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Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country Paperback – 1 April 2023
by Steve Ramirez (Author), Bob White (Illustrator), & 1 more
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (424)
In Casting Forward, naturalist, educator, and writer Steve Ramirez takes the reader on a year-long journey fly-fishing all of the major rivers of the Texas Hill Country.
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Print length
240 pages
Product description
Review
"Casting Forward belongs alongside Holy Ghost Creek and A Fly Fisherman's Blue Ridge as books that perfectly capture the essence of place, and our part in it. You would not be mistaken to say that this book is about the Texas Hill Country. Steve is, after all, a master naturalist and a master storyteller. But Casting Forward is about so much more than the outdoors and nature. It is a story of one man's journey through rivers and mountains to live a life well lived and loved."
"Casting Forward by Steve Ramirez is an elegant ode to one of the great, lesser known fly-fishing regions of the United States--the Texas Hill Country. With every line of every chapter, Emily and I marveled at Steve's gifted vision of this river realm that we love so much and all its native treasures. Take a journey through the eyes of this unique warrior, fly fisher and inspired writer . . . it might just be good for your soul."
"Casting Forward is rich in hard-won truths. That love of country must carry the emphasis on both words. That our redemption lies in being who we are in the place we love--and doing some small good in the world. It's a gem of a book."
"Every bit the unique sort of Hill Country artistry as a Jerry Jeff Walker show at Gruene Hall. These words are incredibly honest, gritty, and melodic . . . sometimes rowdy, always soulful. Steve Ramirez has an uncanny knack for conveying the 360-degree perspective of fly fishing like only an author who has seen so much--and felt so much--can. He's an angling balladeer."
"In a society filled with trivial pursuits, Steve Ramirez understands what gives a life meaning and purpose. He knows that casting to fish in beautiful rivers can connect us to nature and even heal us--but only if we learn to see and listen. And he recognizes an essential bit of conservation wisdom: Nature can indeed save us from ourselves, but part of the bargain is we must work to save nature. The Texas Hill Country is lucky to have this warrior-poet working on its behalf, and we're lucky that he's shared his beautiful prose with us."
"In many ways Ramirez is the reincarnation of my late friend John Voelker, author of Anatomy of a Fisherman and the lesser work, Anatomy of a Murder. Both men were fleeing lives that had wounded them, and both found salvation in wildness through angling. A century hence Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country will be referenced in the best of North American outdoor literature."
"It seems to me that an author's first book is an incredibly fragile thing, as delicate as a wildflower on a cold spring day. Any gust of wind from the wrong direction, at an inopportune moment, might result in the disappearance of something beautiful; never to be seen, or enjoyed, or understood. I'm heartened that Steve Ramirez's first journey on the path to publication has resulted in the recognition that his insightful prose is something important, as significant as a wildflower on a cold spring day."
"Ramirez guides us on a poetic and philosophical hike through the soul-healing adventure of a Marine whose duty is fulfilled, finding peace in the deep connections fly fishing and nature provides. A true wordsmith, Ramirez' vivid descriptions of scenery and waterscapes brings us along as his fishing partner on these explorations of man's connection to the natural world, both on an individual and societal level."
"Ramirez weaves a keen reminder that we fish not truly for fish, but for the experiences and people it brings into our lives. For the spaces 'in between."
"Steve guides you through the eyes of a Marine seeking redemption through an uncertain world using fly fishing as a soul washing experience. Steve will ignite your passion and challenge you, through the world of fly fishing. Read this book!"
"When you read this poignant ode to the Texas Hill Country by Marine Corps veteran Steve Ramirez, you're sure to hear a real-life echo of Ernest Hemingway's Big, Two-Hearted River, in which, moment by moment and cast by cast, a warrior with a wounded soul fishes his way back to emotional peace. Casting Forward is an inspiration as well as a delight."
About the Author
Steve Ramirez is an award-winning 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, was featured in the film Mending the Line starring Brian Cox and Sinqua Walls. His second and third books, Casting Onward - Fishing Adventures in Search of America's Native Gamefish and Casting Seaward- Fishing Adventures in Search of America's Saltwater Gamefish have received critical acclaim as important works of outdoor adventure and conservation literature. Steve currently writes the Seasonable Angler column for Fly Fisherman Magazine and serves as the Ambassador for Texas for the American Museum of Fly-Fishing.
