Like colorful patterns in a fly box, these pages hold some of the best and brightest moments of a long fly-fishing life. Here is the ecstasy (and occasional agony) of fishing for trout, salmon, and saltwater gamefish in waters from Canada to the Caribbean, from northern Scotland to the South Pacific. Here too you'll meet some of the most memorable fishing partners ever to share a stream, discover the long-lost legacy of a famous pioneer fly tyer, and feel the warmth of an extraordinary gift from an old fishing friend.There is a funny and poignant tale of two Russian anglers who came to fish in America; a glimpse at the "Blue Heaven" of dry-fly fishing; a look into "the truth" behind fly-fishing magazines and books; and the result of one angler's diligent search for the source of the world's best rod-building bamboo.

And there's much more in this warmly written memoir of the people, places, things, realities, and fantasies encountered by the author in more than fifty years of fishing the waters he now remembers as his "rivers of the heart".