Streamside Delights

THE FISHING'S ONLY PART OF IT by Dana Lamb '21 Amwell Press, 1982. 171 pp. $17.50

Dana Lamb's ninth book is well-titled. It contains, as most of the others have, some great fishing stories, such as "Persistence and Some Luck" and "Chisel Jaws." The reader will also encounter such legendary fly fishermen as Sparse Grey Hackle and such non-legendary anglers as "Woebegone Inept," who broke off his last Grey Ghost while the salmon were taking only to discover that he had left the rest of his flies "fives miles back at camp." One will meet guides like Bill, "schooled in all the nuances of crime," and the perfect Gaspe companion, who offers "expert advice but not too much, when this is sought . . . forgiveness if a fish is lost by being poorly played; a well-served meal when far from camp, a safe return when day is done; the right amount of praise." Dana Lamb will tell you how President Theodore Roosevelt's son Archie spent a hilarious weekend on the Broadhead's Creek and about the biggest fish he may have caught; "the best fish in our lives" always being those that get away. In his evocative prose-poetry, Lamb also describes the streamside sights and sounds that mean so much to anglers; "the music of the river's washing on the rocks; the thunder of a waterfall; the fragrance of the balsam fir and flowers on the banks; the song birds in the whitebirch trees." For Lamb, the fishing truly is only part of it, and perhaps the least important part.

The 48 short stories that comprise Lamb's book are really about people and about love. Dana Lamb is a man in love, like Leo Tolstoy, with everyone and everything that life brings to him. The most precious of all gifts, he suggests, is not fame, fishing, or fortune. What is of true value is friendship, the giving of joy to others, the sharing of beauty and peace. In "A Thing of Beauty Is a Joy Forever," the trophy trout that Jim has stalked for many days takes his fly and then manages to maneuver itself behind a submerged tree. Only a miracle can save the situation. That miracle, a young woman jogging on the nearby road, scrambles down the bank and frees the fly line from the log. When Jim brings the great rainbow to net, the beauty of God's creation brings tears to the girl's eyes. 'Jim had never caught a fish like this before; ten to one he'd never catch another. But then, he'd never seen a girl like this before; perhaps he'd never look upon her like again. 'You saved this trout for me,' he said. 'Now I'll save it for you.' "

Like Jim, Dana Lamb releases the fish that he catches. The reader, however, will not find it easy to let this book go. The stories are moving and beautifully written, the original line drawings by Eldridge Hardie that illustrate it are of comparable quality, and the Christian precepts that underlie Lamb's philosophy are of timeless value. Whether they be anglers and anglerettes or not, men and women of Dartmouth (and the author reminds us that "it's mostly women who are brave") will find many pleasurable hours of reading in Lamb's new book, for The Fishing's OnlyPart of It.

Kenneth Shewmaker is professor of history andeditor of the diplomatic papers of Daniel Webster at the College. He has written articles aboutfishing (some of them involving Mr. Webster)for American Fly Fisher and Rod and Reel.