Jimmy Carter and Fly Fishing

Jimmy Carter is the oldest living former president (he just celebrated his 100th birthday this year) and there’s been a host of new stories, books, and other media recently produced about him.

One that has flown relatively under-the-radar is a new book by Jim Barger titled Jimmy Carter: Rivers and Dreams. It details just how important fly fishing has been to the former president, the personal connections it has forged, and the policy decisions that Carter holds thanks to his time on the water.

Carter has fly fished everywhere from Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to Mongolia, and Rivers and Dreams collects many stories from those adventures to paint a better picture of who Jimmy is with a fly rod in hand.

“No single activity in his life was more important to him than fly fishing as a personal pursuit,” Barger said in a radio interview with WABE.

Part of the book’s description reads, “Before, during, and after his presidency, Jimmy Carter’s pursuit of a better world often involved his ride-or-die buddies fly fishing and feasting with world leaders – and in some wild circumstances – dangerous dictators.”

You can view the book for sale here.