"Dave Karczynski could write about a puddle of mud drying out and make it interesting. When his work crosses my desk, I read it right now. And it's always a treat."

-- Greg Thomas, former Editor, Fly Rod & Reel "No matter how old you are, coming to fly fishing from conventional fishing is, in my opinion, the best education you can have for fly fishing. (In fact, some of the very best saltwater fly anglers I know started as commercial fishermen). You are already more than halfway there. Fly fishing is not some arcane black art. It's just another way of sticking a hook in a fish's mouth.

You are about to join someone I think you'll come to feel is your fishing buddy. Dave will take you on a journey without condescension, and will explain all the silly fly-fishing jargon. He'll reference similarities and differences to conventional fishing. He speaks your language. And I totally agree with Dave's philosophy of starting with panfish. Everybody associates fly fishing with trout, but if you begin fly fishing by chasing trout you will quickly become discouraged and frustrated. Trout are hard to catch, unless you find wilderness brook trout or cutthroats that have seen minimal fishing pressure.

So take fly-rod fishing in the order he presents it here. Don't be impatient. You have the rest of your life to enjoy fly fishing alongside all the other methods of fishing you enjoy."

-- Tom Rosenbauer, author of The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide and a marketing manager with the Orvis Company in Manchester, Vermont, from the Foreword -- Tom Rosenbauer, Author and Orvis Marketing Director, from the Foreword