Chris Dorsey spent the day with the Sporting Classics team during the Casting Call book signing and offered up a few inside details about the project.

If the past year has left you aching for travel, pining for a cool trout stream or daydreaming of life on the water, this book is sure to get you through until your next big trip. Casting Call is a large, 304-page hardcover book comprised of stunning photography and charming narrative that takes readers to the best-of-the-best fishing locations around the world alongside Chris Dorsey and friends. With a compelling Forward by the legendary Flip Pallot, the hilarious stories of fishing with Tom Brokaw, the unfiltered Lefty Kreh, actor Liam Neeson and others, and a two-hour companion DVD, Casting Call is bursting with witty, insightful and enthralling content for anyone who enjoys casting a line, and gives readers the opportunity to take a tour of some of the greatest fishing locations on the planet and get to know some of these iconic characters in a new way.

This week, Dorsey visited Sporting Classics to sign copies of the book and gave us the much-anticipated scoop on what readers can expect from this unprecedented fly-fishing publication from the largest outdoor television producer in history.

What initially attracts you to the destinations you travel far and wide to fish? 

I just want to be in the best places to do whatever it is I’m doing. Whether it’s big game hunting, fly fishing, wingshooting…my goal in life is to be in the best place in the world to do it. It’s my mission to make that happen every month of the year; in fact, it’s really the driving force behind the company.

What is an adventure featured in the book that is particularly special to you?

One is called “Requiem for a River” about the peril of the Big Hole river in Montana. The quality of fishing in Montana is declining. From a pure conservation standpoint, that had a lot of heart in it.

Any fun surprises in the companion DVD footage?

There are always surprises when Lefty Kreh is involved. He’s a walking, talking one-liner. You get to see this guy pretty much in the round. I think to see people you know in the celebrity sphere, like Huey Lewis or Jimmy Kimmel, as fishermen is a fun experience.

Tell us about the “why” behind this project. What do you hope readers will gain from it?

In addition to conservation and giving back, I think there’s a strong sense of generational discovery in that many of these stories involve my family. The value of planting that seed and enjoying these destinations with family and friends is really the deal.

The book is filled with quotes from renowned writers and sportsmen. What is one that is especially inspiring to you?

Tom McGuane has a nice quote. He says, “This isn’t the usual self-aggrandizing fare. This was a fun journey, and instead of leaving his family behind he took them with him.”

The last page of the book features photos of your two sons. What do you hope for the next generation of fishermen? 

I think if you instill angling and a love of angling into these people, then they become voices of conservation in America and beyond. It’s just like hunting; once someone becomes a hunter, suddenly they care more about those places that produce the experience. You’re setting the hook for the fishing, but it’s really becoming conservation advocates and conservationists in general. And who knows? Someday someone with an angling background could go on to become a senator or president – the next Teddy Roosevelt.

Signed copies of the Casting Call book/DVD set are available now in the Sporting Classics Store. Order yours today!