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Standing in a River Waving a Stick
Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers.With his inimitable combination of wit and wisdom, John Gierach once again celebrates the fly-fishing life in Standing in a River Waving a Stick and notes its benefits as a sport, philosophical pursuit, even “The solution to any problem—work, love, money, whatever—is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be.” After all, fly-fishing does teach important life lessons, says Gierach—about solitude, patience, perspective, humor, and the sublime coffee break. Recounting both memorable fishing spots and memorable fish, Gierach discusses what makes a good fly pattern, the ethics of writing about undiscovered trout waters, the dread of getting skunked, and the camaraderie of fellow fishermen who can end almost any conversation with “Well, it’s sort of like fishing, isn’t it?” Reflecting on a lifetime of lessons learned at the end of a fly rod, Gierach concludes, “The one inscription you don’t want carved on your tombstone is ‘The Poor Son of a Bitch Didn’t Fish Enough.’” Fortunately for Gierach fans, this is not likely to happen.
241 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1999
27 people are currently reading
336 people want to read
About the author
John Gierach
68 books234 followersJohn Gierach was an American author and freelance writer who lived in Larimer County, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 12, 2024
Great book, fun stories. This one was a little less narratively cohesive than say Still Life with Brook Trout, but I deeply enjoyed it nonetheless. I think Gierach does a really good job of hitting on what's so alluring about fishing—in many ways it's the culture just as much as the activity that is so attractive. I think Gierach does a really good job of highlighting this in this book, as well as offering special reverence to my home state of Michigan.
October 6, 2025
Just a good book to read before the beginning of the current season. The author captures the spirit that is within all fisherman beautifully. No giant trout, no "I beat the odds", just good old plain memories applicable to all.
March 11, 2021
John Gierach is close to my age, lives not far way in Lyons, CO, and is an unabashed fly fishing addict. These are three reasons for me to read his books. Another reason is John's ability to strike a chord with me on nearly every topic, as I can easily relate to his search for solitude, remoteness and undiscovered water. Standing in a River Waving a Stick is the eighth Gierach book that I read, and it follows the same format of the others. One chapter essays on mostly fishing topics with a bit of hunting in the mix are the standard offering. The writing is not ground breaking, but he touches on all the many topics that have crossed my path in nearly forty years of fly fishing. John's ability to digress to related thoughts and ultimately return to the main theme of the chapter is absolutely amazing. The musings are first rate, and I tend to ponder and dream along with him, and in most cases agree. His self deprecating style and humorous delivery add to the enjoyment of the writing. Bring on the next book in the chronology of an evolving fly fisherman.
June 6, 2022
This was definitely one of the worst books I read this year. the main reason that I didn't love it is that it was so boring, there wasn't really any structure or plot to the writing. It just felt like I was reading a fly fishing instruction manual with random inspirational quotes spread throughout. However, there were a few bright spots, I liked the visual imagery in his writing when he was talking about rainy days out fishing because they remind me of spending time with my grandpa out fishing and it makes me really happy to think about it. one of my golden lines was "If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're doing something wrong." (144) the reason I chose this is because I definitely agree with it and it is something that I took with me after finishing the book. the one positive I would say about this book is that it does share some good knowledge that definitely gets you thinking.
September 18, 2019
I wanted to like this book a little more than I did. If you are into fly-fishing, I suspect you might enjoy it more than I did, who has only limited experience with the sport. He does use some fly-fishing terminology (like mentioning some specific flies). It doesn't impact your understanding, but they also don't mean anything to the inexperienced. There were times when I had a little chuckle at some of his one-liners. But overall, I was expecting it to be a little funnier than I found it.
June 20, 2025
A fun often irreverent look at fly fishing. I'm not much of a fly fisherman, for many reasons.
Its like any pursuit with lots of variables: hours learning water, insects, patterns, techniques. Dry fly or nymph? Streamers? Tail water, freestone, eastern vs. western streams... Confused? Its ok, this book is still fun to read.
Its like any pursuit with lots of variables: hours learning water, insects, patterns, techniques. Dry fly or nymph? Streamers? Tail water, freestone, eastern vs. western streams... Confused? Its ok, this book is still fun to read.
December 8, 2017
Gierach knows, and describes, fly-fishing as only an older, somewhat crazed, fisher can - with lots of humor, reflection, eagerness, patience, and zen. Some laugh-out-loud thoughts, and many "oh, I know just how that feels" moments on the water, or thinking about being on the water. Fun read.
