Fly-Fishing the 41st: Around the World on the 41st Parallel

"One day, I left in a straight line from home at 41 Kachele Street, east along the 41st parallel, following my passion for fish. It was a journey not only away from home, but toward it; which is the beauty of traveling in a circle, and theirony of adventure. This suited me, for in the event that I strayed -- as I would likely take some latitude with the latitude -- as long as I could find my way back to the 41st parallel I would not get lost."

-- James Prosek

The New York Times has called James Prosek "the Audubon of the fishing world" and in Fly-Fishing the 41st, he uses words and color to bring to life an astonishing adventure around the world. Beginning in his hometown of Easton, Connecticut, Prosek circumnavigated the globe along the 41st parallel. Home of Spain, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, China, and Japan; marched over and fought for by Marco Polo, Genghis Khan, and Alexander the Great -- it contains some of the great cities and great fishing of the world. As he traveled the globe along the latitude of his hometown, he was surprised to find, through his love of fishing, a connection with the people and cultures he encountered.

Prosek finds fish in country streams and city rivers -- even the Seine in cosmopolitan Paris, once severely polluted, is now teeming with life. Several of the streams he fishes in Turkey and the Balkans bring him through areas of turmoil, and in countries where fishing is done for food instead of enjoyment, he is often greeted with puzzlement, but throughout, he is at home on the water. From the meadows of Connecticut to the minefields of the Balkans, to the fringe of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, and small mountain streams in the Shiritoko Peninsula of Hokkaido, Japan, Fly-Fishing the 41st, the journey of a fisherman, captures with words and colors the humanity and shared love of fishing. Prosek's beautiful watercolors are the perfect complement to this amazing work of discovery.