Product details
Publisher : Lyons Press
Publication date : 1 April 2023
Language : English
Print length : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 1493066714
ISBN-13 : 978-1493066711
Item weight : 340 g
Dimensions : 15.24 x 1.52 x 22.86 cm
Best Sellers Rank: 80,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)7 in Fishing (Books)
Customer Reviews:
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (424)
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Follow
Steve Ramirez
Steve Ramirez is an outdoor and conservation author who lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country. His work has appeared in various journals including Trout Magazine, Fly Fisherman Magazine, The Flyfish Journal, American Angler, Tail Magazine, Texas Sporting Journal, Explore Magazine, Under Wild Skies, and many more. His book, Casting Forward was released by Lyons Press in November of 2020. The sequel entitled, Casting Onward is scheduled to be published by Lyons in late 2021. He is a certified Texas Master Naturalist and is an avid angler, hiker, and world adventure traveler.
Read less about this author
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Sponsored
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Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
===
N. Thomas Johnson-Medland
5.0 out of 5 stars “I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK BEFORE I READ IT”Reviewed in the United States on 10 September 2024
Verified Purchase
A Review of STEVE RAMIREZ’s CASTING FORWARD
by Tom Johnson-Medland
><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°>
I am always amazed at the depth and the clarity fisherman bring to life. Regardless of their background, vocation, and day-to-day self. The oeuvre of great fishing literature is rich in similar tales told in a fresh new fashion. Steve Ramirez does not stray from this hallmark of great fishing literature.
I fell in love with this book long before I read it. I had heard pieces of it, read and quoted in the movie MENDING THE LINE. It spoke to me - out of its depths - of a life that is made whole by the repetition of being in the wild and at the same time connecting with the wild with all our being. Steve makes it clear that he is spiritually connected and nourished by all things wild.
Whether it is his introducing us to friends and family, showing us new bends in countless waters, mentioning of tried and true technique and tackle, or the astounding laconic and lapidary fish-philosophy Steve does not disappoint in this book. He speaks truth. He speaks genuinely and with the voice of a renaissance man able to sift through Hafiz, Rumi, Williams and Richard Bach along with patterns, feathers, fur, and fish and come up with NOT JUST STORIES but mythic content that speaks to the soul.
Being in love with light is a theme you will learn to uncover. You’ll also hear of stars above with constellations. Metaphor and reality. Hope and desire of being made whole. Our need to repair our environs and to be exceptional stewards.
Sharing his relationship with his daughter Megan hits at the core of all fisher-folks’ deep longing to preach the word of THE LINE to those in our lives with an adamant call to conversion. We long to stand in waters with those we love. He does so with joy.
Outings and adventures pepper the book giving Steve a new bluff to stand on and deliver his message from on a regular basis. His direct words remind us to get busy connecting - and not talking about connecting - with nature. No apologies.
He is the type of angler I love because he is not snooty about his quarry. Sunfish, bonefish, trout, bass all get a shot at the fly on his line. No pretense. Just presence. Cast and be there.
Under his tales are a strong and natural etiquette for being in nature and on water. He reminds us of the sacredness of the phenomenology of fishing and of our presence in the world. He reminds us to live with the natural world and live there from a place of gratefulness and thanks. He whispers not just to the fish, but in every breath he draws and exhales “THANK YOU”. A real solid message of the good tidings of being in the outdoors.
Be sure to get the book. It is a must have. You’ll not just love it, but add it to the shelf of literature on the art and science of being in the out of doors! This book borders on the poetic!
><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°>
Read less
Report
suellen
5.0 out of 5 stars Saw this book in recent film and loved passagesReviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2024
Verified Purchase
Really lovely descriptive book
Report
The Wizard
5.0 out of 5 stars More than a book on fishingReviewed in the United States on 30 December 2024
Verified Purchase
I have not fished in decades and never to the degree Steve Ramirez has but I so enjoyed being there with him on the rivers he loves. I have also never visited the Texas hill country but his passion for the rivers and landscape makes me eager to see the area. I also appreciated the honest look at the ups and downs of his life, but what I loved most about this book is his naturalist philosophy on both life and our planet….and the importance of saving wild spaces from human encroachment. Even when you feel the enormity of the job, you feel his hope and passion. Like I said this is more than a book on fishing.
Report
Tomsfishingstories
4.0 out of 5 stars Texas Hill Country Fly FishingReviewed in the United States on 30 March 2024
Verified Purchase
Casting Forward is said to be the best selling book in the fly fishing category on Amazon and in the top 400 of all book sales. I was intrigued although I have little interest in fishing the Texas hill country, I do enjoy books that weave in life and philosophy. So for me it was a bit repetitive, and instead of its collection of other's writings and quotes I would have preferred the author’s own words. As far as introducing you to the waters of the hill country it is descriptive and interesting. Try it and see how it fits.
