Calling After Water - by Dave Karczynski (Hardcover)

About the Book

This extraordinary first essay collection charts the journey of writer-angler Dave Karczynski as he fishes his way from the quiet streams of the Upper Midwest to the far corners of the earth--and back again. Calling After Water is one of those rare books that will both delight readers and invite them to reflect on their own love of fly fishing.

Book Synopsis

Dave Karczynski fishes--and writes--with both eyes wide open to the magic of water. With the trademark blend of adventure, humor, and insight that has made him one fly fishing's most widely published authors, this collection of nineteen essays charts Dave's journey as he casts his way from the quiet streams of the Upper Midwest to the far corners of the earth--and back again. Readers will tramp across Patagonia with a shamanic brook trout whisperer, raft through the Himalayas in search of golden mahseer, hunt native brown trout in the Bohemian highlands, and revel in the promise of a Northern Michigan spinner fall. With prose that alternately flashes like the sides of a leaping salmon and glitters like riffle water on a summer morning, Calling After Water is one of those rare books that delights its readers as much as it invites them to reflect on their own love of fly fishing.

Review Quotes

"Dave is a talented writer and his stories are full of detail, humor, expertise, humility, and adventure near and far. You feel as though Dave is riding shotgun on a long road trip while sharing his experiences. A highly recommended read."--Rick Kustich, author of Modern Spey Fishing and Hunting Musky on the Fly

"Calling After Water invigorates the natural affinity I have had for lakes, rivers and streams since I was a young boy growing up amongst the Great Lakes. Karczynski has always been one of my favorite writers, and this book takes the game to another level. His prose is very much like my favorite little trout stream--cool, crystal clear, flowing with purpose, and most of all... pure."--Kirk Deeter, editor-in-chief of TROUT Media

"Calling After Water is not simply a recounting of derring-do and exotic adventures. Dave's strength is his writing itself. His prose is vibrant, exciting. What springs off the page is a sense of boundless joy, a feeling as if you are catching each fish yourself. I want to grab my gear, run out the door and experience each chapter for myself. Dave's love of the sport bursts from each sentence, but his sense of overwhelming joy is what sets him apart. And all of it is delivered with his characteristic good humor and bonhomie. I regularly found myself laughing out loud while reading it."--Jason Tucker, Gink and Gasoline

"Calling After Water means it's time to spark that Fuente, take words to the porch, and enjoy a fly fishing stoke reel for the soul."--Greg Thomas, former editor-in-chief of American Angler and Fly Rod & Reel

"Few writers can evoke the true emotional acuity attendant to angling. Dave Karczynski is one."--Sam Lungren, editor at MidCurrent

"Great writers effortlessly transport their readers to places near and far flung, real and imagined, familiar and foreign. But great fly fishing writers go further, embracing and entrancing two often times disparate audiences--those who don't fly fish and those who do.
Dave Karczynski is one of those great fly fishing writers, and Calling After Water is a testament to that fact, a beautifully written and genuine look into a fly fishing life that leaves those who chase fish with streamers, dries, and nymphs in a daydream--and everyone else asking Google, "What do I need to start fly fishing?"--Matt Smythe, author of Revision of a Man

"I also love flyfishing, but the real beauty of Calling After Water comes down to exceptional storytelling. This is the result not just of good writing, but of ruthless, relentless re-writing--reviewing and revising each sentence until it has a rhythm and flow that can't even be adequately described. Dave just knows it when he sees it. He doesn't just fix "bad" sentences, he takes already great sentences and intuitively knows they can be better. And he makes them better. Enjoy this book and enjoy your fishing."--Tom Bie, editor-in-chief of The Drake

"I know I'll return to these stories over and over again. Partly because they capture the fishing life so well, and partly for the sheer joy of Karczynski's pitch-perfect observations: northern Wisconsin spring creeks clear as paint thinner; iridescent Polish grayling shining like they've been dipped in motor oil; and the way a violent day of pike fishing recalibrates an angler's nervous system to a generalized expectation of ambush. And Karczynski shows his cards enough that a reader is always laughing out loud at some piece of wry humor or nodding along with legitimately lovely considerations of how family, pals and nature fit into his journeys."--Gregory Fitz, The FlyFish Journal

"I'm not a big fan of fly-fishing essays because I'm often disappointed that they just don't capture what a river at sunrise is like. But I'll read anything Dave Karczynski writes, about any subject. He always tells a great story that never falls flat, and is possibly the best young voice in fly-fishing today."--Tom Rosenbauer, Orvis

"Of the best hunting and fishing books I read this year, the best of the bunch was Calling After Water--a perfect blend of fish fantasy and universal truth. This is fish-lit on par with Gierach."--Mark Kenyon, author of That Wild Country and host of the Wired to Hunt podcast

"One of the finest compliments you can pay a writer is that they make the hard parts of the job look easy. Dave Karczynski is that guy. Karczynski finds perfect words and turns those words into electric phrases that light up the mind's eye. And in Calling After Water, he delivers these lightning bolts with regularity. When he writes, 'A steelhead that leapt as if it wanted to shatter the sky, ' or 'Waxwings swung from bank to bank as if hanging invisible garlands, ' it seems effortless, graceful and fluid, but leaves an indelible mark. Simply put, Karczynski has the rare and remarkable ability to make words do what he wants them to do."--Steve Duda, author of River Songs and former editor-in-chief of The FlyFish Journal

"The Irish say there are thin spaces--locales wherein the distance between heaven and earth collapses, offering narrow glimpses of the divine. Karczynski's writing reveals thin spaces, hidden in pockets of inspiring descriptions and cunning word usage that stretch beyond imagination."
--Joe Shields, editor-in-chief of The Virginia Sportsman

"What's so remarkable about Calling After Water is that Karczynski marries wonderful writing with legitimate storytelling. I found myself eager to continue reading, to learn what happened next, much in the same way John Gierach's writing always kept my interest. This book has cemented Karczynski's status as a can't-miss author whenever he publishes something new."--Spencer Durrant, Hatch Magazine

About the Author

Dave Karczynski has cast to fish on four continents and written for just about every fly fishing publication under the sun. His first book, From Lure to Fly, introduced conventional anglers to the joy of chasing fish on the fly rod, while his second book, Smallmouth, explored modern tactics and techniques for hunting the bronze bass. In Calling After Water, his third book and first essay collection, Dave brings together the very best narratives from his time as a contributor to such iconic magazines as Outdoor Life, The Drake, American Angler, The Flyfish Journal, and many others. Dave is the recipient of the Robert Traver Award in fly fishing writing as well as a Zell Fellowship in creative writing. He currently lives with his wife and daughter on a farm in southern Michigan and teaches writing at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.