THE LAST WORD ON FLY FISHING SUNDERLAND WRITES HIS THIRD IN-DEPTH BOOK.

Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News

You could say Bill Sunderland wrote the book on fishing in California. Actually, he's written three books on angling the state's rivers, streams and lakes. On a recent fly-fishing trip to the west side of the Sierra, he talked about writing and fishing.

Sunderland, 67, is a journalist first, a fisherman second. A longtime foreign correspondent for United Press International, he covered wars, earthquakes, celebrities and global politics. While Sunderland was at the San Jose Mercury News, the paper won two Pulitzer Prizes. Sunderland even owned and published a newspaper in Sun Valley, Idaho. So when he writes a book about fishing, he makes sure it is informative and accurate.

His first fishing book, ``California Blue Ribbon Trout Streams,'' was written with Dale Lackey. His next two, ``Fly Fishing the Sierra Nevada'' and ``Fly Fishing California Stillwaters'' were solo efforts.

Rick E. Martin, an award-winning photojournalist, took the photos for the stillwater and trout-streams books. Martin learned to fly fish while working with Sunderland but is not as good a fisherman as his teacher, according to Sunderland.

The books keep getting better, partly because Sunderland decided to publish his latest book himself so he could manage all aspects of the book's design and printing.

``I've been in the business all my life and I wanted to have control,'' Sunderland said. ``Rick and I decided to team up and do our own book and publish it ourselves. I'm proud of the way it turned out.''

The result, ``Fly Fishing California Stillwaters,'' looks as good on a coffee table as on a fly-tying bench.

Fishing has been a part of Sunderland's life since his father, a classical musician, took him fishing in Idaho a half-century ago. Sunderland said his father never actually taught him to fish. When his dad was through fishing, Sunderland used the fly rod and taught himself.

``It's not that I'm a purist and that I believe there is one god, and that god is fly fishing,'' Sunderland said. ``I fly fish because that's my choice.''

Sunderland guided fly-fishing trips in the Amazon for nine years. He's led fishing expeditions to Costa Rica for marlin and sea run brown trout in Argentina.

``We investigated fishing for peacock bass in the headwaters of the Amazon,'' Sunderland said. ``We went way up river. It was fantastic, like stepping back 200 years. People still hunted with blowguns and lived off of what they could kill.''

Piranhas aren't as big a problem as their reputation suggests, according to Sunderland. Just watch out for the many poisonous snakes when you're in the Amazon jungle.

``I like fishing for whatever I'm fishing for,'' Sunderland said. ``I enjoy catching little tiny trout on a light rod on High Sierra streams. I love fishing for tarpon, sails, marlin. It's even fun when you don't catch fish. Particularly with trout. The areas you fish for trout are beautiful.''

California is where Sunderland does most of his fishing now. His latest book on stillwater took two years of fishing and writing to explore the lakes and reservoirs of California. Sunderland doesn't rely just on his own experience, he also checks with local experts.

On the trip to the Sierra's western slope, Sunderland, a former downhill ski racer, mutters ``flatlanders'' when he's stuck behind a slow-moving car on a mountain road. He's eager to get fishing.

Float tubing on Alpine Lake near Ebbits Pass, Sunderland landed a nice 18-inch rainbow. He suggested using a full sink line on lakes, saying that fish tend to hang out at the same depth in the water column. Sink tip lines fish at different levels as they are retrieved, while a full sinking line stays at the same depth. By counting down as the line sinks, you can repeat the same depth when you find fish.

Later, he fished a stretch of the North Fork of the Mokelumne River, hooking the small rainbow and brook trout that lurked in eddies and pools.

Southern California anglers tend to stay on the eastern side of the Sierra for good reason. The western slope is beautiful and less crowded, but the fishing can be tough, according to Sunderland. You earn your fish by hiking in, by stalking nervous wild trout, and by making a good cast and presentation.

Even when you do everything right, there just aren't as many fish to catch. Sunderland said this is because of fewer minerals in the water, which produces less trout food.

The stillwater book will be Sunderland's last. He plans to focus on fishing, not writing, now that he is fully retired.

``It really cuts into my fishing time,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Book 1

--``California Blue Ribbon Trout Streams'' was co-written with Dale Lackey and explores all the finest water in California, giving suggestions on how, when and where to fish them.

(2 -- color) Book 2

--``Fly Fishing the Sierra Nevada.''

This solo project describes when, where and how to fish California's premier mountain range.

(3 -- color) Book 3

--Sunderland's latest guide, ``Fly Fishing California Stillwaters,'' focuses on the how and when of fishing in California lakes.

(4 -- color) Author Bill Sunderland recently came out with his third book on fishing, this one on fly fishing.

(5) Author Bill Sunderland, seen here looking for a fly, fished all across California to gather information for his latest book, ``Fly Fishing California Stillwaters.''

Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News