Fly-fishing the Arctic Circle to Tasmania

Marooned on a river island above the Arctic Circle, caught by a flash flood in New Zealand, boated with an NFL cheerleader in the Caribbean, robbed in a British Columbia motel, and bunked with an almost-terrorist in Manitoba, this author-preacher from Colorado has had some interesting experiences when going ""further out"" to fish. Twelve ebullient stories of adventure, travel, and international fly-fishing are told here. They are undergirded by a singular autobiographical story that weaves James White's passion for fly-fishing with his vocation in ministry. The book takes the reader from the Indian Ocean to the River Vltava in Bohemia. The characters met include ""two-headed"" Taswegians and Lake Woebegon ""strong women."" In one story, you stand with the author on ""basement of time"" metamorphics, beneath the Northern Lights in another, and before the Southern Cross in a third. You'll go on an ""Ixthus/Christ and Ichthyology/Fishing"" retreat. With the stories are illuminating photographs of giant rainbows, massive moose antlers, and ""Jesus Rays"" coming through a Ukrainian Orthodox church cupola. The book leads to rumination on Henry David Thoreau's observation that ""Men may go fishing all their life and never know it's not fish they're after.""


""James White brings to fishing what is often missed. Ask about a trip of most and the question, 'Catch anything?' is the most common inquiry. Not for James. He doesn't look at fishing as catching. He doesn't look at it myopically. He looks at fishing as an experience that brings him and all of life together in the human journey.""
--Mark Henry Miller, author

""James White's adventures, commitments, and insights make this book an excellent read with lively stories and James' thoughtful reflections on friendship, fly fishing, and God. I was privileged to have James White as my minister. His spirit of inquiry, challenge, and devotion come together in this book.""
--Pam Shockley-Zalabak, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs

""James White wades into the adventures of his life with a fly rod in one hand and the Bible in the other. Drawing from journals and vintage snapshots, White recounts fishing trips around the world in the warm and engaging voice he uses to tell stories around a campfire.""
--David L. Weddle, Professor Emeritus of Religion, The Colorado College

""As one fortunate enough to be a member of James' fly fishing family, I've had the privilege of witnessing the wit, wisdom, and humor of this gifted storyteller. . . . The true significance of these stories lies in the fact that they are viewed through the prism of his faith and his own experience of the 'holy tug' of God's Spirit.""
--Ron Dunn, Retired United Methodist Pastor


James W. White is minister emeritus of First Congregational Church in Colorado Springs and ""senior"" guide for Anglers Covey Fly Shop. He is author of Christianity 101: Tracing Basic Beliefs, Brief Christian Histories: Getting a Sense of Our Long Story, and ...