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Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country
In Casting Forward, naturalist, educator, and writer Steve Ramirez takes the reader on a yearlong journey fly fishing all of the major rivers of the Texas Hill Country.
This is a story of the resilience of nature and the best of human nature. It is the story of a living, breathing place where the footprints of dinosaurs, conquistadors, and Comanches have mingled just beneath the clear spring-fed waters. This book is an impassioned plea for the survival of this landscape and its biodiversity, and for a new ethic in how we treat fish, nature, and each other.
This is a story of the resilience of nature and the best of human nature. It is the story of a living, breathing place where the footprints of dinosaurs, conquistadors, and Comanches have mingled just beneath the clear spring-fed waters. This book is an impassioned plea for the survival of this landscape and its biodiversity, and for a new ethic in how we treat fish, nature, and each other.
- GenresNonfictionNatureOutdoors
240 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2020
155 people are currently reading
695 people want to read
About the author
Steve Ramirez
2books14followersSteve is an outdoor and conservation author who lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country. His work has appeared in various journals including Trout magazine, The Flyfish Journal, Fly Fisherman Magazine, American Angler, Tail Fly Fishing magazine, Texas Sporting Journal, Explore Magazine, Under Wild Skies, Hallowed Waters, and many more.
His short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction has been published in Cutthroat: Journal of the Arts, The Houston Literary review, and Pecan Grove Review. He is a certified Texas Master Naturalist, a hiker and world adventure traveler.
Steve was recently chosen by the American Museum of Fly Fishing as Ambassador to Texas.
Steve’s first published book, Casting Forward - Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country, (Lyons Press) has received critical acclaim and is in its second printing. Ted Williams concludes his introduction to this book with, “A century hence, Casting Forward - Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country will be referenced in the best of North American outdoor literature.�
Its sequel, Casting Onward: Fishing Adventures in Search of America’s Native Gamefish, (Lyons Press) will be released on April 1st, 2022 and is now available for pre-order.
Steve is currently in the process of writing the third book in the series, Casting Seaward, which focuses on perusing gamefish of brackish and salt-waters.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 23, 2021
A friend of the friend that gave me this book related:
“The book is not in the same category as a Hemingway novel, but it CHANGED MY LIFE�
Steve Ramirez has a way with words. And his words are thought provoking. Quotes:
“When I began this journey on the day my life changed forever, I came home and wrote down the following words: learning, teaching, writing, mentoring, and giving back. I knew whatever I did, I wanted to do those things.�
“Each day, I do my best to be an island of free thought and exploration in a sea of bureaucratic hypocrisy and lemming-like political correctness.�
EVERYONE should read this book, it might change someone’s life.
“The book is not in the same category as a Hemingway novel, but it CHANGED MY LIFE�
Steve Ramirez has a way with words. And his words are thought provoking. Quotes:
“When I began this journey on the day my life changed forever, I came home and wrote down the following words: learning, teaching, writing, mentoring, and giving back. I knew whatever I did, I wanted to do those things.�
“Each day, I do my best to be an island of free thought and exploration in a sea of bureaucratic hypocrisy and lemming-like political correctness.�
EVERYONE should read this book, it might change someone’s life.
May 2, 2024
Casting Forward brought back memories of my daughter and our family outings. Interesting enough to envision what the author painted into his words to the actions of his steps along the many paths (locations) along the southeast areas of Texas I found myself looking at maps, location along the way as I read.
I was fortunate enough to reflect back on a true marine (my father in law) who was an avid fisherman, I never quite understood the pull of fishing yet listening to his stories of swivel’s, lures, weights, flys, knot ties, reels and various rods and their usage for lakes, rivers, streams or sea.
My father in law has passed on and is missed by family members dearly, yet I look back and seen how he’d connected with other fishermen…ever the rapport to them while respecting their distance while they were fishing, yet observing from afar what type line they were using, bait usage and outright asking “how’s the fishing�, weather conditions and more and sharing this with me.
I have been fortunate to enjoy various sports such as swimming, bowling, racquet ball, tennis, biking, hiking, skiing, scuba diving, etc and my favorite running and photography…yet looking back I can now understand ones passion towards our environment and the fishing.
Enjoy the read 👍👍
I was fortunate enough to reflect back on a true marine (my father in law) who was an avid fisherman, I never quite understood the pull of fishing yet listening to his stories of swivel’s, lures, weights, flys, knot ties, reels and various rods and their usage for lakes, rivers, streams or sea.
