Trout Bum

The 40th anniversary edition of the enduring outdoors classic from the acknowledged master of fishing writers, John Gierach, including new, previously unpublished material and a foreword from Liam Neeson. John Gierach didn’t just write about fly-fishing—he helped transform the sport from a niche pursuit to a way of life. As he once said: “Fly-fishing for trout is a sport that depends not so much on catching the fish as on their mere presence and the fact that you do, now and again, catch some.” This is exactly the kind of simultaneously wise and deadpan observation that has earned him a devoted following for over four decades. With his inimitable blend of wit and insight, Gierach brings the rivers and landscapes of the Rocky Mountains to life, and takes us on fly-fishing adventures that turn out to be by turns challenging, exhilarating, philosophical, comical, and unexpectedly revelatory, proving that Trout Bum is about more than fishing—it’s about life.

John Gierach was the award-winning author of more than twenty books about fly-fishing. He was beloved as “the voice of the common angler" (The Wall Street Journal) and inducted into the Fly-Fishing Hall of Fame in 2015. He lived in Lyons, Colorado, with his wife Susan de Castro McCann until his passing in 2024.