Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon
From the bestselling author of Saban, 4th and Goal, and Sowbelly comes the thrilling, untold story of the quest for the world record tarpon on a fly rod—a tale that reveals as much about Man as it does about the fish.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, something unique happened in the quiet little town on the west coast of Florida known as Homosassa. The best fly anglers in the world—Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte, Ted Williams, Tom Evans, Billy Pate and others—all gathered together to chase the same Holy Grail: The world record for the world’s most glamorous and sought-after fly rod species, the tarpon.

The anglers would meet each morning for breakfast. They would compete out on the water during the day, eat dinner together at night, socialize and party.  Some harder than others. The world record fell nearly every year. But records weren’t the only things that were broken. Hooks, lines, rods, reels, hearts and marriages didn’t survive, either. The egos involved made the atmosphere electric. The difficulty of the quest made it legitimate. The drugs and romantic entaglements that were swept in with the tide would finally make it all veer out of control.

It was a confluence of people and place that had never happened before in the world of fishing and will never happen again.  It was a collision of the top anglers and the top species of fish which would lead to smashed lives for nearly all involved, man and fish alike.

In Lords of the Fly, Burke, an obsessed tarpon fly angler himself, delves into this incredible moment.  He examines the growing popularity of the tarpon, an amazing fish has been around for 50 million years, can live to 80 years old and can grow to 300 pounds in weight. It is a massive, leaping, bullet train of a fish.  When hooked in shallow water, it produces “immediate unreality,” as the late poet and tarpon obsessive, Richard Brautigan, once described it.

Burke also chronicles the heartbreaking destruction that exists as a result—brought on by greed, environmental degradation and the shenanigans of a notorious Miami gangster—and how all of it has shaped our contemporary fishery.

Filled with larger-than-life characters and vivid prose, Lords of the Fly is not only a must read for anglers of all stripes, but also for those interested in the desperate yearning of the human condition.
1136528537
Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon
From the bestselling author of Saban, 4th and Goal, and Sowbelly comes the thrilling, untold story of the quest for the world record tarpon on a fly rod—a tale that reveals as much about Man as it does about the fish.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, something unique happened in the quiet little town on the west coast of Florida known as Homosassa. The best fly anglers in the world—Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte, Ted Williams, Tom Evans, Billy Pate and others—all gathered together to chase the same Holy Grail: The world record for the world’s most glamorous and sought-after fly rod species, the tarpon.

The anglers would meet each morning for breakfast. They would compete out on the water during the day, eat dinner together at night, socialize and party.  Some harder than others. The world record fell nearly every year. But records weren’t the only things that were broken. Hooks, lines, rods, reels, hearts and marriages didn’t survive, either. The egos involved made the atmosphere electric. The difficulty of the quest made it legitimate. The drugs and romantic entaglements that were swept in with the tide would finally make it all veer out of control.

It was a confluence of people and place that had never happened before in the world of fishing and will never happen again.  It was a collision of the top anglers and the top species of fish which would lead to smashed lives for nearly all involved, man and fish alike.

In Lords of the Fly, Burke, an obsessed tarpon fly angler himself, delves into this incredible moment.  He examines the growing popularity of the tarpon, an amazing fish has been around for 50 million years, can live to 80 years old and can grow to 300 pounds in weight. It is a massive, leaping, bullet train of a fish.  When hooked in shallow water, it produces “immediate unreality,” as the late poet and tarpon obsessive, Richard Brautigan, once described it.

Burke also chronicles the heartbreaking destruction that exists as a result—brought on by greed, environmental degradation and the shenanigans of a notorious Miami gangster—and how all of it has shaped our contemporary fishery.

