Discover the Art of Fly-Fishing through the Eyes of a Renaissance Master

Combining the world of art, history and outdoor adventure, United Country Real Estate | Fishing Properties is excited to introduce you to: Fly-Fishing with Leonardo da Vinci by United Country client David Ladensohn. This unique book offers readers a unique perspective on fly-fishing through the lens of one of history’s most iconic figures, Leonardo da Vinci.

A Fresh Perspective on Fly-Fishing

Imagine having Leonardo da Vinci as your fly-fishing guide. Author David Ladensohn, equipped with forty years of fly-fishing experience, brings this intriguing concept to life. He explores how Leonardo’s keen sense of humor and personality would make him an ideal fishing companion. This hypothesis comes about based on his understanding of river dynamics that would translate to exceptional fish-finding skills and his groundbreaking work in hydraulic engineering and water physics relating to modern fly-fishing techniques.

From Renaissance Italy to Global Fishing Spots
Ladensohn takes readers on a journey that spans through da Vinci’s remarkable life, from his humble begins to his sought-after genius. The book will also discuss the artist’s fascination with water and its influence on his art and engineering, as well as the author’s own fly-fishing adventures across the globe.

Exclusive Access to Leonardo’s Water Studies
This book offers readers a rare glimpse into Leonardo’s water-related works: detailed drawings of river dynamics and water properties and color reproductions of Leonardo’s finest water drawings, many of which are published for a general audience for the first time in this book.

Perfect for Nature Lovers and History Buffs Alike
Whether you're an avid angler, an art enthusiast, or simply curious about the intersection of these worlds, Fly-Fishing with Leonardo da Vinci offers a fresh perspective on both the sport and the Renaissance master’s lesser-known passions.

Special Offer for United Country Readers
As a valued member of the United Country community, use discount code UC20 for 20% off your purchase of Fly-Fishing with Leonardo da Vinci from Trinity University Press.

“A marvelous book that’s part biography, part manual, and part meditation.”
— Ken Burns


Fly-Fishing with Leonardo da Vinci

Book description
It is obvious to David Ladensohn, who has been fly-fishing for forty years, that Leonardo would have made the perfect fishing guide. The artist’s keen sense of humor and winning personality would have made him a wonderful companion. He knew more about how rivers work than any person before him and would have been outstanding at reading the water to figure out where the fish are. Beginning with Leonardo’s remarkable biography—from underprivileged child to celebrity whose company was sought by competing rulers in Italy and France—and taking readers through the inspirations that led him to fall in love with waterways, Ladensohn makes the connection between the artist’s life and his own deep knowledge of the art of fly-fishing. His adventures have led him to seek out the most unique, storied, and traveled fly-fishing locales in the world, including Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, Bhutan, Italy, Slovenia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Ireland, England, and Mongolia.

Leonardo da Vinci was obsessed with water. The famed Italian Renaissance artist meticulously drew every aspect of rivers, from the nature of water drops to the ways currents create and destroy the earth’s surface. His obsession led him to become a professional hydraulic engineer and an expert on the physics of water. He disproved Aristotle’s 1,800-year-old theory of the water cycle and developed the one we use today. He discovered the nature of erosion and heretically disproved the biblical flood. He created beautiful maps and drawings of river currents and of his audacious plans to reroute the Arno River for war and peace.

Ladensohn’s research on Leonardo led him to native rivers in Italy, to scholars at Oxford, and to the inside of Windsor Castle, where he studied the finest of Leonardo’s original water drawings. The illustrations, which remain little known even today, are reproduced here in color, many for the first time for a general audience. Fly-Fishing with Leonardo da Vinci is meant to inform and entertain anyone interested in the artist or fly-fishing and their unlikely intersection.

About the Author

David Ladensohn is a United Country client, entrepreneur, forty-year fly-fisher, and first-time author of the new book Fly-Fishing with Leonardo da Vinci. Combining his admiration for Leonardo’s art with his extensive knowledge of fly-fishing, Ladensohn discovered a unique connection between Leonardo’s water dynamics expertise, demonstrating that he would make the ideal fly-fishing guide.

Following his career as an international banker and manufacturing CEO, Ladensohn has been a mediator, corporate board chairman, and water rights investment manager. He was recently a Next Horizons Scholar at Oxford University, a cohort-based program of academic, social, and individual studies for mid- to late-career participants from diverse fields and countries.