For John Gierach, “the get good at of fly-fishing” (Sacramento Bee), angling is always the answer-even if it is not clear the actual question is. In All Fishermen Are Liars, Gierach travels around North America seeking out quintessential fishing encounters, whether it’s at a occupied stream or a secluded lake concealed amid snow-capped mountains. He discusses the artwork of fly-tying as well as the quest for an ideal steelhead journey (“The Nuclear Choice”), about angling in the Presidential Pools previously fished about All Fishermen Are Liars from the elder George Bush (“I pondered briefly if I’d performed something karmically devastating and was right now fated to invest the rest of my entire life breathing the exhaust of this elderly Republican”), as well as the importance of touring with like-minded companions when caught within a soaking rainfall (“At this time someone must say, ‘You know, there are individuals who wouldn’t think that is fun’”). And though Gierach loses some fish along the way, he by no means loses his enthusiasm and love of life.

Wry, contemplative, and lively-that is to state, pure Gierach-All Anglers Are Liars is a joy to pay attention to-and, as constantly, the next most sensible thing to angling itself.