Chris Santella is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, where he resides with his wife and two daughters. He is the author of 19 books, including Fifty Places To Fly Fish Before You Die, Fifty Places To Play Golf Before You Die, Why I Fly Fish and Fifty Places To Drink Beer Before You Die (all Abrams), and Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer (Princeton University Press, with Dr. Peter Marra). The Fifty Places series has sold over 500,000 copies. Santella is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, Trout, Fly Rod & Reel, The Drake, American Angler, and Fly Fish Journal. His writing has also appeared in The New Yorker,Wall Street Journal, Travel & Leisure, and Links, among many other publications. When he’s not at his desk, Santella loves to swing flies for steelhead on the Deschutes, Sandy, and North Umpqua Rivers, and to front Catch & Release, a four-piece rock band that plays original compositions…including a tune called “The Tug is the Drug.”

Some fly-fishing books are not meant to be technical but rather to entertain and delight. Santella’s well-written short stories are about our passion: its anglers and fascinating essays. You will enjoy this one.