All Fishermen Are Liars: John Gierach and the Soul of Simplicity
“We seem to have a real affection for a beautiful insect that only lives for a single day," John Gierach writes about the mayfly in the opening of his book Sex, Death and Fly-fishing, " and whose only mission is to make love just once.” My father, a romantic and a fisherman, would have applauded the mayfly's life mission (except for the just once part). When Gierach’s new book All Fishermen Are Liars brought him to Denver’s Tattered Cover Bookstore, I wanted to meet him. I tucked my worn copy of Sex, Death and Fly-fishing into my purse and we headed down the mountain. Listening to Gierach’s stories would no doubt rekindle memories of fishing the channels of Montana’s Madison River with my father. One of my father’s greatest thrills was the day he snagged three trout in a single cast after tying on three flies. No lie. Usually, though, my father fished like he wrote—with simple equipment. A Big Chief yellow pad and a pencil, an old bamboo rod, an ol