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  • The Optimist: A Case for the Fly Fishing Life
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The Optimist: A Case for the Fly Fishing Life Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

4.6 out of 5 stars 599 ratings

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An “excellent” (The New York Times) modern tribute to an ageless pastime, and a practical guide to the art, philosophy, and rituals of fly fishing, by an expert, lifelong angler.

In The Optimist, David Coggins makes a case for the skills and sensibility of an enduring sport and shares the secrets, frustrations, and triumphs of the great tradition of fly fishing, which has captivated anglers worldwide.

Written in wry, wise, and keenly observed prose, each chapter focuses on a specific place, fish, and skill. Few individuals, for example, have the visual acuity required to catch the nearly invisible bonefish of the Bahamas flats. Or the patience to land the elusive Atlantic salmon, “the fish of a thousand casts,” in eastern Canada. Pursuing these challenges, Coggins, “a confirmed obsessive,” travels to one fishing paradise after another, including the great rivers of Patagonia, private chalk streams in England, remote ponds in Maine, and New York City’s Jamaica Bay. In each setting, he chronicles his fortunes and misfortunes with honesty and humor while meditating on how fishing teaches focus, inner stillness, and a connection to the natural world.

Perfect for the novice, the enthusiastic amateur, and the devoted angler alike, The Optimist offers a practical path to enlightenment while providing “a rueful, thoughtful, and very funny examination of an elegant obsession” (Jay McInerney).

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  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 30 minutes
  2. Author
    David Coggins
  3. Narrator
    Stephen Graybill, see all
  4. Audible release date
    May 4 2021
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster Audio
  7. ASIN
    B08R126991
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
Next slide of product details

Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 30 minutes
Author David Coggins
Narrator Stephen Graybill, David Coggins - afterword
Audible.ca Release Date May 04 2021
Publisher Simon & Schuster Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B08R126991
鶹 Rank

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
599 global ratings

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Top reviews from Canada

  • Caroline Filler
    5.0 out of 5 stars Coggins is a terrific writer
    Reviewed in Canada on July 18, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I jave read all his books. I enjoy his perspective
    Helpful
     Report
  • Paul MacDonald
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoying Fishing
    Reviewed in Canada on September 25, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    The author visited lots of different fishing spots and had the same experiences I've had onmany occassions !
    Helpful
     Report
  • Stephen McCullough
    5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, inspiring, and beautifully written
    Reviewed in Canada on January 12, 2024
    Whether new to the sport and art of fly-fishing or a long time veteran, this book will be one you re-read. There is practical information, wonderful stories and a keen, dry sense of humour.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Jane Gates
    5.0 out of 5 stars My father is thrilled!
    Reviewed in Canada on August 9, 2021
    Just got this for my 94-year-old father who has fished for decades, including many of the spots in this book. He is delighted with the book and the memories it brings back.
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Alex
    5.0 out of 5 stars Book captures the beauty of fishing
    Reviewed in Germany on December 24, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Great book which describes the up and downs of a flyfisher. Also gave me some ideas where to look for the next experience.
    Report
  • Steve Woit
    5.0 out of 5 stars A New American Fly Fishing Classic
    Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    The sport of fly fishing is blessed with some of the most storied literature on the planet. To say that David Coggins' new book is an ode to the sport and written with great style seems woefully inadequate to describe the arrival of what I can only call "A New American Fly Fishing Classic."

    This book had me at the title: "The Optimist" is probably one of the best fishing book titles ever, and "The Case for A Fly Fishing Life" one of the best subtitles to describe our collective obsession--as in: "There is always room in an angler's life for another obsession."

    It is a difficult assignment to treat a subject so inclined to snobbishness and elitism, but David Coggins breaks the code with a good-natured approach to his subject that is both instructive and humorous. He covers the basics while gently piercing the veil of secrecy surrounding the storied waters that hold trout, salmon, striped bass and bonefish, from Montana to Canada to New York to the Bahamas and the hallowed rivers and streams of England and Argentina.

    The book is as much about the fly fisher's psyche as about the techniques, methods and equipment that the fly fisherman uses to stalk his favorite prey. What he manages to reveal about the inner workings of a fly fisher's mind is as fascinating as his treatment of the vast possibilities that the sport affords around the globe.

    This author is as comfortable writing about casting poppers for smallmouth bass in a Wisconsin lake as laying out a cast for a brown trout on the legendary River Test. You may even find yourself fascinated by his description on the precise method for inventorying and loading his vehicle for a fly fishing expedition.

    In "The Optimist," the journey is the reward, and what a journey! Fly fishing for brown trout and cutthroats in Montana, wading the flats for bonefish in Andros, swinging flies for Atlantic Salmon in Canada, casting for brook trout in the North Woods in Maine, pursuing large rainbows in Patagonia or shotgunning flies for stripers in Jamaica Bay or Montauk, it's all fast paced and frenetic, or slower paced and well observed, just like the tempo of the sport itself.

    Coggins is at his best when he is in his head--you are there with him, feeling every insecurity, inadequacy, triumph, pyrrhic victory and delight--the "internal reward" of fishing. Fly fishing is as much a mental game as a meditative, physical pursuit that brings one closer to nature, and this book revels in both the joys and the challenges.