My father in law has passed on and is missed by family members dearly, yet I look back and seen how he’d connected with other fishermen…ever the rapport to them while respecting their distance while they were fishing, yet observing from afar what type line they were using, bait usage and outright asking “how’s the fishing�, weather conditions and more and sharing this with me.
I have been fortunate to enjoy various sports such as swimming, bowling, racquet ball, tennis, biking, hiking, skiing, scuba diving, etc and my favorite running and photography…yet looking back I can now understand ones passion towards our environment and the fishing.
Enjoy the read 👍👍
December 12, 2023
The perfect Christmas gift for the angler on your list, or the vet! (or both!)
I saw reviews of this in "Trout" and "Fly Fisherman" but didn't pay much attention. After all, it was about Texas, and I live in Minnesota. Then, I heard passages from the book read in the movie, "Mending the Line," and I knew I had to read it. I'm glad I did. It's a beautifully written, thoughtful, and absorbing book. I'm not a veteran, but I've been a first responder of one sort or another all of my adult life (51 years now) so I am no stranger to PTSD. I get it. This book is beautiful.
I saw reviews of this in "Trout" and "Fly Fisherman" but didn't pay much attention. After all, it was about Texas, and I live in Minnesota. Then, I heard passages from the book read in the movie, "Mending the Line," and I knew I had to read it. I'm glad I did. It's a beautifully written, thoughtful, and absorbing book. I'm not a veteran, but I've been a first responder of one sort or another all of my adult life (51 years now) so I am no stranger to PTSD. I get it. This book is beautiful.
February 9, 2021
Excellent book on the healing properties of fly fishing. The author, a Marine veteran suffering from PTSD, has found his peace in the rivers and streams of the Texas hill country. At times philosophical, at others almost poetical, Ramirez has a very good way of expressing the settings, the environment, and his feelings. It is great to find a kindred soul who has also found a way to deal with his demons through fly fishing.
September 11, 2024
“I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK BEFORE I READ IT�
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2024
A Review of STEVE RAMIREZ’s CASTING FORWARD
by Tom Johnson-Medland
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I am always amazed at the depth and the clarity fisherman bring to life. Regardless of their background, vocation, and day-to-day self. The oeuvre of great fishing literature is rich in similar tales told in a fresh new fashion. Steve Ramirez does not stray from this hallmark of great fishing literature.
I fell in love with this book long before I read it. I had heard pieces of it, read and quoted in the movie MENDING THE LINE. It spoke to me - out of its depths - of a life that is made whole by the repetition of being in the wild and at the same time connecting with the wild with all our being. Steve makes it clear that he is spiritually connected and nourished by all things wild.
Whether it is his introducing us to friends and family, showing us new bends in countless waters, mentioning of tried and true technique and tackle, or the astounding laconic and lapidary fish-philosophy Steve does not disappoint in this book. He speaks truth. He speaks genuinely and with the voice of a renaissance man able to sift through Hafiz, Rumi, Williams and Richard Bach along with patterns, feathers, fur, and fish and come up with NOT JUST STORIES but mythic content that speaks to the soul.
Being in love with light is a theme you will learn to uncover. You’ll also hear of stars above with constellations. Metaphor and reality. Hope and desire of being made whole. Our need to repair our environs and to be exceptional stewards.
Sharing his relationship with his daughter Megan hits at the core of all fisher-folks� deep longing to preach the word of THE LINE to those in our lives with an adamant call to conversion. We long to stand in waters with those we love. He does so with joy.
Outings and adventures pepper the book giving Steve a new bluff to stand on and deliver his message from on a regular basis. His direct words remind us to get busy connecting - and not talking about connecting - with nature. No apologies.
He is the type of angler I love because he is not snooty about his quarry. Sunfish, bonefish, trout, bass all get a shot at the fly on his line. No pretense. Just presence. Cast and be there.
Under his tales are a strong and natural etiquette for being in nature and on water. He reminds us of the sacredness of the phenomenology of fishing and of our presence in the world. He reminds us to live with the natural world and live there from a place of gratefulness and thanks. He whispers not just to the fish, but in every breath he draws and exhales “THANK YOU�. A real solid message of the good tidings of being in the outdoors.
Be sure to get the book. It is a must have. You’ll not just love it, but add it to the shelf of literature on the art and science of being in the out of doors! This book borders on the poetic!
