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The Frugal Fly Fisherman by Patrick Straub is a title that I would love just from the cover.  But, in getting into the merits of the work, it is bit long on theory and short on content.  It recommends saving money where possible with brands such as Redington, but at the same time recommending you invest as much as you can afford in a quality rod.  This doesn't seem to help the newbie angler with actual recommendations.  I understand the concept of not promoting brands over concepts, but it still leaves the angler with the dilemma of "what to buy?" I liked the quotes, particularly of Norman Maclean from A River Runs Through It, such as, "My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe.   To him, all good things--trout as well as eternal salvation--come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy." From mentions of silk lines and split cane to Gore-tex and carbon-fibers, the book covers it all.  There is certainly an art to getting the most for your dollar.  The reccomendations to avoid The 5-Weight Shootout and lists and focusing on disk drag versus click and prawl, among others are well on point.  As well as the fact that tying your own flies and making do it yourself trips will save money in the long run, but it doesn't overcome the standard advice of 5-weight rods for everything and what flies are most effective, which misses the mark of a died in the wool frugal fisherman who benefits from other's experiences.

Adapted from an Eastman Chemical Company employee newsletter, December, 1996 Choose a fresh tree -- find a “bad” spot on the tree and bend a branch.  It shouldn’t snap; if so, find another one.  Ideally, you should be buying one at least 10 days before Christmas. Make a fresh cut 1” above the bottom of the trunk Immediately after you make your fresh cut, mix up the following ingredients in a 2 gallon bucket filled almost to the top with HOT water to make your home made preservative: 2 cups of Karo syrup 2 ounces of liquid chlorine bleach 2 pinches of Epsom salt 1/2 teaspoon Boraxo 1 teaspoon of chelated iron (pronounced “keylated” and found in the garden section) All of these ingredients should be found in either a grocery store or Wal-Mart. Stir the ingredients thoroughly in the bucket, then immediately stand the trunk of the tree in this solution.  Leave the tree in the bucket until you are ready to decorate inside. When the tree goes indoors, stand the trunk in the tree stand and decorate as you always do.  Then get the bucket filled with your ingredients, draw off the mixture from the bucket and fill the tree stand right up to the top. How does it work? The Karo syrup provides the sugar; it is only in the presence of sugar that tremendous amounts of water will be taken up by the exposed tissue at the base of the tree trunk.  Without the sugar, only the smallest bit of water will be absorbed.  However, in the presence of the sugar, you can expect more than one and a half gallons of the water to be absorbed by the tree during

  Peace Maker American Whiskey (it's really Bourbon, so don't let the name fool you into thinking it's just for cowboys).  This stuff competes with Maker's Mark.  Pour it into a glass of ice and enjoy.  No burn, no bad taste, and it's half the price.  Dress it up for the Kentucky Derby in a julep, or just pass it around as a shot at the shoot.   It makes a great stirrup cup at the fox hunt.  Devised and distributed by local kids here in Colorado, but made in Kentucky, where all Bourbon should be born.