In Dances with Trout, John Gierach roams the globe in search of good fishing and even better fish stories. He writes about fishing for trout in Alaska, for salmon in Scotland, and for almost anything in Texas. He offers perceptive observations about such subjects as ice-fishing ("There's something about sitting on a frozen, windswept lake staring down that eight-inch-diameter hole that looks - at least from a distance - like the primitive equivalent of watching television"), getting lost, fishing at night, and the art of tying flies ("Evaluating a fly solely on whether it catches fish is like saying a painting of Elvis on velvet is as good as a Picasso because both will cover the same crack in the plaster"). On the subject of fishing tournaments, Gierach has this to say: "A tournament that accurately represented all the subtleties of fly-fishing doesn't exist and probably never will. It would have to have not only casting and fish-catching competitions, but also categories for fashion . . . not to mention lunch and wine selection, the invention and naming of fly patterns, bird and edible plant identification, good-heartedness, humor, lying, trespassing, philosophical detachment, creative misdirection of fellow anglers and so on." Dances with Trout also lets readers in on Gierach's tested hunting techniques, such as his method of waiting quietly in the woods, reading a good book, and looking up occasionally to see if any deer happen to have wandered into view. Written with the wry humor and wit that are Gierach's trademarks, Dances with Trout is sure to delight fishermen and non-fishermen alike.