The Role of Fly Fishing

Connie Otwani · Post by **Connie Otwani** » 06 Feb 2018, 17:24

Since the author intended for the book to encourage more women to go fly fishing, and since she ends the book with a list of women fly fishing clubs, it was inevitable that fly fishing would be highly detailed in the book. It was very tempting to skim over some parts. All the same, I enjoyed learning about a new sport. Watching the women's' friendship blossom was quite engaging.

Kat Berg · Post by **Kat Berg** » 06 Feb 2018, 22:46

KasieMiehlke wrote: ↑02 Feb 2018, 21:39 I liked the fly fishing aspect of this book. It fit well with the friendship aspect. Both take patience and effort with the hopes of success, but sometimesyou lose the fish and you have to try again.

I actually really like this point! Insightful

Kat Berg · Post by **Kat Berg** » 06 Feb 2018, 22:49

starshipsaga wrote: ↑03 Feb 2018, 13:00
Kat Berg wrote: ↑02 Feb 2018, 23:24It is often thought of as a masculine hobby, so it is fascinating to me that the rest of the book is centered around female relationships.
Agreed, lots of women enjoy fly fishing too but I'm sure we just don't get to see it portrayed as often, so I also like that the author has subverted that

Subversion is one of my favorite words! I wouldn't have thought to use that for this book, but you are right, it is subversive, in a gentle way.

michele1966 · Post by **michele1966** » 07 Feb 2018, 18:07

I will be honest, when I am reading any book that goes into detail about something I have no interest in, I usually skim it. I do not want to load up my brain with information I could care less about. I know that is pretty selfish, but it is a fact.
This was a great question, thanks for asking.

alhaji1 · Post by **alhaji1** » 08 Feb 2018, 03:19

The message I caught from reading the book, friendships keep you afloat in the turbulent water that is life.

MsTri · Post by **MsTri** » 08 Feb 2018, 09:01

I haven't read this and it doesn't sound as though it'd be something I want to read if there's such a high amount of descriptions in the book. I used to go "regular" fishing on my grandparents' farm, so reading about any kind of fishing in general would be interesting, but I detest books that spend too much time describing incidental activities. Granted, it sounds like this book is built around fly fishing, so I guess the activity level would be okay, but to go into too much detail about the sport outside of that? No thanks.

Connie Otwani · Post by **Connie Otwani** » 08 Feb 2018, 09:16

michele1966 wrote: ↑07 Feb 2018, 18:07 I will be honest, when I am reading any book that goes into detail about something I have no interest in, I usually skim it. I do not want to load up my brain with information I could care less about. I know that is pretty selfish, but it is a fact.
This was a great question, thanks for asking.

I think you are being pragmatic, not selfish!

Connie Otwani · Post by **Connie Otwani** » 08 Feb 2018, 09:23

MsTri wrote: ↑08 Feb 2018, 09:01 I haven't read this and it doesn't sound as though it'd be something I want to read if there's such a high amount of descriptions in the book. I used to go "regular" fishing on my grandparents' farm, so reading about any kind of fishing in general would be interesting, but I detest books that spend too much time describing incidental activities. Granted, it sounds like this book is built around fly fishing, so I guess the activity level would be okay, but to go into too much detail about the sport outside of that? No thanks.

I think the author was ambitious in trying to build on two themes (a self help to fly fishing and friendship), each of which requires depth. She ended up struggling to find a comfortable balance between the two themes.

DennisK · Post by **DennisK** » 08 Feb 2018, 10:59

I didn't think her description of fly-fishing was overly detailed. I think she was simply building an environment in which the story lived. Some stories introduce you to new places – some introduce you to new activities. ...new perspectives – new possibilities.

CommMayo · Post by **CommMayo** » 08 Feb 2018, 14:16

I enjoy fishing in general, but know very little about fly fishing. I think the author did go into a little too much detail at times, but it is fun to see how obviously passionate she is about the hobby. I've read some sports centered romances that would go into detail about football play or ice hockey and it actually helped me understand and enjoy watching the games more. I'm sure her hope was to encourage women to pick up something they never thought about trying.

Quinto · Post by **Quinto** » 09 Feb 2018, 08:48

Until this book I hadn't heard of fly fishing. In me, it invokes those feelings of a unique sport looking for a specialised or unique friendship. Generally, I think those who like this sport lead a particular kind of lifestyle and tastes.

briellejee · Post by **briellejee** » 09 Feb 2018, 11:09

I don't really dislike it when an author teaches me about something I don't know as long he or she writes it with enthusiasm and makes it interesting. I remember one time while taking an exam, the question was about the parts of the boat. How very timely it was that I have read a book about a character who is so into ships. In this story though, I think the activity explained in such detail was okay.

cozark38 · Post by **cozark38** » 11 Feb 2018, 14:56

Kat Berg wrote: ↑02 Feb 2018, 16:23
kandscreeley wrote: ↑02 Feb 2018, 13:16 At least in the case of the four women, though, it was catch and release. So they weren't killing the fish.
Kandscreely, that is a good point, although many vegetarians would consider that equally bad. I think most “sport” fisherpeople practice catch and release much of the time.

"A bad day fishing beats a great day at work." Catch and release is something we always practice, but there is a risk of too much damage and we eat what we have to kill, and we only kill what we plan to eat. Montana Girl at heart.

Jeyasivananth · Post by **Jeyasivananth** » 11 Feb 2018, 16:17

I enjoyed getting introduced to Fly fishing through the book. I think the sport was not merely used to link the principal characters it was also used as a an important metaphor throughout the book

DennisK · Post by **DennisK** » 11 Feb 2018, 21:05

It occurred to me that you can extract from this story, fly-fishing in a Colorado river, and have the ladies free diving for red abalone off the northern California coast. Instead of Melody doing a self portrait on a rock in the river, she could have been doing a self portrait on an outcropping in the surf when a rogue wave knocked her into the water. The story would have been basically the same except the ladies would be diving in the ocean instead of fishing in a river. The only difference would be the story's “color” - its environment. I don't think Ms. Cummings was trying to teach anyone how to fly-fish. There was nothing intellectual here – just visceral, or how it might feel to fly-fish. But I think that was just her paint brush at work. This story wasn't about fly-fishing. It was about diversity and friendship.