"Patrick McManus is a treasure", raves The Atlantic. People cheers "a style that brings to mind Mark Twain, Art Buchwald, and Garrison Keillor". And Booklist, describing his enormous appeal, says: "He captures the innocence most of us lose when we become grown-up". The noted columnist for Outdoor Life and author of such irascible and irresistible bestsellers as The Grasshopper Trap, The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw, Real Ponies Don't Go Oink!, and The Good Samaritan Strikes Again is at his wry, curmudgeonly best in his 13th hilarious collection. Here he returns with tales about everything from using the kid next door for fishing boat ballast to the fast-disappearing opportunities for a good old-fashioned grouse hunt. From the uncertain joys of standing waist-deep in icy water, to the eternal verities of chicken-fried steak and strong coffee drunk by the campfire, Patrick McManus continues to delight his scores of fans with more wonderful tales from trout country.