October 5, 2018
I love John Gierach. He is a great writer and reminds me that even though we all have vocations that people imagine identify us, the truth is we are fisherman. Sometimes I feel like using the term angler, but actually we are just a bunch of bums that catch fish.
February 10, 2021
Fun insight into the mind of flyfishing.
March 20, 2022
If you like trout fishing you should like it.
July 1, 2023
a hilarious, heartwarming read, only docked a star because i now have an insatiable desire to get into some good trout water
June 11, 2024
Short and sweet, full of interesting and humorous stories about fishing and hunting.
January 24, 2025
Gierach was such a thought provoking nature writer
March 25, 2025
One of the best fly fishing books and Authors of all time
April 27, 2025
Just another wonderful book.
May 12, 2025
Some of the best fishing stories out there. RIP John.
May 25, 2025
As a flyfisherman and reader how can you not love John Gierach?
November 12, 2025
This was a fun book to read. It told about his funny fishing trips with his buddies.
July 18, 2020
Very insightful about how fly fishing can relaxing and meditative.
October 13, 2016
Standing in a River Waving a Stick
By John Gierach
Review made by Aden W.
Ever known someone that fly fished and also happens to possess character traits like solitude, patience, perspective, humor, bliss, and the sublime coffee break? The outstanding book Standing in a River Waving a Stick by John Gierach exhibits natural humor and is composed of mostly entertaining stories of John Gierach’s life.
Standing in a River Waving a Stick is told first person and is pulled from real life events that John Gierach experienced throughout his life. He often talks about his life as a fly fisher, and its different physical mechanics, the fishing pole, different flies, skill and what not. Yet personally what I find the most intriguing is the kind of mystical, voodoo even an random goofiness catching fish while fly fishing that rewards the happy idiot The whole story is told from place to place differing to some of the best fishing spots in Colorado on a warm sunny day to a frigid winter day on the hunt for peasants in Wyoming. Even though John Gierach tends to avoid fishing with friends, some of his best journeys turn out with friends tagging along. John Gierach clearly emphasises the importance in fly fishing because it can teach you so many important messages that he seems to frequently hint at. He has also written numerous other books about fishing including: Dances with Trout, Another Lousy Day in Paradise, and At the Grave of the Unknown Fishermen. I never thought I would enjoy a fictional book as much as I did, John Gierach did a really good job at pulling that off.
On a personal level this book filled me with happy enrichment, Everything from the snicker every few moments to the authentic wit of knowledge. In this book John Gierach portrays a great amount of relatable trueness. Personally I believe the best elements to the book are that his personality is clearly narrated or engraved in his writing. He is good at creating feeling and emotion in his writing, something I strongly admire. The writing quality by my standards is superb, as I said before John Gierach is very good at using precise words to clearly illustrate atmosphere in his writing. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear this book has changed lives. Excerpt from the book: Once someone did tell me he’d read one of my books and it changed his life. I didn’t know what say, so I asked, “For the better or for the worse?”. Reading this book gave me a more vivid picture of perspective, I would say reading this book has importance, at least it is a good source of entertainment and a few chuckles. Anyone who enjoys clever jokes and learning more about wisdom or even someone who likes fly fishing, (More power to you if you have all of that). I tend to like mixing up my array of books but, I am definitely going to look into more books written by John Gierach. I would again strongly suggest this book to anyone, that doesn’t mind a few curse words every few pages. It changed the way I look at fly fishing, I can’t wait for my next camping trip to truly experience what fly fishing has to offer.
By John Gierach
Review made by Aden W.
Ever known someone that fly fished and also happens to possess character traits like solitude, patience, perspective, humor, bliss, and the sublime coffee break? The outstanding book Standing in a River Waving a Stick by John Gierach exhibits natural humor and is composed of mostly entertaining stories of John Gierach’s life.
Standing in a River Waving a Stick is told first person and is pulled from real life events that John Gierach experienced throughout his life. He often talks about his life as a fly fisher, and its different physical mechanics, the fishing pole, different flies, skill and what not. Yet personally what I find the most intriguing is the kind of mystical, voodoo even an random goofiness catching fish while fly fishing that rewards the happy idiot The whole story is told from place to place differing to some of the best fishing spots in Colorado on a warm sunny day to a frigid winter day on the hunt for peasants in Wyoming. Even though John Gierach tends to avoid fishing with friends, some of his best journeys turn out with friends tagging along. John Gierach clearly emphasises the importance in fly fishing because it can teach you so many important messages that he seems to frequently hint at. He has also written numerous other books about fishing including: Dances with Trout, Another Lousy Day in Paradise, and At the Grave of the Unknown Fishermen. I never thought I would enjoy a fictional book as much as I did, John Gierach did a really good job at pulling that off.
