Details
An Angler and Naturalist’s Journey to America’s Legendary Rivers.
Signed by the author
Illustrated by Bob White
Hardcover, 272 pages
9 x 6 inches
Lyons Press (September 3, 2024)
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In Casting Homeward, writer, naturalist, and educator Steve Ramirez takes the reader on a physical and philosophical journey to some of the most legendary rivers and wild landscapes in America. Imbued with fly-fishing throughout, this journey will seek to explore what makes certain places feel magical and meaningful. How do we define “iconic” when considering wild places that have seemingly held the ability to restore our souls and fill them with feelings of peace, belonging, awe, and gratitude?
Each of these chosen regions has been considered an iconic destination for anyone who yearns for the wild places that are distinctly American. From the songbird-filled hardwoods of New England to the jack-pine Northwoods where wolves still sing in the night. From the Yellowstone Valley where bison feed next to tumbling trout streams to Bristol Bay where brown bears compete with anglers for salmon, steelhead, and leopard spotted rainbow trout. And each of these destinations has served as the birthplaces of American literature that is intrinsically connected to the landscape and inspired by a love of the outdoors. In Casting Homeward, these legendary places will give us new stories – the stories of this century that are yet untold.
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Editorial Reviews of Casting Onward
“In an era of social media ‘influencers’ and pan-flashed digital commentary on fly fishing, it’s easy for anglers to lose context…even hope. Thank God Steve Ramirez is willing and able to give us some real, hard-earned, and eloquent words on “why” we all care to flyfish in the first place. His prose is sharp, honest, and deeply meaningful. Casting Onward reinforces the spirit and soul of angling, and it underscores the importance of community, place and species in ways that have seldom been touched with such respect and eloquence.”
Kirk Deeter, Editor-in-Chief, Trout Unlimited/Trout Magazine
“Steve is a naturalist, conservationist, and an activist, but most importantly has a deep understanding of the human soul. He understands that in the end, changing hearts and minds is the only way to save America’s native fish.”
Ross Purnell, Publisher/Editor, Fly Fisherman Magazine
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About the Author
Steve Ramirez is an outdoor and conservation author who lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country. Steve’s first book, Casting Forward – Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country, is a winner of the Excellence in Craft Award from the Outdoor Writer’s Association of America. His second book, Casting Onward – Fishing Adventures in Search of America’s Native Gamefish has received critical acclaim as an important work of outdoor adventure and conservation literature. His third book, Casting Seaward – Fishing Adventures in Search of America’s Saltwater Gamefish, was released in April 2023.
Steve currently writes the Seasonable Angler column for Fly Fisherman Magazine and his work has appeared in various journals including, Fly Fisherman, Trout Magazine, The Flyfish Journal, American Angler, Tail Magazine, Texas Sporting Journal, Explore Magazine, Under Wild Skies, Cutthroat: Journal of the Arts, The Houston Literary Review, and many more.
Steve serves as the Ambassador for Texas for the American Museum of Fly-Fishing, is a Life Member of Trout Unlimited, and a contributing member of the Nature Conservancy, and Audubon.
As a certified Master Naturalist, Steve is passionately involved in promoting the restoration and conservation of the watersheds, rivers, canyons, forests, deserts, wetlands, grasslands, and shorelines of North America and beyond. He is an avid hiker and world adventure traveler who has explored four continents, but who always seems to return home to the spring fed Hill Country streams of Texas.
