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Praise for Casting Forward
“Casting Forward belongs alongside Holy Ghost Creek and A Fly-Fishers Blue Ridge as books that perfectly capture the essence of place, and our part in it. You would not be mistaken to say that this book is about the Texas Hill Country. Steve is, after all, a master naturalist, and a master storyteller. But Casting Forward is about so much more than the outdoors and nature. It is a story of one man’s journey through rivers and mountains to live a life well lived and loved.”
Chris Wood
President/CEO, Trout Unlimited
“In many ways Ramirez is the reincarnation of my late friend John Voelker, author of Anatomy of a Fisherman and the lesser work, Anatomy of a Murder. Both men were fleeing lives that had wounded them, and both found salvation in wildness through angling. A century hence Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country will be referenced in the best of North American outdoor literature.”
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Ted Williams
Conservation Journalist, Author
“Casting Forward by Steve Ramirez is an elegant ode to one of the great, lesser known fly-fishing regions of the United States – the Texas Hill Country. With every line of every chapter, Emily & I marveled at Steve’s gifted vision of this river realm that we love so much and all its native treasures. Take a journey through the eyes of this unique warrior, fly fisher and inspired writer … it might just be good for your soul.”
Dave Whitlock
Author, Artist, Teacher, Fly-fisher
“Every bit the unique sort of Hill Country artistry as a Jerry Jeff Walker show at Gruene Hall. These words are Incredibly honest, gritty, and melodic… sometimes rowdy, always soulful. Steve Ramirez has an uncanny knack for conveying the 360-degree perspective of fly fishing like only an author who has seen so much—and felt so much—can. He’s an angling balladeer.”
Kirk Deeter
Editor-in-Chief
Trout Unlimited/Trout Media
Matthew L. Miller
author of Fishing Through the Apocalypse
“In a society filled with trivial pursuits, Steve Ramirez understands what gives a life meaning and purpose. He knows that casting to fish in beautiful rivers can connect us to nature and even heal us – but only if we learn to see and listen. And he recognizes an essential bit of conservation wisdom: Nature can indeed save us from ourselves, but part of the bargain is we must work to save nature. The Texas Hill Country is lucky to have this warrior-poet working on its behalf, and we’re lucky that he’s shared his beautiful prose with us.”
“When you read this poignant ode to the Texas Hill Country by Marine Corps veteran Steve Ramirez, you’re sure to hear a real-life echo of Ernest Hemingway’s Big, Two-Hearted River, in which, moment by moment and cast by cast, a warrior with a wounded soul fishes his way back to emotional peace. Casting Forward is an inspiration as well as a delight.”
Paul Guernsey
author of Beyond Catch & Release: Exploring the Future of Fly Fishing