On a personal level this book filled me with happy enrichment, Everything from the snicker every few moments to the authentic wit of knowledge. In this book John Gierach portrays a great amount of relatable trueness. Personally I believe the best elements to the book are that his personality is clearly narrated or engraved in his writing. He is good at creating feeling and emotion in his writing, something I strongly admire. The writing quality by my standards is superb, as I said before John Gierach is very good at using precise words to clearly illustrate atmosphere in his writing. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear this book has changed lives. Excerpt from the book: Once someone did tell me he’d read one of my books and it changed his life. I didn’t know what say, so I asked, “For the better or for the worse?”. Reading this book gave me a more vivid picture of perspective, I would say reading this book has importance, at least it is a good source of entertainment and a few chuckles. Anyone who enjoys clever jokes and learning more about wisdom or even someone who likes fly fishing, (More power to you if you have all of that). I tend to like mixing up my array of books but, I am definitely going to look into more books written by John Gierach. I would again strongly suggest this book to anyone, that doesn’t mind a few curse words every few pages. It changed the way I look at fly fishing, I can’t wait for my next camping trip to truly experience what fly fishing has to offer.
February 4, 2017
Title: Standing in a River Waving a Stick
Author: John Gierach
John Gierach is an avid fisherman that has years of knowledge and experience in the field. In the book Standing in a River Waving a Stick, John Gierach tells multiple detailed stories of his fishing adventures. One particular story was when John Gierach and his friends A.K. and Dave traveled to Canada to fish a cutthroat trout stream. When the fishermen arrived to the spot, they had to track down a mountain side to get to the stream. Dave was the only one of the 3 to have fished here before and he told the others that this was grizzly central. The entire time John was fishing, he was constantly checking his back at every sound he heard. At the end of the trip, the 3 of them had all caught their share of fish and were happy to make it out of there alive. Another story John told was when he had gone fishing and got “skunked”. He and his two good friends Mike and Pat had gone to South Platte to fish. When they arrived, they saw other fishermen all over the place. They soon realized it was MLK day and that was why everyone was there. After they had fished for hours and none of them caught any fish, they called it quits and started to come up with conspiracies of why they didn’t catch fish.
This book would be very appealing to others that enjoy fishing. Throughout the book John explains what kind of tackle he uses, so people who want to learn more about fishing might like this book. The problem with this is that sometimes he goes in depth about his tackle and it can be confusing to somebody that doesn’t know much about fishing. Although, John doesn’t just make the book informational, he also includes comedy. In every chapter there will be something that will make you laugh. Due to it being a funny book, it makes the book a lot more enjoyable for the average reader. Overall, the book was an easy read that makes you laugh, learn and leaves you wanting to go fishing.
The book started out very interesting and I enjoyed reading it… Until chapter 11 or 12. The book started to become a lot less interesting because it was very repetitive. John would go on a fishing trip, catch some fish, learn somethings about the place he was fishing at, and then leave. Also, I am not a fisherman whatsoever so when John would describe his tackle, it was like reading a foreign language. While this would be helpful to someone who knows something about fishing, to me, it made the book confusing and boring. After reading the book, I want to go fishing and use some of the new knowledge I picked up from the book.
Author: John Gierach
John Gierach is an avid fisherman that has years of knowledge and experience in the field. In the book Standing in a River Waving a Stick, John Gierach tells multiple detailed stories of his fishing adventures. One particular story was when John Gierach and his friends A.K. and Dave traveled to Canada to fish a cutthroat trout stream. When the fishermen arrived to the spot, they had to track down a mountain side to get to the stream. Dave was the only one of the 3 to have fished here before and he told the others that this was grizzly central. The entire time John was fishing, he was constantly checking his back at every sound he heard. At the end of the trip, the 3 of them had all caught their share of fish and were happy to make it out of there alive. Another story John told was when he had gone fishing and got “skunked”. He and his two good friends Mike and Pat had gone to South Platte to fish. When they arrived, they saw other fishermen all over the place. They soon realized it was MLK day and that was why everyone was there. After they had fished for hours and none of them caught any fish, they called it quits and started to come up with conspiracies of why they didn’t catch fish.
