Nervous water has a meaning: while the fleeting crease or subtle wrinkle on the surface of a lake or stream could be nothing, wise anglers known that these small surface movements are nearly always signs of fish stirring below—as it is with the sport of fly fishing. With a reputation of tranquility and contemplation, it is sometimes hard to believe that, beneath the surface, fly fishing has a constant current of new thoughts and theories, is always in pursuit of new technologies, and entertains ongoing debates among prominent fly-fishing thinkers.

Acclaimed fly fisher and author Steve Raymond has contemplated these issues in numerous articles and essays published in many magazines. Nervous Water is the collection of many of these reflections, detailing thirty-four variations on the theme of fly fishing. Tackling such topics as the very definition of fly fishing itself and how to dress for fishing, these variations form a selective opinionated chronicle of the trends, developments, and changes in fly fishing from the 1960s to the present. Steve Raymond also discusses some of the pioneers of the sport and the fish that make it all possible.

Nervous Water is a book for everyone who loves fly fishing and all those who enjoy looking beneath the surface.

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for fishermen. Our books for anglers include titles that focus on fly fishing, bait fishing, fly-casting, spin casting, deep sea fishing, and surf fishing. Our books offer both practical advice on tackle, techniques, knots, and more, as well as lyrical prose on fishing for bass, trout, salmon, crappie, baitfish, catfish, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.