Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country

by Steve Ramirez, Ted Williams (Foreword by), Bob White (Illustrator)

Overview

In Casting Forward, naturalist, educator, and writer Steve Ramirez takes the reader on a yearlong journey fly fishing all of the major rivers of the Texas Hill Country.

This is a story of the resilience of nature and the best of human nature. It is the story of a living, breathing place where the footprints of dinosaurs, conquistadors, and Comanches have mingled just beneath the clear spring-fed waters. This book is an impassioned plea for the survival of this landscape and its biodiversity, and for a new ethic in how we treat fish, nature, and each other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493051458
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/01/2020
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

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.

Table of Contents

Foreword Ted Williams ix

Prologue xiii

Chapter 1 First Cast 1

Chapter 2 Joshua Creek 11

Chapter 3 Colorado Bend 15

Chapter 4 Pedernales 25

Chapter 5 Medina 37

Chapter 6 Sabinal 49

Chapter 7 Guadalupe 59

Chapter 8 West Verde Creek 73

Chapter 9 San Marcos 83

Chapter 10 Llano 93

Chapter 11 Blanco 107

Chapter 12 San Saba 117

Chapter 13 Frio 129

Chapter 14 Echo Canyon 139

Chapter 15 San Gabriel 151

Chapter 16 Nueces 163

Chapter 17 Headwaters 173

Chapter 18 Homewater 181

Chapter 19 Tailwaters 185

Chapter 20 Devils 195

Chapter 21 Just One More Cast 205

Epilogue 213

Acknowledgments 217

Selected Bibliography 219

Editorial Reviews

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.”

Dan Frasier

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.”

Ted Williams

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!”

Jack Dennis

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.”

Dave Whitlock

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.”

Bob White

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.”

Chris Wood

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.”

Peter P. Ryan

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.”

Paul Guernsey

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.”

Matthew L. Miller

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.”

Jess McGlothlin

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.”

Kirk Deeter

"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."

From the Publisher