This book would be very appealing to others that enjoy fishing. Throughout the book John explains what kind of tackle he uses, so people who want to learn more about fishing might like this book. The problem with this is that sometimes he goes in depth about his tackle and it can be confusing to somebody that doesn’t know much about fishing. Although, John doesn’t just make the book informational, he also includes comedy. In every chapter there will be something that will make you laugh. Due to it being a funny book, it makes the book a lot more enjoyable for the average reader. Overall, the book was an easy read that makes you laugh, learn and leaves you wanting to go fishing.
The book started out very interesting and I enjoyed reading it… Until chapter 11 or 12. The book started to become a lot less interesting because it was very repetitive. John would go on a fishing trip, catch some fish, learn somethings about the place he was fishing at, and then leave. Also, I am not a fisherman whatsoever so when John would describe his tackle, it was like reading a foreign language. While this would be helpful to someone who knows something about fishing, to me, it made the book confusing and boring. After reading the book, I want to go fishing and use some of the new knowledge I picked up from the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2013
I bought this book and another Gierach title (No Shortage Of Good Days) together, and was ready to love both of them because of all the strong reviews. Unfortunately, I was more than a little disappointed. I don't want to overstate my point, but I kept waiting for the advertised "wit and wisdom". Though there are a number of droll remarks that made me smile, on the whole there really wasn't that much substance to his writing. Once the initial novelty wore off, the stories felt a little formulaic and I got kind of bored.
My gut tells me that this book is going to appeal most to people (fly fisherman, mainly, of course, but maybe other sportsmen or people who know sportsmen) who would tell you right off that they don't bother reading books too often. They might find this book approachable, interesting and down to earth - a good gateway to more books. But a person who has read widely probably will not be too impressed with the craft or content in this book.
My gut tells me that this book is going to appeal most to people (fly fisherman, mainly, of course, but maybe other sportsmen or people who know sportsmen) who would tell you right off that they don't bother reading books too often. They might find this book approachable, interesting and down to earth - a good gateway to more books. But a person who has read widely probably will not be too impressed with the craft or content in this book.
September 14, 2010
I read this book a long time ago but an currently re-reading it. Gierach books are designed like that and there was a time when my mate Gordon and myself would drive to the local trout stream, Cd playing Blue Grass (Gordon was into banjo), and the none driver reading excerpts from Gierach. A great way to gear up for the fishing. Still I have been neglecting my Goodreads shelves and figured that now was as good a time as any to add this one. It isn't quite as good as some of the others perhaps but entertaining in a manner that is still vintage Gierach.
July 17, 2023
Classic Gierach from the 90's. Discounting "Signs of Life" 77... I've been reading Gierach now for (5) decades. (80's, 90's, 00's, 10's & 20's) While none of these essays made it into the "Treasury" of Death, Taxes, and Leaky Waders....
A few stand out in "Standing in a River Waving a Stick" 1999, Lyons Press.
The Happy Idiot
Fish Camps
Belief
The Fly Box
Heck if I can remember loving so many chapters of my life captured in print by the man we've never meet.
Thanks again John!
A few stand out in "Standing in a River Waving a Stick" 1999, Lyons Press.
The Happy Idiot
Fish Camps
Belief
The Fly Box
Heck if I can remember loving so many chapters of my life captured in print by the man we've never meet.
Thanks again John!
January 14, 2017
Not what I expected necessarily but was exactly what I wanted. Exciting humorous tales of fish, streams, fish camp and a few life lessons in the mix. I've read a few mixed reviews of Gierach's works and have to say that if you want the be entertained and enjoy fishing, you can't go wrong with this one. It's a collection of a mans experiences fishing with his buddies. I enjoyed it.
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March 16, 2022Reading this book was like waking up in my grandparents' guest bed to the sound of my grandpa’s gravelly voice. I could smell the coffee, pictured the bends in the river, smiled when he cracked a cheesy joke, and felt generally peaceful.
July 8, 2010
decent book...i had to really be in the mood to read it but I think anyone that likes fishing and the ideas that go w/ fishing...or heck if you know a fisherperson...have them read this.
June 10, 2011
Typical Gierach, funny, thought provoking romp through stream, lake, river and slough with the usual cast of characters. Liberally sprinkled with John's philosophy.
A good read.
A good read.
July 26, 2011
great humor and stories
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews