Trout Fishing in America took its name from Richard Brautigan’s novel and came together in 1979 out of what remained of the Houston unit St. Elmo’s Fire. The acoustic folk-rock pair featured vocalist and guitarist Ezra Idlet alongside vocalist and bassist Keith Grimwood, achieving their widest recognition through children’s recordings that began with the 1991 album Big Trouble. Their appeal to young listeners was heightened by an eye-catching physical contrast, with Idlet measuring 6'9" while Grimwood stood about fourteen inches below that height.
A 1992 effort, Over the Limit, briefly shifted focus toward adult listeners, yet the 1994 release Mine! earned a Parents’ Choice Award. Following 1996’s Reel Life, the duo issued the children’s project My World in 1997. Another adult-oriented set, Closer to the Truth, appeared in 1999, after which family material resumed with Infinity in 2001 and It’s a Puzzle two years later. Their twelfth album, the 2004 holiday collection Merry Fishes to All, brought a second Grammy nomination. Live interpretations of earlier and newer material filled the 2006 release My Best Day, which also received a Grammy nod, and the pair returned in 2008 with the self-made album Big Round World.
