Opening Day and Other Angling Neuroses

To the author, trout fishing is an obsession; fishing for other species is recreation. Tapply, a contributing editor of Field and Stream and creator of the Brady Coyne mystery novels, offers an entertaining collection of pieces about his favorite sport. A catch-and-release angler, he has fished in the millponds and streams of New England, the fabled trout rivers of the West, the tarpon flats of Belize. Among his neuroses are the ``fly fetish'' and ``pattern anxiety.'' Tapply complains that the flies he makes are designed for yesterday's trout, and he fantasizes about the perfect fly. Reprinting brief excerpts from his novels, Tapply introduces his alter ego, Brady Coyne, who sums up the essence of the sport: ``Fishing is just the most fun a man can have standing up.'' The book is a fine addition to the angler's library; much of it was originally published in Field & Stream , in slightly different form. (Apr.)