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Casting Onward: Fishing Adventures in Search of America's Native Gamefish
In writing this book, author, naturalist, and educator Steve Ramirez traveled thousands of miles by plane, motor vehicle, boat, and foot. Each chapter includes his fishing with a notable person in the worlds of fishing and conservation. His fishing partners in this book include Bob White, Chris Wood, Kirk Deeter (and many other leaders within Trout Unlimited), Ted Williams of The Native Fish Coalition, Matthew Miller, and John Karges of The Nature Conservancy, and many more.
In the course of this journey, Ramirez explores and fishes mountain streams, alpine lakes, National Wild and Scenic Rivers, desert canyons, brackish water estuaries, and the rolling ocean off the coast of Cape Cod. About half of this book was written while traveling through the COVID-19 pandemic and it touches on the lessons that COVID can teach us about nature and human nature.
In Casting Onward, the author expands beyond the geographical scope of Casting Forward by fishing for native fish within their original habitats across American. Each story is told in part through the eyes of the people who have lived alongside and come to love, these waters and fish. Woven throughout these adventures are the stories of the people he meets and befriends while pursuing a mutual love of nature and the best of human nature, as the first criterion for finding common ground.
This is a hopeful story, in an all-too-often seemingly hopeless time. It is a story of fishing and friendship. It is a story of humanity’s impact on nature, and nature’s impact on humanity.
In the course of this journey, Ramirez explores and fishes mountain streams, alpine lakes, National Wild and Scenic Rivers, desert canyons, brackish water estuaries, and the rolling ocean off the coast of Cape Cod. About half of this book was written while traveling through the COVID-19 pandemic and it touches on the lessons that COVID can teach us about nature and human nature.
In Casting Onward, the author expands beyond the geographical scope of Casting Forward by fishing for native fish within their original habitats across American. Each story is told in part through the eyes of the people who have lived alongside and come to love, these waters and fish. Woven throughout these adventures are the stories of the people he meets and befriends while pursuing a mutual love of nature and the best of human nature, as the first criterion for finding common ground.
This is a hopeful story, in an all-too-often seemingly hopeless time. It is a story of fishing and friendship. It is a story of humanity’s impact on nature, and nature’s impact on humanity.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2022
13 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 17, 2025
21 chapters which follow the same premise: author wants to go somewhere to fish. Author meets friend. Friend is the best kind of human. They trek to the fishing spot - often, observations about the terrain / environment / history of the environment or the friend are included here. They fish (with commentary on the tools author uses) and author muses on the fish / various topics about the area around the fish. Generally ends with a call to action about environmentalism.
It’s educational if you’re interested in American wilderness. Author believes in conservation strongly. He also generally muses about life - at one point, he gets frustrated by his lack of catch but says he wants to be a bit more zen about it. So relatable honesty.
Is this groundbreaking? Eh not really. Read if you like environmentalism & fishing & new environments. But the last few chapters felt too repetitive for a variation on a theme.
3.5/5
The author has a deft turn of phrase and I liked this line:
It’s educational if you’re interested in American wilderness. Author believes in conservation strongly. He also generally muses about life - at one point, he gets frustrated by his lack of catch but says he wants to be a bit more zen about it. So relatable honesty.
Is this groundbreaking? Eh not really. Read if you like environmentalism & fishing & new environments. But the last few chapters felt too repetitive for a variation on a theme.
3.5/5
The author has a deft turn of phrase and I liked this line:
Everything is created twice; first in our imagination and then in our realities.
Displaying 1 of 1 review