Customer Reviews

Trout Eyes: True Tales of Adventure, Travel, and Fly-Fishing

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Tapply's stories are outdoor experiences that could happen to any sportsman, not just those who can afford exotic trips and high-end lodges. He brings a warmth and genuine love of the sport to his writing. Not all the memories are of big fish; some are of the ones that got away, broken rods, horrendous weather, and everyday mishaps all fly fishers encounter, as well as rememberances of great guides and beautiful locations. My only criticism of this book is these stories are mostly repints from magazine articles, therefore they are fairly short. Tapply is such a delightful storyteller I wish his tales were a bit longer.

Bill Tapply is the rare combination of writer and angler that makes reading about fly fishing almost as much fun as being on the water. It's great to have a new book from him. This is as good a fishing book as I've read in a long time.

Perfect for the outdoor enthusiest! My husband has all
of the books from this clever writer. I also have enjoyed
them whether they are the hunting and fishing stories or
the mystery novels.

The book was as described by the seller, arrived as promised. Would buy from this seller again.

The qualities of Bill Tapply's work which jump out are: (1) the craftsmanship of his writing - first class, and (2) the universal themes anglers have grown to know and love. Bill describes settings which transport our minds to the beloved dream-world of casting a dry fly to a large feeding brown trout. And he transports us from our real world of suburban spawl and traffic jams to our favorite escapes faster than 2 large aspirin.

The stories he tells in Trout Eyes, especially of his youth, embody a Norman Rockwell quality. A certain purity and innocence of a time past as rendered in this passage:

"As the winter nights passed, his boxes filled with flies. When I was a kid, there were very few evenings when Dad didn't put in an hour or two at the vise. And if I sat there quietly and waited long enough, he'd eventually pat his knee and invite me to climb up and time a fly or my own."

A boy sitting on his father's knee at the tying vise paints a classic image of the fishing tradition - knowledge being passed down from father to son.

Trout Eyes isn't just about trout either. One moment we are at the tying vise, the next Bill is covering the technical aspects of tippet material in the "X Factor." If forced to pick from the various stories that comprise this book, my favorite short story would be "Thinkin' Mean." The story appeals to me on a couple of levels. First, as a long-time fly fisherman, I can relate to the hard won knowledge that it makes to master a complex mayfly hatch on water like the Willowemoc. But more importantly, it's a story about one of the golden rules we as anglers should live by. (By the way, there's a least three other unwritten golden rules for angling.) And this golden rule is simple: to share your knowledge and insight with others (a.k.a. the secret fly). So, Bill if we should ever share the same water and I mange to hook all the fish, I'll be sure to throw a "Cigarette fly" your way.

Trout Eyes is the best fishing book I've read this year. It's full of funny scenes and really wise fishing information. Highly recommend.
Cressly