Trout Madness

When I first read this book I was a college student in Laramie, Wyoming, 1978. It was my first Thanksgiving at the University of Wyoming and it had been snowing for 3 days, the wind was blowing so hard you could barely see your hand in front of your face, roads in and out of town were closed, I didn't know what I missed more at that moment, warm weather, flyfishing or my girl friend back in Connecticut. My friends and I wondered down to the local Catholic church for Thanksgiving dinner and after eating our fill the ladies auxilliary sent us off with bags of leftovers, pies and a few books to last us through the storm. Needless to say the book I receieved was Trout Madness. Once I got started reading it I forgot all about the storm and missing my girl friend, although I dont think she was missing me, the writing was just so real to me I couldn't put it down. The stories are heartfelt and related with wisdom and charm that only one who is absolutely in love with the outdoors and fishing could conjour. Although supposedly some are based on life experiences, but you know fishing stories. Anyway the book saw me through that cold wintery experience in Wyoming and well into everything else the author had written. If you would like to read about what fishing was and maybe could still be, the relationships and secrets of a lifetime of woodsmanship this is a great collectioin of stories that have stuck with me for many years now.

Travers Trout Madness is a classic that is both ageless and timely. It reminds me of G. Macquarries Stories of the Old Duck Hunters in its great, folksy story-telling.

John Voelker is a U.P. legend, hero, statesman & sportsman with a personal history that proves very unique within a very unique part of our landscape. Lord rest (and preserve!) his soul, because there will never be another like him. All of his stuff is worth a read though I prefer to his "Courtroom Dramas" his 'trout' books published after he abruptly retired from the insanity of Michigan's Supreme Court and retreated to the relative calm of the woods (and the Rainbow Bar) near Ishpeming & Gwinn, Michigan. This I say in part because the U.P. is still the best 'wilderness' trout experience east of the Mississippi as I well know from my own experiences. Traver's trout tales are not merely 'how to' books but are stories of relationships, friendships, adventure and (most of all) the Essence of Life's Simplicities.

Being atrout fisherman and a resident of Michigan this book was a real treat.Could relate some of my own guffahs to these fishing antics.

Voelker combines his magical passion for trout fishing with a literary style that matches Norman MacLean. His imagery captures the art and feel of trout fishing and the humble experience one feels when in, near, or about the water. Great reading