Report
Geoff Waite
5.0 out of 5 stars BoringReviewed in the United States on 19 March 2025
Verified Purchase
He repeats himself continually. Gets boring
Report
Report an issue with this product
Print length
240 pages
Product description
Review
"Casting Forward belongs alongside Holy Ghost Creek and A Fly Fisherman's Blue Ridge as books that perfectly capture the essence of place, and our part in it. You would not be mistaken to say that this book is about the Texas Hill Country. Steve is, after all, a master naturalist and a master storyteller. But Casting Forward is about so much more than the outdoors and nature. It is a story of one man's journey through rivers and mountains to live a life well lived and loved."
"Casting Forward by Steve Ramirez is an elegant ode to one of the great, lesser known fly-fishing regions of the United States--the Texas Hill Country. With every line of every chapter, Emily and I marveled at Steve's gifted vision of this river realm that we love so much and all its native treasures. Take a journey through the eyes of this unique warrior, fly fisher and inspired writer . . . it might just be good for your soul."
"Casting Forward is rich in hard-won truths. That love of country must carry the emphasis on both words. That our redemption lies in being who we are in the place we love--and doing some small good in the world. It's a gem of a book."
"Every bit the unique sort of Hill Country artistry as a Jerry Jeff Walker show at Gruene Hall. These words are incredibly honest, gritty, and melodic . . . sometimes rowdy, always soulful. Steve Ramirez has an uncanny knack for conveying the 360-degree perspective of fly fishing like only an author who has seen so much--and felt so much--can. He's an angling balladeer."
"In a society filled with trivial pursuits, Steve Ramirez understands what gives a life meaning and purpose. He knows that casting to fish in beautiful rivers can connect us to nature and even heal us--but only if we learn to see and listen. And he recognizes an essential bit of conservation wisdom: Nature can indeed save us from ourselves, but part of the bargain is we must work to save nature. The Texas Hill Country is lucky to have this warrior-poet working on its behalf, and we're lucky that he's shared his beautiful prose with us."
"In many ways Ramirez is the reincarnation of my late friend John Voelker, author of Anatomy of a Fisherman and the lesser work, Anatomy of a Murder. Both men were fleeing lives that had wounded them, and both found salvation in wildness through angling. A century hence Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country will be referenced in the best of North American outdoor literature."
"It seems to me that an author's first book is an incredibly fragile thing, as delicate as a wildflower on a cold spring day. Any gust of wind from the wrong direction, at an inopportune moment, might result in the disappearance of something beautiful; never to be seen, or enjoyed, or understood. I'm heartened that Steve Ramirez's first journey on the path to publication has resulted in the recognition that his insightful prose is something important, as significant as a wildflower on a cold spring day."
"Ramirez guides us on a poetic and philosophical hike through the soul-healing adventure of a Marine whose duty is fulfilled, finding peace in the deep connections fly fishing and nature provides. A true wordsmith, Ramirez' vivid descriptions of scenery and waterscapes brings us along as his fishing partner on these explorations of man's connection to the natural world, both on an individual and societal level."
"Ramirez weaves a keen reminder that we fish not truly for fish, but for the experiences and people it brings into our lives. For the spaces 'in between."
"Steve guides you through the eyes of a Marine seeking redemption through an uncertain world using fly fishing as a soul washing experience. Steve will ignite your passion and challenge you, through the world of fly fishing. Read this book!"
"When you read this poignant ode to the Texas Hill Country by Marine Corps veteran Steve Ramirez, you're sure to hear a real-life echo of Ernest Hemingway's Big, Two-Hearted River, in which, moment by moment and cast by cast, a warrior with a wounded soul fishes his way back to emotional peace. Casting Forward is an inspiration as well as a delight."
About the Author
Steve Ramirez is an award-winning 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, was featured in the film Mending the Line starring Brian Cox and Sinqua Walls. His second and third books, Casting Onward - Fishing Adventures in Search of America's Native Gamefish and Casting Seaward- Fishing Adventures in Search of America's Saltwater Gamefish have received critical acclaim as important works of outdoor adventure and conservation literature. Steve currently writes the Seasonable Angler column for Fly Fisherman Magazine and serves as the Ambassador for Texas for the American Museum of Fly-Fishing.
Product details
Publisher : Lyons Press
Publication date : 1 April 2023
Language : English
Print length : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 1493066714
ISBN-13 : 978-1493066711
Item weight : 340 g
Dimensions : 15.24 x 1.52 x 22.86 cm
Best Sellers Rank: 80,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)7 in Fishing (Books)
Customer Reviews:
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (424)
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Follow
Steve Ramirez
Steve Ramirez is an outdoor and conservation author who lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country. His work has appeared in various journals including Trout Magazine, Fly Fisherman Magazine, The Flyfish Journal, American Angler, Tail Magazine, Texas Sporting Journal, Explore Magazine, Under Wild Skies, and many more. His book, Casting Forward was released by Lyons Press in November of 2020. The sequel entitled, Casting Onward is scheduled to be published by Lyons in late 2021. He is a certified Texas Master Naturalist and is an avid angler, hiker, and world adventure traveler.
