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Inventing Montana

Reviewed by Craig Schuhmann

Inventing Montana, subtitled "Dispatches from the Madison Valley," by Ted Leeson. Published by Skyhorse Publishing. 232 pages in a 9 inch by 6 inch hardbound format; black-and-white, no photographs. Available online (google the title) and from the publisher. $24.95 retail.

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nventing Montana, the latest book by Oregon author Ted Leeson, is about an angler's sense of place.

In this book, the place is Montana, on the banks of the Madison River above the town of Ennis and an hour west of Yellowstone--a fly fishing destination second to none in the United States. Leeson and a colorful group of friends including a photographer, writer, painter, Hindu, mechanic, and cook, have been gathering at this location and fishing for a few weeks out of every summer, for the last twenty years.

The title of the book, Inventing Montana, gives some clue to its direction. Lesson writes,

Montana is not a place. It is merely the name of a place . . . What is called Montana arises in part from our exchanges with this living space, one organism to another. Without such transactions, there is a geography, but not a place.

Thus, Lesson embarks on a journey to define his Montana, a place of "human invention, a negotiated space lying somewhere between the fact of the land and our desire to inhabit it."

A Rich Tapestry

Leeson is the author of the acclaimed essay books The Habit of Rivers and Jerusalem Creek, as well the indispensable The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference and other books on fly tying. He was named 2008 Angler of the Year by "Fly Rod and Reel" magazine.

Readers of his other books will be in familiar waters as they watch him weave humor, humility, philosophical tact, and lyrical expertise through a wide range of subjects and relationships.

Each chapter is devoted to a topic, such as the nature of leisure, approaches to a trout stream, life surrounding a fishing cabin, the fishing community of Ennis, fishing pressure and selective trout, secret fishing spots, and flies and fly tying. In all these chapters, Leeson explores what it means to be a fly angler both individually and communally.

Poetic descriptions, one notable feature of Lesson's writings, are frequent but can be lost amid the analytical discussions. One such gem occurs in a description of "trouty" water moving among boulders:

Skeins of current spool out between boulders and unravel among stones, the furrowed strands dividing and plaiting together again with the serene precision of a Zen rock garden.

Bottom Line

Anglers and non-anglers alike will enjoy this thoughtful and reflective book which challenges many of our basic notions about the meaning of place, ecology, fly fishing, and an individual's role in shaping reality.

Bottom Line: If you like Leeson's lyrical and thoughtful prose about fly fishing, you'll love this book.  Reviewer Rating: 5

Craig Schuhmann is an author and fly fishing guide from southern Oregon. He guides on the Williamson and Wood rivers and on Klamath Lake. His website is Guided Waters Fly Fishing.

Uploaded 03/10/2010.

User Reviews

5=tops  3=average  1=low

Rated as 5 by TroutGirl on 03/13/2010

Comments: Great Review! I'm looking forward to reading the book.

Rated as 5 by Caddisman on 03/14/2010

Comments: Well written review. I will seek this book out to add to my treasured Leeson collection.

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