Tributaries: Fly-fishing Sojourns to the Less Traveled Streams describes the author's fishing odyssey from a boyhood coming-of-age experience with a hermit with indigenous roots to an encounter with a vegan goddess. Along the way, there are homages paid to Richard Brautigan and Art Flick, accidental mentoring to an underprivileged Black kid in Easton, and explorations of the inner self at Woodward Cave where enlightenment is revealed in the darkest of places. A chapter is devoted to the trials and accomplishments of his local Trout Unlimited chapter when he embraces the conservation values necessary for the sport's survival.
"Rivers and streams offer an intriguing backdrop that makes the fly-fishing experience unique. In a mysterious way, they can occasionally bring out the not-so-glamourous sides of ourselves, and yet most times they nourish us in ways that promote redemption and goodness. My volunteer time participating in stream restoration reinforced my belief that our role in this world is to leave it better than we found it."
- Lou Wentz, author
Praise for Tributaries:
"This book is delightfully different than most fly fishing books. The author gives the reader pause for thought on a broad range of relevant fishing experiences and the importance of protecting wild trout habitat. It is a book that will make you feel good about the life of a fly fisherman. "I recommend it highly."
- Lee Hartman, Author of The Delaware River Story and Trails in a Wild Frontier.
"Fun short stories that pulls in fly fishing adventures and experiences in Pennsylvania that we all can relate to, a must read".
- Rick Nyles Owner and Operator of Sky Blue Outfitters.
"This fine collection of heartfelt essays reflect author Lou Wentz's lifelong devotion to the streams of eastern Pennsylvania and New York's Catskill region. As a mantra for living a meaningful life, fly-fishing has inspired Wentz's insightful words as well as motivated a dedicated effort through Trout Unlimited to give back to the small streams that have significantly touched his life. Tributaries: Fly-fishing Sojourns to the Less Traveled Streams is a splendid book destined to take the reader on a tranquil fly-fishing journey with a passionate veteran angler."
- Jerry Kustich, author of Holy Water, Around the Next Bend, and three additional fly-fishing volumes.
An in-depth interview with the author and the introduction to the book can be viewed at the author's Coast Fork Press website.
About the AuthorA fly fisher for more than forty years and avid conservationist, Lou was born in the Frankford section of Philadelphia to working-class parents who never completed high school. He was the first of his family to receive a high school diploma, the first to attain a bachelor's degree (B.A. History), and the only member of his family with a master's degree (M.Ed.). Having been awarded Member Conservationist of the Year in 2004 by the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited, he engages in a gratifying dalliance with the creative spirit through writing. His fiction, non-fiction, and haiku have appeared in the Susquehanna River Journal, PA Trout Newsletter (back page column contributor under the nom de plume Iwaak Zalton), Pennsylvania Angler, Rural Roads (regular contributor), Permafrost, PA Flyfish (website), and Fly Anglers Online (website). He currently resides in Eugene, Oregon.
