Books

The Optimist

David Coggins tells a series of fishing stories. 

I read five books about fishing in 2024 and instead of rating them out of five stars I’m just going to rank them. They’re all passable if you’re into fly fishing.

Trout Bum
The Longest Silence
Lords of the Fly
The Optimist
The Believer 

I fished over 100 days in 2024, all with a fly rod. I don’t show it in this persona, but I am a hardcore fisherman. And if you have been following this series of reviews, you know I’m a hardcore reader. 

Fishing, especially fly fishing, has layers and layers of esoteric strata. David Coggins writes capably, but it’s clear that he’s essentially a wash ashore to the land of fishing. 

If you’re a filthy casual or if you fish with conventional tackle and you’re curious about fly fishing, this might be a better pick for you. For me, there were too many cases where his explicit assertions about dedication to fishing sounded dissonant against the implicit revelation that he’s not.