Filled with larger-than-life characters and vivid prose, Lords of the Fly is not only a must read for anglers of all stripes, but also for those interested in the desperate yearning of the human condition.
11.99 In Stock
Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon

Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon

by Monte Burke
Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon

Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon

by Monte Burke

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Overview

From the bestselling author of Saban, 4th and Goal, and Sowbelly comes the thrilling, untold story of the quest for the world record tarpon on a fly rod—a tale that reveals as much about Man as it does about the fish.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, something unique happened in the quiet little town on the west coast of Florida known as Homosassa. The best fly anglers in the world—Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte, Ted Williams, Tom Evans, Billy Pate and others—all gathered together to chase the same Holy Grail: The world record for the world’s most glamorous and sought-after fly rod species, the tarpon.

The anglers would meet each morning for breakfast. They would compete out on the water during the day, eat dinner together at night, socialize and party.  Some harder than others. The world record fell nearly every year. But records weren’t the only things that were broken. Hooks, lines, rods, reels, hearts and marriages didn’t survive, either. The egos involved made the atmosphere electric. The difficulty of the quest made it legitimate. The drugs and romantic entaglements that were swept in with the tide would finally make it all veer out of control.

It was a confluence of people and place that had never happened before in the world of fishing and will never happen again.  It was a collision of the top anglers and the top species of fish which would lead to smashed lives for nearly all involved, man and fish alike.

In Lords of the Fly, Burke, an obsessed tarpon fly angler himself, delves into this incredible moment.  He examines the growing popularity of the tarpon, an amazing fish has been around for 50 million years, can live to 80 years old and can grow to 300 pounds in weight. It is a massive, leaping, bullet train of a fish.  When hooked in shallow water, it produces “immediate unreality,” as the late poet and tarpon obsessive, Richard Brautigan, once described it.

Burke also chronicles the heartbreaking destruction that exists as a result—brought on by greed, environmental degradation and the shenanigans of a notorious Miami gangster—and how all of it has shaped our contemporary fishery.

Filled with larger-than-life characters and vivid prose, Lords of the Fly is not only a must read for anglers of all stripes, but also for those interested in the desperate yearning of the human condition.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781643135595
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Publication date: 09/01/2020
Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format: eBook
Pages: 304
File size: 6 MB

About the Author

About The Author
Monte Burke is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Saban: The Making of a Coach, a biography of Alabama head coach, Nick Saban. He is also the author of 4TH And Goal: One Man's Quest to Recapture His Dream, which won an Axiom Award for biography, and Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World Record Largemouth Bass, which was named one of the best books of the year by Sports Illustrated and Amazon, and was chosen for Barnes & Noble's "Discover Great New Writers" program. After a 14-year stint as a reporter, staff writer and editor at Forbes, he is now a contributing editor at the magazine. He is also a contributing editor at Garden & Gun and The Drake. Connect with him via Twitter @monteburke, or through monteburke.com.
Monte Burke is the author of Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession and the Hunt for the World Record Tarpon, and the New York Times bestseller, Saban: The Making of a Coach, a biography of Alabama head coach, Nick Saban. He is also the author of 4TH And Goal: One Man's Quest to Recapture His Dream, which won an Axiom Award for biography, and Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World Record Largemouth Bass, which was named one of the best books of the year by Sports Illustrated and Amazon, and was chosen for Barnes & Noble's "Discover Great New Writers" program. After a 14-year stint as a reporter, staff writer and editor at Forbes, he is now a contributing editor at the magazine. He is also a contributing editor at Garden & Gun and The Drake. Connect with him via Twitter @monteburke, or through monteburke.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

1 The Babe 1

2 God's Great Fish 17

3 The Knights of the Corner Table 32

4 Bone Island 46

5 Hidden in Plain Sight 64

Interlude 1 Moral Exam 88

6 Character Sketches 93

7 Collision at Homosassa 113

Interlude 2 The Glossary 134

8 Homosmasha 141

Interlewd 156

9 Look at Mother Nature on the Run 159

10 The Erra Era 173

Interlude 3 A Brief Discussion About Gear 192

11 Mr. 200 199

12 The Ashes and the Phoenix 213

Interlude 4 The Log Book 231

13 Too Many Motherf*%ckers 234

Interlude 5 Catch-22 256

14 The Old Man and the Sea 258

Acknowledgments 275

Selected Bibliography 277

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