Bamboo Days

In Bamboo Days, Jerry Kustich has crafted a memoir as elegant as the bamboo rods he’s been constructing over the better part of his life. Written in a down-to-earth style, Bamboo Days is a sometimes, mystical exploration for meaning as Jerry reflects upon twists and turns of a life tied to running water and the fish that live there. He describes his early days in New York State where he was a bicycle-ride from a polluted Niagara River. How at eighteen he felt the need to leave home for the seminary, but eight years later, ended up out west with a fly rod in his hand, eventually settling in Twin Bridges, Montana, where he honed his skills as a rod maker and fly fisher while living with his true love until disaster struck. Jerry’s no snob, happy to cast to any fish whether in fresh water or salt, in the heat of summer on through the ice in winter. We learn of his adventures as one of the first to cast a fly to steelhead on the rivers of Kamchatka, a trip to the Florida Gulf, a brief stint in Mexico, and most recently, kayaking along the estuaries of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. But Bamboo Days is much more than a book about fishing. It’s Jerry’s warning that many of our cold-water fisheries remain at risk, and his plea to carry on the fight against corporate greed and political corruption that continue to threaten the fish that reside there. In the end, Bamboo Days is an honest account of a life well lived, not for money or fame, but for the simple satisfaction of casting a finely crafted fly rod to a rising trout. - Bob Romano, Author of Return to Rangeley and River Flowers Read more