The Flies Are Too Damn Small

Peter Cammann has written about fishing for more than 30 years. In that time, he has explored at length the lasting questions of fishing, chief among them, why anyone would spend their time doing it. This book presents the odd tales, confessions and musings of a deeply flawed angler, well-acquainted with the limits of his own abilities. These humorous tales are presented by the author as a kind of answer to why so many people spend hours in the water, facing off with fish, sometimes only to release them right away. Occasionally profound and always funny, Cammann’s unique perspective on the sport will delight even those who have never cast a line.

Peter Cammann is the author of several books and his work has been featured in On the Water, Coastal Angler, The Fisherman, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Fly Fisherman, Vermont Life, and New England Game and Fish, and on various web sites, including Coastal Angler, About-Flyfishing and UrbanDesires. He lives in Vermont.

Peter Cammann
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 193
Bibliographic Info: 18 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9586-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5388-4
Imprint: Toplight

One—Introduction and Acknowledgments: A Question of Trust 1

Two—Casting 8

Three—Advice 14

Four—Bridges 19

Five—Blasphemy 25

Six—Harassment 29

Seven—The Other Side 37

Eight—Fish Like a Guide 41

Nine—Fly Fishing in the Snow 46

Ten—Fish Like a Local 50

Eleven—Damn Liar 54

Twelve—Giving It a Name 58

Thirteen—The Catch 65

Fourteen—Running After the Salmon 70

Fifteen—­Die-Hards 76

Sixteen—Upselling 83

Seventeen—Bluegills 87

Eighteen—A Fish by Any Other Name 92

Nineteen—Confessions of a Fly Fishing Guide 96

Twenty—How to Treat the Catch 100

Twenty-One—An Ode to the Dogs 104

Twenty-Two—Euclid’s Dilemma 111

Twenty-Three—The Hanging Bass 115

Twenty-Four—The Heretic 120

Twenty-Five—Cheating 126

Twenty-Six—The Flies Are Too Damn Small 130

Twenty-Seven—Solstice Stripers 136

Twenty-Eight—The First Deadly Sin 143

Twenty-Nine—Dropping Stuff Through the Ice 147

Thirty—The Five Gifts 156

Thirty-One—Luquillo 160

Thirty-Two—An Angler’s Bucket List 170

Thirty-Three—Not All There 175

Index 183

• “If it has fins you can bet Peter Cammann has fished for it, and he has let us in on his adventures in a collection of tales that nail what’s real in angling. There are yarns that are madcap, wise, funny and evocative—and always personal. What he has given us is a treasure trove of fish stories—in the very best sense of the phrase.”—Jerry Gibbs, fishing editor emeritus, Outdoor Life

• “Cammann turns the classic fish tale on its head by doing something no angler has done before: telling it with honesty! The result is plenty of smirks and chuckles, almost always at his expense, and a whole lot of utterly relatable moments that beautifully capture the frustration, foolishness, and fun of fishing.”—Kevin Blinkoff, editor of On the Water

• “Peter Camman is one of America’s funniest, most perceptive writers about fishing and nature. The only problem with The Flies are Too Damned Small is that the book is too damned short. Actually, it’s a perfect length. But we can always use more of Peter’s writing.”—Richard Louv, author of Fly Fishing for Sharks, Our Wild Calling and Last Child in the Woods

• “Peter Cammann’s wit has been honed by a lifetime of misadventures in the outdoors, overindulgence in esoteric knowledge of fly tying and arcane books, and an uncanny track record of fishing with the wrong people.”—Ross Purnell, editor/publisher of Fly Fisherman Magazine