40 Rivers To Freedom

40 Rivers To Freedom has just been informed by a representative for Simon & Schuster Publishing, that a new movie is in the works based on the novels written by fly fishing writer/philosopher, John Gierach.

“Apparently, a script is already in the works.”  According to S & S, the movie version is slated to be directed by Sean Penn.   Penn also directed “Into The Wild“, the story of Christopher McCandless’s journey after abandoning his possessions, giving his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiking into the Alaskan Backcountry to live alone in the wilderness.

“I actually spoke with Sean directly yesterday evening.”  Said our S & S contact.  “He said he’s been looking for a story of this caliber for a long time, and feels that with the recent popularity of reality shows such as The Deadliest Catch, Ax Men, Dirty Jobs, etc.- that the timing couldn’t be better”

The fly fishing quake caused by A River Runs Through It is still sending the occasional aftershock of business into a reeling fly industry- no pun intended.  While fly fishing industry analysts such as Tom Chandler of The Trout Underground feel that fly shops and gear manufacturers need to catch up with the mainstream when it comes to intelligent marketing in order to spur more business;   others feel there could be no better stimulus package for fly fishing than the one that can be provided by Hollywood.

I wonder who they’re gonna get to play Gierach?

UPDATE:

April Fools

Fished with Robin and Geoff on Saturday.  Full report to come as soon as I’m done editing pics- and finish up some homework.  After Geoff and I had a little fly swap, Robin happily rowed my ass around all day- and Geoff would have done the same from his boat.

Let me just say, ain’t no friend better than one that’ll man the oars.  How lucky am I to have shared the water with two?

• Two NY men ticketed for having 350 fish over the legal limit http://tinyurl.com/ca5q7q #

Last night I’m sitting on the couch tying a new hellgrammite pattern I dreamed up yesterday, when the phone rings.

“Hello”

“What’s goin’ on?”

“Hey man, how’s it going?”

The conversation continues and then turns to what each others’ plans are for the trout opener.  Turns out we’re both gonna be on the same river, not too far apart.  He’s going with a couple of his buddies, and I’m meeting up with a couple of mine.  It only seems obvious that we should meet up, so he asks where we’re planning on starting out.

“Ummm, I really can’t say.”  I tell him

I can feel his heart beating in my fist.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you or anything, it’s just that it’s not really my spot.  If it were just you going, I don’t think there would be any problems, but enough people know about this area as it is.  I’d hate to make the long hike back there one day and not be able to fish that spot because a guy who found out about it from one of your friends was already there.”

Brutal honesty never felt so brutal.

“You know what I’m saying, right?”

He’s a fisherman, so of course he does.  But that doesn’t remove the cloud of awkwardness in the air.

“I’ll give you a call that morning on your cell and we’ll meet up sometime during the day.”  I tell him.

But it kind of feels the way the guy does when he tells the girl he just dumped that they can still be friends.  I finish tying the first hellgrammite, and the conversation goes in another direction.