><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°>
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2024
A Review of STEVE RAMIREZ’s CASTING FORWARD
by Tom Johnson-Medland
><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°>
I am always amazed at the depth and the clarity fisherman bring to life. Regardless of their background, vocation, and day-to-day self. The oeuvre of great fishing literature is rich in similar tales told in a fresh new fashion. Steve Ramirez does not stray from this hallmark of great fishing literature.
I fell in love with this book long before I read it. I had heard pieces of it, read and quoted in the movie MENDING THE LINE. It spoke to me - out of its depths - of a life that is made whole by the repetition of being in the wild and at the same time connecting with the wild with all our being. Steve makes it clear that he is spiritually connected and nourished by all things wild.
Whether it is his introducing us to friends and family, showing us new bends in countless waters, mentioning of tried and true technique and tackle, or the astounding laconic and lapidary fish-philosophy Steve does not disappoint in this book. He speaks truth. He speaks genuinely and with the voice of a renaissance man able to sift through Hafiz, Rumi, Williams and Richard Bach along with patterns, feathers, fur, and fish and come up with NOT JUST STORIES but mythic content that speaks to the soul.
Being in love with light is a theme you will learn to uncover. You’ll also hear of stars above with constellations. Metaphor and reality. Hope and desire of being made whole. Our need to repair our environs and to be exceptional stewards.
Sharing his relationship with his daughter Megan hits at the core of all fisher-folks� deep longing to preach the word of THE LINE to those in our lives with an adamant call to conversion. We long to stand in waters with those we love. He does so with joy.
Outings and adventures pepper the book giving Steve a new bluff to stand on and deliver his message from on a regular basis. His direct words remind us to get busy connecting - and not talking about connecting - with nature. No apologies.
He is the type of angler I love because he is not snooty about his quarry. Sunfish, bonefish, trout, bass all get a shot at the fly on his line. No pretense. Just presence. Cast and be there.
Under his tales are a strong and natural etiquette for being in nature and on water. He reminds us of the sacredness of the phenomenology of fishing and of our presence in the world. He reminds us to live with the natural world and live there from a place of gratefulness and thanks. He whispers not just to the fish, but in every breath he draws and exhales “THANK YOU�. A real solid message of the good tidings of being in the outdoors.
Be sure to get the book. It is a must have. You’ll not just love it, but add it to the shelf of literature on the art and science of being in the out of doors! This book borders on the poetic!
><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°> ><(((°>
December 18, 2024
There are books that come along and you read and forget by the time your next book is read. This is not one of them. I had to stop and soak in passages multiple times. The author has a way of putting you right there beside him as he describes the river, the fish, just being present. As the author works through losing his job and finding his place in the world - the river gives him solace - and he encourages us all to do so as well. I for one want to go camping ASAP. A beautiful ode to the Texas Hill Country, the joy of fly fishing and love of nature. He’s our Texas John David Thoreau.
A passage if I may: “Sometimes I like to stop fishing and watch the river. I look at the treetops and up the canyon wall. I look at the clouds drifting by and the flock of egrets that are swirling above me. I see the white-tailed deer drinking and hear the canyons wrens singing. An osprey flies overhead and looks at me as he passes by, two fellow fisherman at work. Watching and listening to the river is always a form of poetry.� Chapter Three, Colorado Bend - Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country, by Steve Ramirez
A passage if I may: “Sometimes I like to stop fishing and watch the river. I look at the treetops and up the canyon wall. I look at the clouds drifting by and the flock of egrets that are swirling above me. I see the white-tailed deer drinking and hear the canyons wrens singing. An osprey flies overhead and looks at me as he passes by, two fellow fisherman at work. Watching and listening to the river is always a form of poetry.� Chapter Three, Colorado Bend - Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country, by Steve Ramirez
July 17, 2024
Given to me by a friend, this one had to be read so I could return to him. It is doubtful that he will see this review, but in case you do see it, Don, please know that I enjoyed especially the parts that describe the Texas Hill Country.
But...
This book is not for me. It is meant for people who are dealing with PTSD from their time spent in the military. It is for fly-fishers. It is for folks that do not join with others outside of their immediate family.
This book darts like a fish around Stoicism, nihilism and Buddhism. The author likes to pick and choose and then burn down the rest. This is not up to snuff of high quality outdoor literature but is more along the lines of scraps of paper that are tied up in a larger book.
