Fly-fishing for trout in Minnesota? You head to a southeastern stream, right? You may, but John Hunt, an environmental engineer and TU member, has written an informative book entitled Fly Fishing Minnesota Trout Lakes and points you in another direction. Among Minnesota's well-over 10,000 lakes, more than 200 are managed for stream trout.

In this book he puts together a no-nonsense package of facts on the DNR's trout-stocking program, fly-fishing basics, and useful techniques in fishing for stillwater trout. With his spare engineer's prose, Hunt conveys a great deal of information in his first six chapters. Many writers could learn how to say as much in as few words.

The bulk of the rest of the book is Hunt's list of all the trout lakes. You can get most of this information free from the DNR in its booklet, "Lakes Managed for Stream Trout." However, Hunt adds useful cross-references to other map resources that may help you locate a given lake, such as its GPS coordinates or its Delorme's Gazetteer location.

Also included is a small chapter on mine pit lakes and the challenges they pose. Not having fished one of these, I would have liked more information on these: with the cold water and great depths, can one truly find happiness and a trophy trout while fly fishing from a belly boat? I also would have like to know which lakes get a lot of pressure: in other words, which ones to avoid. Another oversight: those unfamiliar with Minnesota would appreciate a simple map of the state with the counties marked.

However, for the book's list price ($14.95), Highweather Press isn't asking a lot for a book with a relatively small base of potential buyers. It's enough to say that John Hunt gives you enough information to grab your fly rod and hit the lakes.