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by Ken Gabütner
(Page 2)

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Each of the six featured rivers comes complete with its own guide who fills you in on the tips and techniques for that river. Some I'd want to fish with, others made me a little nervous in that "Deliverance" kind of way.

Maps of the rivers are speckled with hotspots which link to more Quicktime of the guide talking about that particular section of the river. They offer you advice on which flies to use and what time of year the rivers are most productive. You can explore the ecosystem, find out how to get to the river by train, plane or inflatable raft and if you decide not to camp out by the water & tie your own flies (what kinda sissy are you?) there is a comprehensive list of lodges and shops near each river.

Other features include an area that explains what tackle you should buy to look like you know what you're doing. A trip to Orvis should make you feel like an angler, and empty all that heavy cash out of your pockets. Jeff Parin might stifle a giggle when he sees how new and shiny you are, but I'm sure he'll take your money just the same.

To fill up some of the extra megabytes on the silvery platter, the publishers threw in a slide show function and a sound library, which seems frivolous and silly, but damned if I didn't sit there for twenty minutes with the slide show running, underscored by the looping tones of a bubbling brook. I closed my eyes and sat back imagining how nice it would be to be there...then I snapped out of it and thought, "What kind of New Age nightmare am I in?!" I still wanted to be freed from the florescent hell of my midtown Manhattan office. I started to soften.

The print function on the CD-ROM is nicely integrated as well. You can print field guides and traveler's handbooks for each river, order photos from the slide show, and print out your tackle order form to take with you when you go to Orvis. The formatting is minimal, but the information is extensive and seemingly complete. There is enough info provided to confidently plan a two week jaunt (which I am in the process of right now.)

"Fly Fishing the Great Rivers of the West" is a CD-ROM well worth its ticket price if you have the slightest interest in fishing and don't happen to live on world-class angling water. I hope an east coast version is in the works...or those transfer orders to Montana come through.