Yes, in the back of my mind, I thought just maybe…. I’ll run off to Alaska and ditch all my responsibilities to spend every waking hour on the water either catching monster fish or helping others land the fish of their lifetime. Little did I know about the non-stop non-fishing work, the poop, and the unappreciative whiners.

The Alaska Chronicles by Miles Nolte is a candid look at the joy of guiding in one of the worlds most beautiful places and all the mundane and sometimes disgusting tasks that go with the job. The book was assembled from semi-daily journal posts that he did for the awesome Drake magazine. Some days postings are very short and just an expansion on something he was thinking about that day. Other chapters are detailed, often hilarious descriptions of a day or trip assignment.

I found the book to be interesting all the way through. Unfortunately, I wish Miles spent more time in Alaska as I read it in a couple of days. Here’s hoping Miles will go back next season.

I finished reading Rick Passek’s The Freshman FlyFisher Book today. He’s taken a very different angle to helping introduce fly fishing to new anglers wanting to join the club of obsessed fly fishing folks. He doesn’t write like a quote “writer”. He writes like an extremely knowledgeable friend or fly shop owner would. It’s a very casual style that is easy to follow and read.

The book consists of 126 pages which makes it not too short to desire more substance but also not so long as to intimidate new anglers. It’s not full of fly fishing history or details about knots or types of fly lines… its full of useful, practical information. He also references videos on his site at http://www.rp3flyfishing.com/ when the instructions are a bit too difficult to portray in writing. This is a nice touch.

The chapters are:

• Rods, Reels and Fly Lines
• Flies
• Boats
• Accessories
• Locations and Basic Lake Biology
• Skills to Master

He also includes a Recommended Reading section and some Fishing Log Pages.

So, who is this book for? I think it’s an excellent book for any new fly fisher. Although I’ve been fly fishing for 8-ish years, I picked up some great advice as well. It’s compact and easy to carry around. When I first started and was out by myself on streams in GA, I tried carrying a couple of books to use as references. I wish I had this book with me. If you are a newbie in a northern US state or likely anywhere in Canada, this book is a must. If you are teaching a fly fishing course, you should definitely consider this book as a possible textbook.

One note, although I mention that the book would be great for all new fly fishing students, it targets the British Columbia province of Canada. He gives specific fly fishing shop info along with lake and river advice for BC. The book reminds me of all the fabulous fishing opportunities in our northern neighbor country. I’m so ready to take another trip up North.

Next up, Rick’s The Freshman FlyFisher’s Insect Guide. I’m ready to get down and dirty into the bugs. Review coming soon….

Rick Passek was kind enough to send me a couple of his The Freshman FlyFisher series of books to review – The Freshman FlyFisher – A Beginners Guide for a New Generation and The Freshman FlyFisher’s Insect Guide.

I’m finishing up At the Rivers Edge by Jerry Kustich right now but am looking forward to reading them. I quickly paged through them and they look very well made with beautiful photography (my type of book).

Speaking of entomology, two items of note. First, there is an iPhone application to help people identify flies and help them retain the information by giving them quizzes. It’s called North Woods Fly Fishing Guide and is available through iTunes (or your iPhone) here. It’s $0.99. It’s not super comprehensive but I was just excited to find anything for my iPhone remotely related to fly fishing. Now if someone would create a casting simulator for the iPhone, I would be set.

Second, the author of the two books, Rick Passeck, will be on D. Roger Maves’ Ask About Fly Fishing show this Wednesday at 8:00p CT. They have a bunch of giveaways including a copy of the Insect Guide book, a FFF membership, and a subscription to Fly Fusion magazine. So, DVR American Idol and listen in to learn about bugs and get a chance to win some of the goodies.

Ran across a blog I wasn’t familiar with today – Flyfish Fanatic. Found it on Twitter – @FlyFishFanatic. It’s a good read. The author of the blog, Rick Passek, is also the author of a book called The Freshman Flyfisher. I haven’t checked it out yet, but there can’t be enough good beginner fly fishing books. This sport/obsession is pretty hard to get started in unless you have someone to help mentor you but if the book is successful getting more people into this incredible hobby, I’m all for it. If you’ve read the book, please post a comment.

I’m in the process of reading Jerry Kustich’s book, “At the River’s Edge: Lessons Learned in a Life of Fly Fishing”. I’ve been reading John Gierach books at night for the last few years and although I love them, it’s nice to a book with a different voice and style. So far, I’m loving it. Full report when I’m done.