(Dylan Tomine | Photos courtesy of Wild Ridge PR)
On Saturday, June 25 at 6pm, Fly & Field of Bend will host Dylan Tomine as he shares stories from his new book Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman (published by Patagonia, released April 2022). Tomine is a conservationist for wild fish and water and producer of the Patagonia documentary Artifishal. His new book traces the shift of a lifelong angler’s priorities from fishing to the survival of the fish themselves.
A Life Shaped by Fishing
In a collection of stories published by Patagonia, Dylan Tomine traces the evolution of a lifelong angler’s priorities from fishing to the survival of the fish themselves.
“Mixing good-natured humor with a reverence of the world around him…Tomine delivers a work that informs and moves in equal measure. This is sure to reel in readers.” ~PUBLISHERS WEEEKLY
When it comes to books about fishing, few authors capture the all-out obsession with equal parts honesty, humor and sobering dose of reality as well as Dylan Tomine in his memoir Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman (Patagonia, April 12, 2022).
“Headwaters exemplifies the very best in angling literature, with prose that is, at various times, hilarious, profound and mournful,” says Monte Burke, bestselling author and journalist.
Including two decades of Tomine’s writings, Headwaters chronicles his journey to wild fish conservation. Thirty-five personal stories appear in (mostly) chronological order, opening with a portrait of a young boy who is all too busy trying to catch steelhead to bother with baseball cards or girls. Tomine later became a self-proclaimed fish bum, working as a guide and fishing as often as possible around his home waters near Seattle. But in 2001, a wake-up call — the Spring closure of his beloved Skykomish River due a sharply declining salmon population — would change the course of his life from obsessed, couch- surfing angler to one keenly focused on the conservation of the fish and rivers that have shaped his life.
Chapters follow Tomine and his evolving priorities as an angler as he searches for fish and adventure in the far reaches of the planet: Christmas Island, the Russian Arctic, Argentine Patagonia, Japan, Cuba and British Columbia. In stories set closer to home, he wades deeper into his favorite steelhead rivers of the Pacific Northwest and the politics of saving them. With plenty of laughs along the way, Tomine celebrates the joy and pain of exploration, fatherhood and the comforts of home waters from a vantage point well off the beaten path.
The stories are accompanied by artist Frances Ashforth’s illustrations, which are sprinkled throughout the book. A fellow angler, Ashforth says her stark images share the memory of place and hopes they “strike a chord of deep respect for the raw elegant beauty of the landscapes we all find familiar.”
In addition to his conservation work, Tomine is the father of two teenage anglers, whom he raised to have his same fishing sensibilities. He covered their Bainbridge Island fishing and foraging life in his first book Closer to the Ground: An Outdoor Family’s Year on the Water, in the Woods and at the Table (Patagonia, 2012), which received coverage from the Washington Post and was a National Outdoor Book Award honorable mention.
About the Author:
Dylan Tomine (dylantomine.com) is a father, writer, conservation advocate and recovering sink tip addict, not necessarily in that order. His book, Closer to the Ground: An Outdoor Family’s Year on the Water, in the Woods and at the Table, was a National Outdoor Book Award honorable mention. He is also a producer of the feature-length documentary, Artifishal, which has been watched by more than 3.5 million viewers. He lives in Bainbridge Island, Washington.
About the Illustrator:
Frances Ashforth (francesbashforth.com) is an artist who spends her time drawing, painting and printmaking. Her work has been shown in Canada, Europe and the U.S. in galleries and small museums. She spends a great deal of time outdoors, hiking, fly fishing, studying the land and edges of habitats.
Praise:
““What is fly fishing? Everything.” Anglers will find Tomine’s book a spirited defense of that thesis.” ~KIRKUS
“Balancing personal and political perspectives in a seamless fashion, the fishing memoir Headwaters is a heartfelt celebration of the sport of angling.” ~FOREWORD
“Headwaters is a book to reach for when you want to go fishing but can’t.” ~John Larison, author of Whiskey When We’re Dry
“Headwaters exemplifies the very best in angling literature, with prose that is, at various times, hilarious, profound and mournful.” ~Monte Burke, author of Saban and Lords of the Fly
“Dylan Tomine on fishing is a rare opportunity to glimpse the essential, but often hard to pin down, reason so many of us return again and again to cast our hope into the water.” —Callan Wink, author of Dog Run Moon and August
Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman
Patagonia, April 12, 2022, Dylan Tomine | 9781952338076 | Hardcover 303 pages, full color throughout | $27.95 US | Author Tour April – June 2022 Media Contact: Stephanie Ridge, stephanie@wildridgepr.com, 512-810-9238
Printed on 100% post-consumer waste paper