(BLUEFIELD)--While the classroom and the lake front may, at first glance, appear dissimilar, they have proven to be symbiotic for Dr. Michael W. Smith. The Bluefield State College English faculty member’s second “angler’s guide,” Fishing the Roanoke Valley, will be released in September.
Smith’s soon-to-be-released book follows the publication and distribution just over a year ago of his Fishing the New River Valley. The proprietor of Greasy Creek Outfitters, a fishing guide service and retailer based in Floyd, VA, Smith combines his love for fishing and for this region in the books he authors.
“With easy access to the Roanoke and James Rivers, Smith Mountain Lake, and the many streams in the Roanoke Valley, anglers in the region can enjoy some of the finest river and lake fishing in the eastern United States,” Smith noted. In Fishing the Roanoke Valley, he details the fish species common to the streams of the Roanoke Valley and discusses the numerous stocked trout streams in the region, county by county. He also provides insight in fishing Smith Mountain Lake for largemouth, striped, and smallmouth bass.
Fishing the Roanoke Valley also includes a comprehensive map of the Valley’s streams and an appendix that lists local tackle shops, guide services, rod and reel repair shops, and boat dealers. “The book includes practical information for anglers,” he added.
Smith finds that his vocation as an educator and his avocation as a fishing guide are symbiotic. “The exercise of writing this book has proven relevant to my academic interests,” he said. “I teach a technical writing course, and the development of this book fit very compatibly into my scholarly emphasis.”
May 5, 2003
Additional article, Zen of hookin' by Carol Hart
ROANOKE.COM COLUMNIST
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