Fly Fishing Books: Jeff Hull's New Streams of Consciousness

Author Jeff Hull, whose first book, Pale Morning Done, gathered spring creeks, water rights, romance and fly-fishing nuance into a very well received first novel. David James Duncan called it “beautifully realized.” Hull’s second book takes an entirely different tack, collecting sixteen essay on topics as varied as knots, blue sharks and camping on Slough Creek. Streams of Consciousness (The Lyons Press, January 2007, 208 pages), subtitled “Hip-Deep Dispatches from the River of Life,” gives Hull a chance to speak unguardedly about the things that have mattered most to him: adventure, clarity of vision, and respect for the opportunities given to us as anglers.
Interestingly, Streams of Consciousness slipped into bookstores in January without much fanfare, but it deserves attention, because Hull is one of the most observant and skilled new angling writers around. Here’s an example from the chapter entitled “Knots:”

There was a time when I experienced my whole existence as a slow-tightening knot. It felt like coils of life backing over each other and tangling, then slicing into their own surfaces a little as they gripped and refused to back off. I’ve done a lot of work to loosen some of those coils, and these days generally try to keep my line straight. At least, when I feel a little wind knot, I don’t keep casting.

On Amazon: Streams of Consciousness; Pale Morning Done