Trout of the World

Was expecting the more lineal treatment of later editions, but time has changed my perception of the watercolour work in this little gem. I really appreciate it now especially the concept. I happened to be researching family trees in East Serbia/ West Macedonia, that is Central South Europe and discovered that trout are even more finely divided and varigated in shape and colour than even his exhaustive works entail. He certainly opened my eyes to a dimension of life that was wholly unknown to me before.

Perfect gift for those who fly fish. Recipient was thrilled. Book arrived within a few days. New book at a very reasonable price.

I have been a fly fisherman (Yes I am female and also not politically correct) since I was around age 8 and after pestering my Dad for days to teach me how to cast a line he relented and a great journey began. As well as a library on the subject of fly fishing, tying flies and trout art. Which is why I am in awe of James Prosek's writing, art and passion for fishing. This and his Trout : An Illustrated History are a must own for anyone who loves fly fishing, painting trout or simply sitting mesmerized watching trout in their back yard creek like we do or from a bridge in rural areas of the states and world.I recommend ALL the books this young talented and knowledgeable author has written.

I was not a big fan of James Prosek's first book. Next to the hyper-realism of Tomelleri, these water color illustrations did not work. Also, several were drawn from photos and were not morphologically (especially morphometrically) correct. So what? some may say. Everything changed when I picked up a copy of Trout of the World. The style has changed just enough to make a huge difference. Sure, some of the paintings still look like he was in a hurry to meet a deadline but on the whole, I loved it. This is what we Americans (and Canadians) needed. There are other "cool" salmonids besides the stuff we are used to. Again, photos from books such as Freshwater fishes of Japan have been used as source material but I don't care. Great lateral views of some amazing fish! James Prosek has found the right balance of color, detail and morphological information. The overall design of the book is also lovely. The lenok and taimen pictures are priceless as are the weird browns from places you would think, well...shouldn't have browns. I think he used my Russian longfin charr as a source for his illustration. Looks very similar to the one I did some years back in pen & ink. Anyway, all fish lovers, wildlife painters and fisherman will adore this book. ANd don't just look at the pictures, read it! Well done Mr. Prosek. I'm mad about trout, again.... Update, October 2004 The text that accompanies each illustration is fantastic. The author meets with experts of most species featured in the book. Some are academics, while others are just, well...ordinary folks who have an obsession with a certain morph, form or species of trout. The varied personalities and the strange places the author visits in quest of these wierd trout make this an unforgettable volume.