Storied Waters

Storied Waters chronicles the author’s six-week odyssey from Maine to Wisconsin and back to explore and fly fish America’s most storied waters and celebrate the writers and artists who made them famous.

In a 5,000-mile odyssey covering over 50 locations in eight states, Van Wie follows and fishes in the footsteps of giants from Thoreau to Hemingway, Robert Traver to Corey Ford, Louise Dickinson Rich to Aldo Leopold to Winslow Homer and many more. Storied Waters provides a virtual roadmap through 200 years of fly-fishing literature and a literal roadmap—complete with local fishing tips—to the hallowed waters of our sport. In each chapter, informative sidebars detail fishing spots, best times to fish, major hatches, and other intel.

Storied Waters is a grand vicarious adventure, driving the backroads for weeks at a time exploring beautiful places, and meeting fascinating people who share a common interest. With an easy, conversational writing voice enhanced with spectacular photographs, Van Wie relates an eclectic mix of travel narrative, natural history, and fishing tips and advice, as well as a deep (but sometimes humorously irreverent) appreciation for the writers who have created such a rich legacy of stories about fishing over the past 200 years.

David A. Van Wie writes a monthly column for The Maine Sportsman magazine, has published feature articles in Northern Woodlands magazine and the Maine Sunday Telegram, and is coauthor of The Confluence: A Collection of Essays, Art and Tall Tales about Fly-fishing & Friendship, now in its second printing. After a 35-year career in environmental consulting and government (director of Bureau of Land and Water Quality, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and member of Maine House of Representatives in the 124th Legislature), he now writes and lives in Lyme, New Hampshire. He is an accomplished photographer, a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, and writes a blog on fly-fishing and environmental issues at www.watchyourbackcast.com.