trout of the Southern highlands, this book will prove as indispensable as a favorite rod and wading boots.'"
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