Lost in the Driftless: Trout Fishing on the Cultural Divide

Trout anglers are some of the most impassioned conservationists in the world, but their cultural divides run deep. Fascinated by the trout fishing urban elite and by the populist backlash that is playing out in one of trout fishing’s most rural epicenters, the famed Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin, Tim Traver embarks on a journey to take the pulse of modern day trout fishing in America.

From the spring creeks of the Driftless, to the high-rise offices of the Wisconsin DNR in downtown Madison, to the dinner and diner tables of small town anglers, Traver explores the varied social landscape of trout fishing today. What he finds is that more connects us than separates us. At the center of every creek-side conversation, every foray into the wilds of American fishing, is the shared love of the resource, and from that love, a growing ethic of caring for its future.

Lost in the Driftless, like Traver’s acclaimed memoir Sippewissett: Or, Life on a Salt Marsh, smoothly blends narrative and science, providing a warm reflection on home, family, and fishing, alongside an investigative look into the science and business of one of America’s most storied hobbies.