As the calendar closes on 2010 and I look into 2011, my crystal ball is mostly foggy. On the one hand, my boyish imagination sees fish feeding on a rivers surface, mayflies flitting over riffles, and family members' fly rods bending toward the grip, while smiles grow upon their faces. Fishing with family and friends is a true comfort of life.  I cherish these times and the stories they birth, but comfort is not always without pain and struggle.

This past year, I watched my aging father painfully try to wade a freestone stream he fished with his mentor. His soul needed to reach my deceased grandfather's favorite pool.  His heart needed to drift a Cahill along the moss covered rock ledge that defined the pools best lie.  His knee, though, worn from years afield, painfully fought him with each step.  Nonetheless, determination and aspirin allowed him to reach his destination. Indeed, beaching a Brook Trout along Slate Run's blooming Mountain Laurel bank provided the stamina needed for the return hike up the mountainside to my truck.

The trek took five hours.  We started down the trail at 9:00 a.m. and arrived a few minutes after 2:00 p.m.  The journey, however, spanned decades of the past and will be carried well into the future-Dad's grimace with every step now replaced by our shared memory of a delicate cast, a subtle sip, and a "Native" as he calls Brook Trout, not to mention his smile.

Ed Gray's book, The Lake of the Beginning, is a similar tale.  The author and his wife Rebecca founded the top-shelf sporting magazine Gray's Sporting Journal.  This title is a small work of only 126 pages, published by Willow Creek Press.  The Lake of the Beginning is set in Alaska, and the central theme is natural migration of Sockeye Salmon.  Following this species from birth to death, the author has folded a beautiful story of family and three generations of journeys around the salmon's migration.  His writing is strong and full of character; the following excerpt is just one example:

She swam ceaselessly.  Constant hunger and sudden evasion were the only sensations she had ever felt.  "She had never been asleep."

The book not only has stunning writing but is filled with four color pictures of the Alaskan wild.

Photographs of whales; leaping, coursing, and spawning salmon add to the enjoyment of the words.

The words, however, paint stronger images than photographs allow. It is Mr. Gray's words that bring this fable to life. 

Retailing for $22.50, The Lake of the Beginning is a comfortable winter read. It is what I like to call a whisky read. You build a drink, sit down in your chair, and enjoy this book while sipping the evening away.  If you're a slow reader like me, you might need to build a second drink but certainly no more to finish this title. The book will provide the warmth needed to fend off a cold January night.

We all have family tales like the one with which I began this review.  Some are funny; some are warm; some are painful. The Lake of the Beginning winds these three emotions into a delightful tale.  Like Mr. Gray, we need all three to tell our stories.

To purchase this book or other fine pieces of sporting literature, please call Glen at 616.866.6060 or drop him an email.