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Fly Fishing Books: Tagewahnahn

Tagewahnahn (pronounced tag-a-wa-non) is a native American name for landlocked Atlantic salmon, which live only in parts of Maine, New Hampshire and the eastern Canadian provinces. If the species itself wasn't exclusive enough, imagine a book that talks only about 2.75 miles of river that is famous for its landlocks and the heritage that surrounds fishing for them. As is often the case, though, the microcosm provides a perfect perspective from which to look at fly fishing traditions as a whole, and Dennis Labare's Tagewahnahn: The Landlocked Salmon at Grand Lake Stream (www.glssalmon.com; hardcover; 216 pages; $65) does a great job of making a single location meaningful to a much larger audience than local guides and anglers.

Since Labare's book came out last year it's gotten plenty of media attention, so there's no need to heap on praise, but I will add that the book itself is very well produced and that it has added more then $5400 to the coffers of Trout Unlimited and the Grand Lake Stream Historical Society -- both good reasons to give it a closer look. A review on DownEast.com is especially worth reading, and you can find an excerpt on the Fly Rod and Reel Web site.

Get Your Thoreau On: Neck-Beards Are In

Soul patches are out. (Actually they've been out for about three years.) So what's next?

According to Jeff Lund, the 1800s provides a perfect answer in the neck-beard, a "Thoreauly" independent and fishy expression of personal style. "This-dude-is-so-sweet-we-say-all-three-of-his-names, Ralph Waldo Emerson penned, 'Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.' Is there a better way to live than letting the wild air get stuck in your throat beard? I think not."

Oil spill cleanup reports strong progress, but fisheries to remain closed (Contra Costa Times)

Fishing Line: 11/05/09 (The Sacramento Bee)