"Dan Landeen's unique book chronicles the history of steelhead fly-fishing in Chief Joseph country on three of America's most storied rivers: The Grande Ronde, the Clearwater, and the Snake. For thousands of years, these rivers produced an amazing and bountiful subsistence fishery for the Nez Perce and other indigenous peoples in one of the most rugged and remote regions of North America. It was not, in fact, until the twentieth century that fly-fishers "discovered" the area." "Through interviews with over thirty master fly-fishers, including local legends like Bob Wedell, Keith Stonebraker, Terry Nab, LeRoy Hyatt, and Craig Lannigan, the author teases out the story of the fabled runs before and after the crowds and the dams on the mainstem Columbia and lower Snake decimated the wild fishery. Steve Pettit provides an excellent overview of steelhead politics and biology on the Clearwater, and Jimmy Green gives a fascinating account of how he came to build his famous two-handed rod. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET