The best endorsement of "49 Trout Streams of New Mexico" is a simple truth:

I picked up the book. I thumbed through the glossy pages. I went fishing the next morning.

The book is a tease, a call to waters.

It is a siren who tugs on a fisherman's soul with 49 reasons to fish. It reminds you of the beauty and serenity of flowing waters to be found somewhere other than the couch.

Sure, there is great pleasure in just the look. It is a pretty book whose appeal is art more than words or fishy advice.

As co-author Billy Frangos puts it: "It's very much a coffee table book. If you are an armchair angler, this still satisfies your appetite."

Maybe. But if there is a fly rod in your garage, you can't help but feel the need for a better feed. The book reminds us that we don't fish simply to chase fish.

The book begins with the Animas River and meanders peacefully and alphabetically to White Water Creek.

There are better books - Ti Piper's "Fishing in New Mexico" and Craig Martin's "Fly Fishing in Northern New Mexico" - if you want wordy texts with more specifics on fishing certain waters.

But that wasn't the goal of "49 Trout Streams." The two authors (also Raymond Shewnack) claim they wanted to capture the allure of the streams and present a slice of time in the fly fishing experience.

The book's concept began two years ago when Shewnack was chatting with Luther Wilson of University of New Mexico press.

Shewnack told Wilson he didn't publish enough books on fishing. Wilson said go write one.

Shewnack called a fishing buddy and they went fishing - at least 49 times.

Frangos said the streams in the books "are just the ones that we picked. But we wanted them to be accessible and public."

"Most of the pictures in the book were taken 10 minutes from the car," Frangos added. "We have both fished New Mexico for more than 35 years and we both found places we didn't even know existed.

"It began more as a writing project and the photos grew a life of their own."