    The range of this book is rather impressive, with some great instruction for the novice and some deeper reflection and craft for the advanced angler. The same will apply to readers, I suspect--those who have read fly fishing literature extensively will pick up on the finer points and the creativity of the writer in approaching a well worn subject and those who come to the sport with new eyes will have them opened to its great possibilities.

    Like some of the best fly shops, "The Optimist" is stuffed with gear--rods, reels, flies, stories and yarns of all types for all tastes--full of possibility even before the fun begins on the river, far away from the crazy modern world.

    This book is beautifully written, end-to-end, with unexpected views and turns of phrases that will stick with you long after you put it down.

    As Coggins writes so memorably at the end when returning to his home water in the Catskills:

    "I put too much emphasis on fishing--giving in to the obsession is one of angling's rewards. I think about fishing when I am on the water and afterward, in that sense it never ends."
    Customer image
    Steve Woit
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    A New American Fly Fishing Classic

    Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2021
    The sport of fly fishing is blessed with some of the most storied literature on the planet. To say that David Coggins' new book is an ode to the sport and written with great style seems woefully inadequate to describe the arrival of what I can only call "A New American Fly Fishing Classic."

    This book had me at the title: "The Optimist" is probably one of the best fishing book titles ever, and "The Case for A Fly Fishing Life" one of the best subtitles to describe our collective obsession--as in: "There is always room in an angler's life for another obsession."

    It is a difficult assignment to treat a subject so inclined to snobbishness and elitism, but David Coggins breaks the code with a good-natured approach to his subject that is both instructive and humorous. He covers the basics while gently piercing the veil of secrecy surrounding the storied waters that hold trout, salmon, striped bass and bonefish, from Montana to Canada to New York to the Bahamas and the hallowed rivers and streams of England and Argentina.

    The book is as much about the fly fisher's psyche as about the techniques, methods and equipment that the fly fisherman uses to stalk his favorite prey. What he manages to reveal about the inner workings of a fly fisher's mind is as fascinating as his treatment of the vast possibilities that the sport affords around the globe.

    This author is as comfortable writing about casting poppers for smallmouth bass in a Wisconsin lake as laying out a cast for a brown trout on the legendary River Test. You may even find yourself fascinated by his description on the precise method for inventorying and loading his vehicle for a fly fishing expedition.

    In "The Optimist," the journey is the reward, and what a journey! Fly fishing for brown trout and cutthroats in Montana, wading the flats for bonefish in Andros, swinging flies for Atlantic Salmon in Canada, casting for brook trout in the North Woods in Maine, pursuing large rainbows in Patagonia or shotgunning flies for stripers in Jamaica Bay or Montauk, it's all fast paced and frenetic, or slower paced and well observed, just like the tempo of the sport itself.

    Coggins is at his best when he is in his head--you are there with him, feeling every insecurity, inadequacy, triumph, pyrrhic victory and delight--the "internal reward" of fishing. Fly fishing is as much a mental game as a meditative, physical pursuit that brings one closer to nature, and this book revels in both the joys and the challenges.

    The range of this book is rather impressive, with some great instruction for the novice and some deeper reflection and craft for the advanced angler. The same will apply to readers, I suspect--those who have read fly fishing literature extensively will pick up on the finer points and the creativity of the writer in approaching a well worn subject and those who come to the sport with new eyes will have them opened to its great possibilities.

    Like some of the best fly shops, "The Optimist" is stuffed with gear--rods, reels, flies, stories and yarns of all types for all tastes--full of possibility even before the fun begins on the river, far away from the crazy modern world.

    This book is beautifully written, end-to-end, with unexpected views and turns of phrases that will stick with you long after you put it down.

    As Coggins writes so memorably at the end when returning to his home water in the Catskills:

    "I put too much emphasis on fishing--giving in to the obsession is one of angling's rewards. I think about fishing when I am on the water and afterward, in that sense it never ends."
    Images in this review
    Customer image
    Report
  • alan paterson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyable.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Told by a younger than usual angler for this type of book. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
    Report
  • Karl B|hler
    3.0 out of 5 stars The Optimist: A Case for the Fly Fishing Life
    Reviewed in Germany on July 4, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Very poor delivery service
    Report
  • Scott Patchin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute must read for ANYONE interested in fly fishing
    Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This book touched my heart with the vivid descriptions of people and places, and the honesty about what fly fishing experience looks and feels like. I am an avid fisherman and a passionate (but not highly skilled) about fly fishing. I have seen and felt everything the author described because I am often fishing alongside what I would call "real" fly fishing experts. Sometimes they are patient, and sometimes they make you feel little. :) This book captures all of that, and the reality that we all have skills and if learning and valuing the experience is always the goal - every hole gives us a story, even if it is not in a catch.

    The second benefit of the book is how it describes 8 different experiences, some of which I have experienced, but many that I dream about (Patagonia). The author is so skilled at describing the whole journey that I felt like I was getting travel tips as well as fishing tips. This was an unexpected surprise for me because it was recommended by a friend as a fishing book. It provides lots of fishing details, and yet it is more that that because of the format of providing 8 different short stories.

    I highly recommend this book and thank David Coggins for writing it.
    Report