"I fish because ... I can't turn myself into a trout!"

Telling a good fish story is a skill that, like good wine or cheese, gets better with age. In The Venerable Fly Tyers, Dave Jankowski presents the true antics and adventures of a group of men united by their love of fly fishing. From the fabled Au Sable River in Michigan to Montana's Yellowstone-with some duck and deer hunting thrown in-the group hooks and hopes and humbles themselves before their wives to escape the humdrum of domestic life.

Known by their "tactical call signs" of Archer (the author) and Bald Eagle (the illustrator), it's no surprise that the two were attracted to fly fishing after flying jet fighters for a living. Both are multidiscipline sports. In flying, you need a working knowledge of aerodynamics, hydraulics, navigation, and meteorology. Fly fishing depends on your understanding of stream dynamics, water hydrology, casting, and ... meteorology! They both require fine-tuned and practiced hand-eye coordination. They are highly visual. They both require special equipment: a flight suit, helmet, g-suit, and gloves versus waders, Tilley hat, vest, and ... gloves. And finally, they both are dangerous: You can get into trouble in the blink of an eye!

But Jankowski reminds us that the storyteller's best friend is time: The time we drank to your health. The time we talked until two in the morning. The time we buried Denny. The Venerable Fly Tyers is a journey back in time. It all happened, and how it happened can't be altered, but it can live again in a good fish story.

This book is dedicated to the disabled American Veterans who have so honorably served their country since the early days of Vietnam, through all the Mideast conflicts, to this day and beyond.

Dave Jankowski is a retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and Northwest Airlines caption. With a passion for veterans, he participates in Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing and its affiliate, Bamboo Bend, where he serves as lead instructor. Read more at www.davejankowski.com.