Bookshelf

Fishing and Other Follies, Including Self-Guided Fishing in Argentina by Charles Thacher ’63.

June 17, 2025

Tags Alumni Book

(Archway Publishing, 2024).

Back in 1978, Charles Thacher’s wife gave him a fly-fishing outfit. Funny thing was, he wasn’t much of a fisherman. But proving that woman’s intuition is not to be underestimated, that gift would mark the start of a passion that would take him around the world — and to Argentina’s northern lakes country 20 times.

This book describes the adventures of an angler, so don’t expect a how-to manual about casting or fly tying. Instead, the author shares why you should want to go fishing in the first place. “The joy comes from the challenge of figuring out how to deceive a feeding fish, combined with the allure of traveling to beguiling and exotic places, the absorption of the long and fascinating history and literature of the sport, and perhaps most of all, the pleasure of meeting extraordinary other anglers along the way,” he notes.

One reviewer noted, Thacher’s book is really two books — and they are both superb. “The first is a collection of stories accumulated from a life of fishing. The characters jump off the page, whether you are on the Kola Peninsula in eastern Russia or San Martin de los Andes in Argentina,” he writes. “The second book is an outstanding guide to the rivers of northern Argentina/Patagonia. It is a personal tour of the region from someone who has spent as much time in this part of the world as any non-guide. He is incredibly open with his secret spots — far more than could be expected.”

Another reviewer adds, “You’ll feel like his fishing buddy and friend as he spans the globe in search of his next adventure.”

Buy Now