Fishing
Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania, where Whistlestop Bookshop is situated, is generously watered and drained by creeks renowned for their fishing. Conodoguinet Creek, which flows about 100 miles to the Susquehanna River and is nearest to Carlisle, is actually better known for the fishing in its two tributaries, Big Spring Creek out of the Newville area (only 5 miles) and Letort Spring Run, which arises south of Carlisle and flows north 9 miles to the Conodoguinet. The Yellow Breeches Creek, which flows along South Mountain for 56 miles to the Susquehanna, is internationally famous for its trout fishing.
Naturally, a trout-fishing and especially a fly-fishing culture has developed, sometimes thought to be mostly local, sometimes acknowledged to be of world interest — the world that loves the quiet and focus and solitary rewards of fly-fishing. Rarely, the local zen masters of fishing wrote books. Charlie Fox was once a customer of Whistlestop, and Joe Humphreys is still in print and in fact the subject of a documentary we carry. Fishing does inspire fine writing, after all — the names of Izaak Walton, Norman MacLean, Thomas McGuane, Patrick McManus, John Gierach suggest the range of approaches in writing about “standing in a river waving a stick,” to use Gierach’s famous descripton.
Dedicated to the memory of a great fisherman and an even better brother, Gordon Wood (1956-2020).
Fishing the Wild Waters: An Angler's Search for Peace and Adventure in the Wilderness
Fishing the Wild Waters: An Angler's Search for Peace and Adventure in the Wilderness
From the azure waters of Hawaii to the pristine streams in Alaska to the craggy New England coast, a devoted angler reveals the agony and ecstasy of fishing.
Fishing the Wild Waters invites us to traverse America and visit three distant and distinct dream destinations for any serious angler—and anyone who aspires to someday become one. Sullivan's marvelous debut illuminates the often profound nature of fishing as a vehicle that connects those who practice it with reverence to a world beyond the one humans created.
As we travel along with Sullivan, he reveals what goes into the pursuit of select fish in the region with humor and personal stories as well as deep knowledge. Hawaii, Alaska and New England are some of the last frontiers of fishing in America. They are full of danger, big fish, and extraordinary adventure. To fish these places is to reach back and stand alongside the First Nations of fishermen—our ancestors who lived there for thousands of years before us—as well as those early Americans who built this country using species like cod as their currency.
These cultural and fishing outposts will tell us something if we can just be quiet and listen. To hear that message requires an intrinsic respect for these ancient fishing grounds and our connection to them. This mindset is in lock-step with a growing movement of anglers who fish these wildest of waters as a way to turn down the noise of modern living and tune into their fundamental, hands-on relationship with the sea, finding not only the solace, but the sustenance the fish provides to those who take the time to learn its lessons. Plus, filling a freezer with the world’s healthiest protein just feels right.
By turns funny, thrilling, and lyric, Fishing the Wild Waters celebrates these special places where each fisherman can pull back the curtain, connect to the sea, and gaze into their own soul – the soul of a fisherman.