By William A. Sodeman, Jr., MD, JD
Fly Fishing for Great Lakes Steelhead:
An Advanced Look at an Emerging Fishery
by Rick Kustich and Jerry Kustich
West River Publishing, Hard Cover, 280 p.,
ISBN 0-963319-1-7
This is the most comprehensive review of the current status of the Great Lakes steelhead fishery that is available in a form that an average fisherman can grasp and understand. If your sole goal is to fish a particular river there probably are better guides but if you are gripped by the disease of chasing Great Lakes steelhead on the fly then without this book you are going about it with one eye closed. The book is in three sections, each distinctive enough to deserve separate comment.
Part one is "the fishery." Steelhead have been about finding their niche on the Pacific Coast since the last glaciation or about 12,000 years. Most of that time under the pressure of natural events and only latterly the unnatural intervention by man. Even with this history the Pacific fishery is unstable. In the Great Lakes steelhead have been present for only 120 years and always pressed by unnatural events. This 100 page section will impress on you how precarious the viability of the current distribution and the stocks remains. From genetic dilution of naturalized strains through to big boats trolling planer boards in the scum line the pressures mount and the wonder is that the stream harvest remains as generous as it is. This is remarkably well organized and presented.
Part two discusses fly fishing strategy and the unique variations necessary in the Great Lake setting. This short chapter on strategy could stand alone. Heedless of your skill level you will learn something from this essay about fly fishing for steelhead and for that matter about fly fishing generally. The authors’ philosophical view should be engraved on my fly box. "Some rivers, techniques and fly patterns are more pleasing to fish than others. And while not always the most productive for a given situation, ‘success’ is measured in the quality of the experience and not only the quantity of the catch." This is the essence of the mature fly fisher in two sentences.
All techniques are considered from standard to those alarmingly marginal as fly fishing. Each, as it turns out, has its place, a time, water conditions, weather, even migratory status of the fish, when it excels. Whether you choose to use a technique is a personal choice. "This is not to imply that certain techniques represent a lower class of fishing, but that others present a greater challenge, enjoyment, and reward when done successfully."
The remaining parts are flies and rivers. The color fly illustrations are excellent but flies are often a matter of local choice. This offers good, solid background. Only major river systems are described. In any given area as with flies local knowledge is what really counts. Minor streams are often gems.
If you fish for Great Lakes steelhead, whether it is one day a year or incessantly, you can do yourself and your fishing no greater service than reading and rereading this book. RWOL
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