Had it not been given I wouldn't have read. The highlights are the quotes in the front of each chapter, and the relationship the author has with his daughter, Megan.
But...
This book is not for me. It is meant for people who are dealing with PTSD from their time spent in the military. It is for fly-fishers. It is for folks that do not join with others outside of their immediate family.
This book darts like a fish around Stoicism, nihilism and Buddhism. The author likes to pick and choose and then burn down the rest. This is not up to snuff of high quality outdoor literature but is more along the lines of scraps of paper that are tied up in a larger book.
Had it not been given I wouldn't have read. The highlights are the quotes in the front of each chapter, and the relationship the author has with his daughter, Megan.
October 31, 2020
Every since a river runs through it you see a fly fishing story right away you want to read it and so it was this book. Steve Ramirez is a man who has honorably served his country around the world and after one to many times coming up short on the job efforts and dealing with PTSD he decides to make a change and instead of being someone who says some day i will do this or that he actually does it. But he is not the only one his daughter at twenty-one is also trying to find her way in the world. Father and daughter being from the Texas hill country to decide fish all the rivers streams and lakes of the area. This becomes Mr. Ramirez calming spot is church or sanctuary to the point sometimes it is not even about catching fish. There is a pretty good description of the surrounding little towns, country and the tributaries along with a little of life philosophy thrown in. I really wanted to like this book but it was a little bit of a struggle as it is my opinion the author could cut down this story it just felt a little long. But give it a read and see what you think.
June 6, 2024
As I read this beautiful book I gradually realized it to be a memoir. It is a deeply intimate and spiritual journey of a man being restored to God through nature. Fly fishing represents a connection with nature the author artfully paints. I recommend this book to any soul connected to or in search of deeper meaning.
November 18, 2024
A debut from a former marine seeking sense of purpose through fly-fishing the Texas Hill Country. Joined by his daughter also seeking purpose for a different reason, this felt deeper than a typical fly-fishing memoir; I appreciated the combination of natural descriptions and philosophical insights.
March 5, 2025
I liked this book, although it did feel a bit repetitive at times. I liked the author's choice to structure the chapters around the rivers. Sometimes, however, they started to feel the same, and I'd have to check to see if I was on the right chapter or had lost my place. The best parts of the book make you want to visit those rivers. I'm looking forward to reading the author's other books.
May 12, 2024
amazing book
Great book. One of the best written books about the outdoors and the connection with the outdoors I have read in several years. It also spoke volumes to me about the healing powers of the outdoors with PTSD
Great book. One of the best written books about the outdoors and the connection with the outdoors I have read in several years. It also spoke volumes to me about the healing powers of the outdoors with PTSD
October 28, 2024
Memoir about the spiritual and healing power of nature while fly fishing. Beautiful descriptions that immerse you in the landscape he describes. I read this during the stressful days leading up to the 2024 election. It was a much-needed escape.
December 5, 2023
Could be of interest to naturalists.
April 15, 2024
Great book, gave a great view into life while also giving some tips on fly fishing.
Great way to give life lessons while not being a dull read.
Great way to give life lessons while not being a dull read.
April 30, 2024
A great book on living life one day at a time and sometimes even fishing
November 4, 2024
Make you think and appreciate the little things.
April 25, 2025
3.5 stars. Enjoyable memoir written with a pleasing cadence and containing some sage advice.
November 5, 2020
If you don't like philosophical books about fly fishing, this is not the book for you. But then not all fishermen can quote Nietzche. Having lived in the Texas Hill Country for many years, I was very familiar with the locations described in the book, but I visited most of them either hiking or on horseback. I didn't start fishing until I moved out of Travis County, but I have still made fishing trios with my son to Canyon Lake and the Frio River. The COVID social distancing has actually created a surge in fishing as its a good way to get out of the house for a while and enjoy nature.
July 8, 2024
So glad I read this.
January 25, 2025
Not only a great book about fishing in my beloved Texas, but also lots of little nuggets of wisdom about living life well.
April 21, 2023
I’m not a fisherman, but I loved this book for its beautifully descriptive imagery of Central Texas rivers and wildlife as well as tokens of wisdom on every page from someone who lives life paying attention to all the things most people miss. I wanted read it with a highlighter and annotate in the margins, but I also didn’t want to damage a beautiful hardcover book. Perhaps, when a paperback version becomes available, I’ll read it again with highlighter & pencil in hand.
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