Learning the Terrain
by Walt Franklin
Wood Thrush Books, 2022
140 pages, paperback
ISBN 978-1-7345175-6-9
The author reflects upon the gentle art of fly-fishing and much more in this slender collection of interwoven essays. Walt Franklin is a naturalist with a bamboo fly rod in hand, a poet wading clear mountain streams. Whether plying his home waters in upstate New York and northcentral Pennsylvania, fishing the classic trout rivers of Colorado and Wyoming, or going after striped bass on the New England coast, he completely immerses himself in the natural world then tells a good tale afterward. Learning the Terrain is as much about listening to songbirds, admiring wildflowers, encountering wildlife, and recounting local lore as it is about catching fish. It is a testament to the immeasurable benefits to be had from sustained interaction with the wild.