The Venerable Fly Tyers
“I fish because ... I can’t turn myself into a trout!”
Telling a good fish story is a skill that, like good wine or cheese, gets better with age. In The Venerable Fly Tyers, Dave Jankowski presents the true antics and adventures of a group of men united by their love of fly-fishing. From the fabled Au Sable River in Michigan to Montana’s Yellowstone —with some duck and deer hunting thrown in— the group hooks and hopes and humbles themselves before their wives to escape the humdrum of domestic life.
Known by their “tactical call signs” of Archer (the author) and Bald Eagle (the illustrator), it’s no surprise that the two were attracted to fly-fishing after flying jet fighters for a living. Both are multidiscipline sports. In flying, you need a working knowledge of aerodynamics, hydraulics, navigation, and meteorology. Fly-fishing depends on your understanding of stream dynamics, water hydrology, casting, and ... meteorology! They both require fine-tuned and practiced hand-eye coordination. They are highly visual. They both require special equipment: a flight suit, helmet, g-suit, and gloves versus waders, Tilley hat, vest, and... gloves. And finally, they both are dangerous: You can get into trouble in the blink of an eye!
But Jankowski reminds us that the storyteller’s best friend is time: The time we drank to your health. The time we talked until two in the morning. The time we buried Denny. The Venerable Fly Tyers is a journey back in time. It all happened, and how it happened can’t be altered, but it can live again a good fish story.
This book is dedicated to the disabled American Veterans who have so honorably served their country since the early days of Vietnam, through all the Mideast conflicts, to this day and beyond.
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Dave Jankowski’s book should be on the shelf of everyone who appreciates beautiful and graceful—and, yes, comic—moments outdoors. Its good-natured humor reminds me of John Voelker’s, Danny and the Boys, another rollicking celebration of guys getting in trouble while fishing.
—Jerry Dennis, author of A Place on the Water and The River Home
The tales of Dave “Archer” Jankowski and his squadron can be enjoyed piecemeal but at some point, the reader will simply keep turning the pages caught up in the story’s current and intent to see what lies around the next bend. The Archer hits his target over and over again. His adventures with *The Venerable Fly Tyers* are both fun and enlightening.
—Tom Buhr, editor of The RIVERWATCH
The Venerable Fly Tyers stokes the very center of the fire all hunters and anglers carry for their sport. A treasure of (often hilarious) stories centered on the sometimes successful pursuit of wild things living in wild places.
—Josh Greenberg, author of Rivers of Sand and Trout Water
Dave Jankowski’s The Venerable Fly Tyers is a must-read for any fly fisher or outdoorsman. Follow Dave and his “Venerable” friends as they explore the storied rivers of Michigan and the Yellowstone. Dave is a gifted storyteller, and his depiction of their adventures will leave you eager to turn the page: It’s that good. This book is a gem.
—Captain Ed Nicholson, USN (Ret.) Founder, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing