Fly fishing, outdoor adventure, and deep reverence for water and wilderness converge in Riverhorse Nakadate’s stunning book
Born and raised in the Lone Star State, Riverhorse Nakadate is a writer, angler, adventurer, musician, and lifelong nomad whose path is as fluid and expansive as the waters he follows. His forthcoming memoir,
Water Lines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas and in the Rain (Patagonia, June 16, 2026, hardcover), is a beautiful, heart-on-his sleeve chronicle of adventure and fierce devotion to wilderness and water. In a world increasingly tethered to schedules and screens, Nakadate offers a rare perspective—deeply introspective yet fueled by rowdy shenanigans and the joy of running wild.
Featuring 24 watercolor illustrations by Seattle-based artist Sarah L. Stevens, inspired by Nakadate’s personal photographs, Water Lines is both a spirited, heck-raising adventure and a reverent hymn to the wild. Together, the stories and artwork offer a window into a remarkable life—particularly at a moment when the call of wilderness and the need for mindful living feel more urgent than ever.
Across 32 essays, Nakadate moves through diverse landscapes, from the salt marshes and coastlines of Texas to Colorado’s alpine lakes, the Oregon and California shores, Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, the Yucatán mangroves, the Arctic Circle, Africa, and Montana’s spring creeks. His storytelling ranges from heartfelt reflection to rollicking escapades, blending fly fishing, wilderness exploration, and human connection. Along the way, he writes about friendship, family, loss, and the quiet heroism of those who strive to protect wild places, weaving humor and wonder into meditations on the things that make life feel whole, including not-to-be-missed Texas BBQ, fresh peach pie, redfish, largemouth bass, and local beer.
Environmental awareness runs deep in Water Lines—from the threatened Boundary Waters to the sharkfinning crisis in the Gulf of Mexico—yet Nakadate’s tone remains hopeful. His journey shows how immersion in wild places nurtures both people and planet, inviting readers to step fully into the revelry of life outdoors. Water Lines will appeal to fans of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, Jim Harrison’s poetry, and Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire for its blend of personal reflection, immersion in wild places, and ethical reckoning with how humans interact with the natural world.
Nakadate stands apart from contemporary fly-fishing writers in that his stories are never solely about landing fish. In one essay, he travels on a whim to solo climb one of the highest peaks in the Rockies, bound for an alpine lake rumored to hold brook trout. When he reaches the fish, their beauty stops him cold:
“I’m not able to cast—it just doesn’t feel right. Hardly any people make it to this point; the few who do are most likely psycho climbers—and not anglers—who certainly aren’t packing hoppers and a Sage. There’s such scant innocence left in the world. Damn you, wild, shimmering trout, you get the hall pass for your beauty today. This pair of pairs, they deserve far better than me lighting them up. I lie on the boulder for ages and let the sun warm me, content to have survived the hike up and to see these fish hold in the flow. I’m thinking I don’t even want to go home, and wonder if it is possible to just turn into a trout, swim here, and have that be the rest of my life—maybe I should quit reading all those Buddhist books. Plus, if I were a trout, there’d be no more tender flour tortillas with pulled pork and sweet onions fresh off the stove, the first sip of a beer, guitars to play, waves to ride, or fish to chase, and hopefully, someday, a hand to hold again.”
Moments like this—whether paddling remote marshes, chasing redfish in storms, or tracing the tides of distant seas—reveal a life lived fully, where reflection, adventure, and reverence for the natural world coexist.
RIVERHORSE NAKADATE is a Patagonia fly-fishing ambassador, adventurer, environmentalist, and musician whose writing has appeared in numerous surfing, guitar, and fly-fishing magazines. He has starred in three films—”Love & Water,” “A Northern Light,” and “The Reindeer Journals”—and is the recipient of the first-ever Texas Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Leadership in Public Land and Water Conservation Award. Nakadate resides in a 1910 bungalow in a historic district of Houston, Texas, and is most often found along the edge of a southern salt marsh with his canoe, a journal, and an eightweight fly rod.
Water Lines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas and in the Rain
By Riverhorse Nakadate, published by Patagonia
On sale June 16, 2026 | Author tour June-July 2026 | ISBN 9781952338359 | $30 US
Hardcover | 257 pages | 5.5 X 9 in. | Distributed by Ingram / PGW
Printed on 100% post-consumer-waste paper
PRESS CONTACT: Stephanie@wildridgepr.com, 512-810-9238