The challenges to tarpon fishing are many - finding the fish (it's a big ocean), hooking the fish (what do they eat?), keeping the fish hooked (they are huge, strong, and acrobatic), and battling the fish to boatside (are you up for a two hour battle?). Everything is different - the flies, the gear, the locations, and most especially the fish. Fly fishing is already a niche sport, but fly fishing for tarpon is considerably more so. It's not like trout fishing, where you can go down to the local sports shop, get some waders, a rod and reel, some flies, and expect to catch a few fish from the local trout stream after chatting with the clerk for a few minutes. There is, of course, an understanding that tarpon fishing is unique in many ways. The other chapters are written from Andy's point of view and offer the more traditional "what, where, how, and when" of tarpon fishing. Future anglers will benefit from his willingness to capture the voices and thoughts of these men. Andy wisely took the opportunity to share his stage with his friends, peers, and mentors, acknowledging that while he may be an expert in the sport, he's also the beneficiary of a couple generations of tarpon anglers and guides who have truly broke new ground.
I am glad Andy decided to let these men speak in their own voices rather than trying to summarize and adapt their words and thoughts to his narrative. It may sound cliché, but the names listed in the table of contents are a who's who of tropical saltwater angling. Imagine being a fly on the wall while Andy Mill and Stu Apte drink coffee and talk fishing. "A Passion for Tarpon" can almost be considered two books inside one cover, as there is an alternating cadence where chapters of instruction are followed by chapters which transcribe a discussion between the author and some of the legends of fly fishing. Let's just say he's been there and done that Instead, let's talk about that book, "cause there is a whole heck of a lot to talk about. Let's just say he's been there and done that - a lot of "that' - and we'll leave the rest of the story for the book. It is tempting to write about Andy himself here, because he has travelled a path through life that most of us would dare dream of but few of us would have the guts to follow. In this case, the book is Andy Mill's "A Passion for Tarpon". They are so well produced, written by such clear experts, and jam packed with enough world class photography and artwork to open a studio, that it becomes a challenge to find new ways to say "Wow - this book is spectacular." Maybe simple and straightforward works best sometimes.
ANDY MILL TARPON FISHING SERIES
The Masters on the Fly series of books by Wild River Press (see here, here, and here) are getting harder and harder to review.
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