Down the Hatch

Dave Karczynski fishes--and writes--with both eyes wide open to the magic of water. With the trademark blend of adventure, humor, and insight that has made him one fly fishing’s most widely published authors, this collection of nineteen essays charts Dave’s journey as he casts his way from the quiet streams of the Upper Midwest to the far corners of the earth--and back again. Readers will tramp across Patagonia with a shamanic brook trout whisperer, raft through the Himalayas in search of golden mahseer, hunt native brown trout in the Bohemian highlands, and revel in the promise of a Northern Michigan spinner fall. With prose that alternately flashes like the sides of a leaping salmon and glitters like riffle water on a summer morning, Calling After Water is one of those rare books that delights its readers as much as it invites them to reflect on their own love of fly fishing.

Dave Karczynski is a writer and photographer specializing in sporting culture and narrative. Whether it’s the glacial rivers of the Himalayan outback or the high country lakes of the Polish Carpathians, deep wild country is where Dave feels most at home. A former Zell Fellow at the University of Michigan and recipient of the 2012 Robert Traver Award for outdoor writing, he is a regular contributor to Outdoor Life, Fly Rod & Reel, The Drake, and many other magazines. In addition to Orvis From Lure to Fly, Dave is also the co-author of Modern Smallmouth: Modern Tactics, Tips and Techniques. When not on the water or in the woods, Dave teaches creative writing and photography at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He lives in Munith, Michigan.