The Optimist A Case for the Fly Fishing Life

A lyrical tribute and practical guide to the art and philosophy of fly fishing, with funny and thoughtful commentary on its practices, customs, and lifestyle—by an expert and life-long fisherman.

What if you could escape the stress of everyday life, unplug, and enjoy the simple pleasure of being outside, standing near a beautiful stream, the only sound being the moment the fish rises to skim atop the water? Now, in The Optimist you can not only experience fly fishing firsthand but also revel in the landscapes, local knowledge, and the incredible settings that are the backdrop, and often, the foreground of fly fishing. In lyrical yet concise prose, author David Coggins shares eccentric traditions and their specific locales—from remote Canada, the South Carolina flats, the great rivers of Patagonia—to landing in a float plane on a remote pond in northern Maine or chasing striped bass in New York City’s Jamaica Bay. Along the way, he shares entertaining details about the parts of fishing that aren’t the fishing—the drift boats, the wise guides, the bad motels, and the even worse beer, that are all part of the experience.

Each chapter of The Optimist focuses on a specific place, fish, and skill. Only a select few have the vision required to catch the nearly invisible bonefish on the Bahamas flats, for example. Or the patience necessary to land the elusive Atlantic salmon, the fish of a thousand casts, in eastern Canada. Through these fishing paradises, Coggins reveals the secrets of the anglers’ club. Like a good cocktail, The Optimist is a satisfying mixture of three ingredients: one-part narration of Coggins’s own angling obsessions and adventures, one-part practical how-to, one-part meditation on the hidden virtues—focus, stillness, practice, a connection to the natural world. The perfect fly fishing book for today’s novice, enthusiastic amateur, as well as the devoted angler, The Optimist offers a practical path toward enlightenment while also providing a much-needed escape into the stories of one of the world’s most ancient sports and pastimes.

David Coggins is the author of Men and Manners and the New York Times bestseller Men and Style. He writes a column on fly fishing for the Robb Report, and about tailoring, drinking, and travel for numerous publications, including The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Pursuits, and Condé Nast Traveler, where he was a longtime contributing editor. For over a decade he has been a trusted voice on men’s style and manners, quoted regularly in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and New York magazine. He’s been the guest on numerous podcasts, including The Art of Manliness, and written extensively for the most storied American men’s companies, including Ralph Lauren and Brooks Brothers. Coggins lives in New York, and he fishes most regularly in the Catskills, Montana, and Wisconsin.