The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing

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What to expect

National Outdoor Book Award Winner for Outdoor Literature

From the award-winning, bestselling author of Cod—the irresistible story of the science, history, art, and culture of the least efficient way to catch a fish.

Fly fishing, historian Mark Kurlansky has found, is a battle of wits, fly fisher vs. fish--and the fly fisher does not always (or often) win. The targets--salmon, trout, and char; and for some, bass, tarpon, tuna, bonefish, and even marlin--are highly intelligent, wily, strong, and athletic animals. The allure, Kurlansky learns, is that fly fishing makes catching a fish as difficult as possible. There is an art, too, in the crafting of flies. Beautiful and intricate, some are made with more than two dozen pieces of feather and fur from a wide range of animals. The cast as well is a matter of grace and rhythm, with different casts and rods yielding varying results.

Kurlansky is known for his deep dives into the history of specific subjects, from cod to oysters to salt. But he spent his boyhood days on the shore of a shallow pond. Here, where tiny fish weaved under a rocky waterfall, he first tied string to a branch, dangled a worm into the water, and unleashed his passion for fishing. Since then, a lifelong love of the sport has led him around the world to many countries, coasts, and rivers—from the wilds of Alaska to Basque country, from the Catskills in New York to Oregon's Columbia River, from Ireland and Norway to Russia and Japan. And, in true Kurlansky fashion, he absorbed every fact, detail, and anecdote along the way.

The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing marries Kurlansky's signature wide-ranging reach with a subject that has captivated him for a lifetime--combining history, craft, and personal memoir to show readers, devotees of the sport or not, the necessity of experiencing nature’s balm first-hand.

Critics Review

  • Mark Kurlansky employs his fact-packed writing style to braid the history of fly fishing and the fish, his personal life of fishing from boyhood pond to rivers around the globe, and literary and ethics perspectives on the sport into ‘A Good Line,’ which will draw in those already enamored of fly fishing and at least tantalize those puzzled by the attraction of going fly fishing.

    Bowling Green Daily News

  • Mr. Kurlansky is a veteran writer. Over the course of 34 books—including bestsellers on such seemingly mundane subjects as salt, cod and paper—he has come to be known for his ability to weave history, philosophy and personal experience into compelling narratives. His latest, The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing, is on a subject that is clearly dear to his heart. . . . The book offers fascinating chapters on the history of fly fishing and tackle—flies, rods, reels, lines, even waders. . . . The fishing trivia Mr. Kurlansky cites is often marvelous.

    Wall Street Journal

  • This being a book by Kurlansky, who never met a fact he didn’t like, the narrative turns from his experiences as a fisherman to a more universal history. . . . Stuffed full of trivia, data, lore, and anecdote—a pleasure for any fan of trout fishing.

    Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

  • [A] vibrant treatise on fly-fishing . . . This is a thoroughly enjoyable mash-up of vivid memoir and fastidious, eccentric history.

    Publishers Weekly

  • Perfect for your favorite angler and gifts all around.

    Napa Valley Register's "Fishing Report"

  • This is not your typical fly-fishing book, because it’s not a ‘how-to’ nor does it document the author’s fishing adventures. It truly is a book of virtues, a refreshing blend of autobiographical, scientific, and historical angles to a sport that continues to gain popularity. . . . If you are looking to read and learn about “the what and whys” of fly fishing and less about ‘the how’ this is a great book.

    Portland Book Review

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