Read less about this author
Products related to this item
Sponsored
Page 1 of 7
Previous page of related Sponsored Products
Just released
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
===
N. Thomas Johnson-Medland
5.0 out of 5 stars “I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK BEFORE I READ IT”Reviewed in the United States on 10 September 2024
Verified Purchase
A Review of STEVE RAMIREZ’s CASTING FORWARD
by Tom Johnson-Medland
><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°>
I am always amazed at the depth and the clarity fisherman bring to life. Regardless of their background, vocation, and day-to-day self. The oeuvre of great fishing literature is rich in similar tales told in a fresh new fashion. Steve Ramirez does not stray from this hallmark of great fishing literature.
I fell in love with this book long before I read it. I had heard pieces of it, read and quoted in the movie MENDING THE LINE. It spoke to me - out of its depths - of a life that is made whole by the repetition of being in the wild and at the same time connecting with the wild with all our being. Steve makes it clear that he is spiritually connected and nourished by all things wild.
Whether it is his introducing us to friends and family, showing us new bends in countless waters, mentioning of tried and true technique and tackle, or the astounding laconic and lapidary fish-philosophy Steve does not disappoint in this book. He speaks truth. He speaks genuinely and with the voice of a renaissance man able to sift through Hafiz, Rumi, Williams and Richard Bach along with patterns, feathers, fur, and fish and come up with NOT JUST STORIES but mythic content that speaks to the soul.
Being in love with light is a theme you will learn to uncover. You’ll also hear of stars above with constellations. Metaphor and reality. Hope and desire of being made whole. Our need to repair our environs and to be exceptional stewards.
Sharing his relationship with his daughter Megan hits at the core of all fisher-folks’ deep longing to preach the word of THE LINE to those in our lives with an adamant call to conversion. We long to stand in waters with those we love. He does so with joy.
Outings and adventures pepper the book giving Steve a new bluff to stand on and deliver his message from on a regular basis. His direct words remind us to get busy connecting - and not talking about connecting - with nature. No apologies.
He is the type of angler I love because he is not snooty about his quarry. Sunfish, bonefish, trout, bass all get a shot at the fly on his line. No pretense. Just presence. Cast and be there.
Under his tales are a strong and natural etiquette for being in nature and on water. He reminds us of the sacredness of the phenomenology of fishing and of our presence in the world. He reminds us to live with the natural world and live there from a place of gratefulness and thanks. He whispers not just to the fish, but in every breath he draws and exhales “THANK YOU”. A real solid message of the good tidings of being in the outdoors.
Be sure to get the book. It is a must have. You’ll not just love it, but add it to the shelf of literature on the art and science of being in the out of doors! This book borders on the poetic!
><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°>
Read less
Report
suellen
5.0 out of 5 stars Saw this book in recent film and loved passagesReviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2024
Verified Purchase
Really lovely descriptive book
Report
The Wizard
5.0 out of 5 stars More than a book on fishingReviewed in the United States on 30 December 2024
Verified Purchase
I have not fished in decades and never to the degree Steve Ramirez has but I so enjoyed being there with him on the rivers he loves. I have also never visited the Texas hill country but his passion for the rivers and landscape makes me eager to see the area. I also appreciated the honest look at the ups and downs of his life, but what I loved most about this book is his naturalist philosophy on both life and our planet….and the importance of saving wild spaces from human encroachment. Even when you feel the enormity of the job, you feel his hope and passion. Like I said this is more than a book on fishing.
Report
Tomsfishingstories
4.0 out of 5 stars Texas Hill Country Fly FishingReviewed in the United States on 30 March 2024
Verified Purchase
Casting Forward is said to be the best selling book in the fly fishing category on Amazon and in the top 400 of all book sales. I was intrigued although I have little interest in fishing the Texas hill country, I do enjoy books that weave in life and philosophy. So for me it was a bit repetitive, and instead of its collection of other's writings and quotes I would have preferred the author’s own words. As far as introducing you to the waters of the hill country it is descriptive and interesting. Try it and see how it fits.
Report
Geoff Waite
5.0 out of 5 stars BoringReviewed in the United States on 19 March 2025
Verified Purchase
He repeats himself continually. Gets boring
Report
