“I can’t remember reading a better fishing book. Couldn’t put it down. The Trout Diaries will surely become a classic. Can’t recommend this book highly enough.”
Rob Sloane, editor of FlyLife magazine

“This is a book about trout fishing in the same way Moby-Dick is a book about whaling. The author has an eye for larger, more elusive quarry: the meaning of rivers, the nature of wild encounter, the relationship of humans to their environment. THE TROUT DIARIES is a trophy catch that will satisfy angler, adventurer and philosopher alike. Readers will respond to Grzelewski’s honesty. This is writing that will affect people and lead to personal growth.”  Kennedy Warne, founding editor of New Zealand Geographic

SIGNED COPIES of THE TROUT DIARIES are available in our online bookshop here. Worldwide shipping.

“I am really enjoying The Trout Diaries and The Trout Bohemia not only as great literature, but having a regular chuckle at your ‘telling’ insights into trout guides and guiding. It is refreshing to read something truly inspiring that’s not from a US writer, and that also touches so accurately on the essence of NZ trout fishing.”
Tony Entwistle, NZ best-known fly fishing guide

“some of the greatest outdoor adventure stories to ever come out of New Zealand.”
Jill Malcolm, author of At Home on the Road

“… book that is set to open the world of fly-fishing to a wider audience, with its elegant prose and passionate descriptions of our beautiful country.”
Graham Beattie, Beattie’s Book Blog

“Rarely has a book received so much universal praise as Derek Grzelewski’s Trout Diaries. The writing is engaging and compelling, the setting fantastic, and the angling scenes are the stuff of our dreams.”  American Angler

Click here to read the FIRST CHAPTER of  THE TROUT DIARIES

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“I have just finished The Trout Diaries, and what a glorious read it was. It has been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a fishing book so well written. Derek deftly gets into the soul and culture of fly fishing, telling captivating tales that will have you gasping, crying, yearning and laughing out loud. Sometimes all in single paragraph. I loved Henry, Inky, the Airedales, Grandpa Trout and everyone else. But how come I didn’t know that Schauberger collected his ideas on vortices while watching trout? Budding writers, I urge you to read and enjoy The Trout Diaries, and then study it. Don’t just look for clues about the mechanics of good prose, but also for what makes a tale worth telling.” Greg French, author of Artificial and Menagerie of False Truths

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SIGNED COPIES of THE TROUT DIARIES are available in our online bookshop here. Worldwide shipping.

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“If you are approaching retirement and wondering how to cope, if your health is poor and you need inspiration, if you are unemployed or down on your luck, if your wife has just left and a dog is your best friend, then have a good lie down and read this book. The Trout Diaries will surely be a New Zealand fishing classic, if not an international one. And you don’t have to have fished NZ waters to enjoy it and appreciate its sentiments. If I have read a better fishing book, I can’t remember it.” Rob Sloane, author of Fifty Places to Fish Before You Die, in FlyLife magazine

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This is an author whose love of trout is a cohesive force in a life experience where relationships with people and the environment are at least as important as the fishing. As an English teacher, I take note of writing quality. Grzelewski’s is of a superb standard, as good as anything that Norman Maclean wrote. Adrian Bell, author of New Zealand Trout Frontiers, in Rod & Rifle magazine

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Grzelewski’s book is no how-to or where-to guide but a chronicle of his evolution as a fly fisher. The writing is incisive and full of anecdotes, like riding shotgun with him as he scours the land for new waters and experiences. He joined the ranks of the bibliophiles and “trout bohemians” and set out on an emotional journey to understand why he fishes; as much an attempt to find the right way to live as the right way to fish. And that’s something worth reading. Carl Walrond, author of Survive! Reviewed in New Zealand Geographic

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There is more to fishing than catching trout and … there is more to The Trout Diaries than trout. Grzelewski can write. He has perfected the art of moving quickly, of throwing the reader off balance. If occasionally self-indulgent his digressions have a point – they take you somewhere.

His journey for trout has been one towards his true self. Whether he meant to or not he addresses the question of why we fish. In the end, as he points out, trout are unknowable – and perhaps that is part of the reason. In fly fishing, the journey very much is the destination. And what a journey his has been! Go with him and it may make you view your own journey with eyes shining bright. Read it. Carl Walrond, in Fish & Game magazine

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A magnificently illustrated and fascinating book. Derek’s story-telling skills are such that the book will not only be enjoyed by aficionados of the sport but by anyone with an interest in some of the greatest outdoor adventure stories to ever come out of New Zealand.
Jill Malcolm, editor-at-large, Motorhomes magazine, author of At Home on the Road

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From a renowned photographer, writer and adventurer comes an engaging and truly handsome new book that is set to open the world of fly-fishing to a wider audience, with its elegant prose and passionate descriptions of our beautiful country. It is also an extremely attractive book to hold; an outstanding job has been done on the design and I offer my congratulations to those involved.
Graham Beattie, author of Beattie’s Book Blog – unofficial homepage of the New Zealand book community

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Derek Grzelewski writes with sincerity and a disarming frankness enhanced by elegant style and writing from the heart about a sport he is well and truly hooked on. Experienced fly fishers should delight in it and those contemplating taking on fly fishing, will get an appreciation of the fascination to be found.
Tony Orman, author of over 20 books on trout, Spring Creek Publishing

 

SIGNED COPIES of THE TROUT DIARIES are available in our online bookshop here. Worldwide shipping.