American angling writer John Gierach has died at the age of 78. Probably the biggest-selling author of fishing books in the United States for the past 40 years, his first publication, Trout Bum (1986), helped define a way of life for some anglers and a new breed of fishing guides.

His laidback, perceptive writing style, distinctly American - he was based in Colorado - reflected his philosophical devotion to fishing in wild places, seeking and experiencing a kind of freedom that contrasted with the frantic, materialistic modern life endured by many of his readers.

He was a wonderful story-teller in a genre dominated in the UK by practical how-to hardbacks and comparatively stiff pre-war upper-class classics. He received praise from notable British writers, including Jeremy Paxman and George Melly. In his review of Trout Bum for Trout & Salmon, Jon Beer wrote, “A wonderful, riveting book. It will become a classic in fishing literature, any literature, when a million others entitled How To Catch Huge Trout Really Easily and such like have gone the way of pulp.”

The philosophy and humour inherent in Gierach’s fishy tales are evident in the titles of his 18 books, such as Standing In A River Waving A Stick, Another Lousy Day In Paradise, and Death, Taxes, And Leaky Waders.

Gierach also wrote for the popular US magazines Gray’s Sporting Journal and Field & Stream, and worked for the tackle company Orvis.