Released January 6, 2026
Fly Fishing in the 21st Century
The goal of fly fishing is simple: to catch fish. But beyond this goal lies a not-so-simple question: why? In essence, what is the point of it all?
The question has puzzled anglers, writers, and armchair philosophers for ages. In his debut work, Matthew Shane Brown serves as our guide, casting not only his line into the deserted trout streams of the Great Basin, but also deftly dropping the reader into the questions of solitude, place, memory, and meaning. With lyrical prose and an introspective spirit, Brown weaves together observation, fieldwork, and philosophy… all with a raw, unflinching honesty.
Fly Fishing in the 21st Century is at once a field report and a meditation: an ode to the wild spaces and wild creatures of the American West, and a thanksgiving for the peace and clarity they bring to anyone willing to burn the gas to find them.
Praise for “Fly Fishing in the 21st Century”
“An informative and comically unsparing account of an angler’s obsession.”
Kirkus Reviews (“Get It” Rating)
“Gierach would be damn proud… He captures the delicious lonesomeness of being outdoors (mostly in his home state of Nevada), alone, with one task at hand-hooking a trout (or dropping a bird), and a cold Coors back at the truck.”
Sean Stiny (for California Fly Fisher)
This is a fresh book. The cry against what modernity has wrought on the human spirit… is obvious to us each time we scroll through social media or turn on the news. But this take from the high desert of the Great Basin in Nevada is new and fierce.”