Anyone read any decent fishing books lately that they'd care to recommend. I know there are a good few covered in this section of the forum, but any other recommendations would be gratefully received.
Just picked up John Gierach's "Death , taxes and leaky waders" and really enjoying it. Put it down first time round - not sure why. Maybe I'm maturing . . . .
Cheers,
Andrew
I usually return to "The Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigantic-Book-Fishing-Stories/dp/1873674120/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318157843&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigantic-Book-Fishing-Stories/dp/1873674120/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318157843&sr=1-1)
and if that price is correct- a real bargain for a tad under 800 pages.
That and a few dips into "Bugs Britannica" to improve my pish-talking.
Then the tying books come out.
Quote from: Tweed on October 09, 2011, 12:51:52 PM
Just picked up John Gierach's "Death , taxes and leaky waders" and really enjoying it.
He is a great writer. I find his stories interesting because he writes around, not about fishing. Fishing is the backdrop.
That's on my list for Santa. Looking forward to it. Something tells me we're not going to be short of stuff to read this winter.
The Longest Silence by Thomas Mc Guane is my favorite, a good read at any time , but the tarpon and bonefish chapters are best saved for during a long haul flight, when the SWFF kit is stowed in the hold....
Joe
Aye, a grand read Joe. One I have in my collection but read a good few years ago, so probably well worth a re-visit. Cheers.
Quote from: admin on October 09, 2011, 01:10:29 PM
He is a great writer. I find his stories interesting because he writes around, not about fishing. Fishing is the backdrop.
Agreed. He really paints a picture that let's you imagine yourself there with him. There's a really nice modesty and understatement about his writing as well; the kind you really only get with someone who you just know is a good enough fisher to have nothing to prove - not unlike the majority on here.
Three favourites:
Trout - Ernest Schwiebert - mammoth book
A singing Reel - Moray Maclaren (Best Fishing book ever written)
Fishing in Wild Places - David Street.
Quote from: Malcolm on October 09, 2011, 09:46:24 PM
A singing Reel - Moray Maclaren (Best Fishing book ever written)
On the strength of that I just bought it on Amazon £9.50.
I hope it's good Malcolm - no pressure though. :lol:
Quote from: Malcolm on October 09, 2011, 09:46:24 PM
Fishing in Wild Places - David Street.
I liked this one, not read A Singing Reel, might wait for Freds verdict first though :D
Another that I pick up again from time to time is Rod and Line , Arthur Ransome, just well written and a pleasure to read.
QuoteA singing Reel - Moray Maclaren (Best Fishing book ever written)
?
I am waiting on a delivery of this book.
Anyone else care to give a quick comment on it?
CC,
I've recommended this to a few people most liked it a lot. One or two didn't. The second half of the book, for me, is much better than the first. This was the book that got me all enthusiastic about Shetland and the Faroes. I still haven't found my way to the Faroes yet.
Quote from: Malcolm on November 13, 2011, 11:35:37 AM
I've recommended this to a few people most liked it a lot
I started it last night. It looks very promising. :D
Adrift in Caledonia: Boat-hitching for the Unenlightened.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adrift-Caledonia-Boat-hitching-Nick-Thorpe/dp/0316726885/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1321186236&sr=8-2 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adrift-Caledonia-Boat-hitching-Nick-Thorpe/dp/0316726885/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1321186236&sr=8-2)
Not a fishing book, but one I would thoroughly recommend. Fellow hitches his way on various water craft. Starting in Leith on the canal, he goes all the way to the Clyde, up the west coast then to Orkney and Shetland isles via the Caledonian canal before finally returning down the east coast.
I was in tears of laughter at some of the antics. Nice light hearted reading to cheer you up in the dark winter months.
enjoy
Billy
Thanks for that Billy, sounds a great read just ordered a 2ndhand copy from Amazon.
Colin
Quote from: Ythanjoe on October 09, 2011, 08:28:57 PM
The Longest Silence by Thomas Mc Guane is my favorite, a good read at any time ,
Just finished this one - thanks for the reminder Joe. A grand read indeed and I like the short-story format. To be honest though I'd still put Gierach's "Death, taxes & leaky waders" out in front - more a reflection of the fact it's probably one of
the most enjoyable angling books I've ever read - that and the fact he uses a few less big words. Both great reads though.
It's "a Singing Reel" next up, followed by "Beneath the Black Water"
I just filled a gaping hole in my Scottish fishing literature by ordering "The Practical Angler" by W.C. Stewart. Amazon not surprisingly. :D
Quote from: Malcolm on November 13, 2011, 11:35:37 AM
This was the book that got me all enthusiastic about Shetland and the Faroes. I still haven't found my way to the Faroes yet.
Right, thats A Singing Reel ordered for me , I've had a Faroes itch for two years now , perhaps this book will be the final push..
Others I read last winter and would pick up again:
Fishing in wild places - David Street
The earth is enough - Harry Middleton
Joe
Read " A Singing Reel" last year and determined I would retrace Moray McLarens footsteps to his little Sandness loch and fish it with a 3 weight, as he did. Didn't manage to fit it in but I'll get there yet.
His trip to the Faeroes sounded marvellous and I'd love to try their fishing. The only time time I have visited was as a hormone-wracked teenager in 1985 and any thoughts of fishing were displaced by the beautiful (and very uninhibited) Faeroese lasses.
Quote from: Ythanjoe on November 13, 2011, 11:06:39 PM
Right, thats A Singing Reel ordered
I am really enjoying it. It's quirky. :D
Quote from: Guddler on November 14, 2011, 12:59:52 AM
The only time time I have visited was as a hormone-wracked teenager in 1985 and any thoughts of fishing were displaced by the beautiful (and very uninhibited) Faeroese lasses.
Apparently if you aren't quick off the mark at the Faroese clubs you will only be left with stunniingly beautiful 5ft 10 blondes. All the 6ft ones will have been taken.
Quote from: Malcolm on November 15, 2011, 09:52:00 AM
Apparently if you aren't quick off the mark at the Faroese clubs you will only be left with stunniingly beautiful 5ft 10 blondes. All the 6ft ones will have been taken.
Yeah, well I suppose a lot depends on the club;
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Faroese_girls_in_costume.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Faroese_girls_in_costume.jpg)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eileensanda/4737085504/#lightbox/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eileensanda/4737085504/#lightbox/)
TL
MC
Quote from: Traditionalist on November 15, 2011, 09:58:48 AM
Yeah, well I suppose a lot depends on the club;
TL
MC
Well I dont go fishing just to catch tiddlers. The fishings probably only any good late afternoon /early evening, the rest of the time I'm up for it if they are :D
Joe
Any of our resident Shetland buffs (or even Shetland residents :8)) read "Between weathers" by Ron McMillan? Worth a read?
Andrew
I'm on the last few pages now of "A Singing Reel" by Moray Maclaren. I'd give it a mixed review TBH. Firstly it really is of another age, only 50 odd years old or so, but very much a different world. Nothing wrong with that of course (I read lots of old stuff), but it does make me realize how old I am getting. :lol:
Well enough written and while I found his style - which is basically never use 10 words when 110 will suffice - enjoyable to begin with, I did start to find it tedious 1/2 way into the book and found myself skim-reading many paragraphs to get to the point he was making. He does tend to over embellish to make or illustrate his point a wee bit. Just my opinion of course.
I'd like to visit Faroe after reading it, but accept it is unlikely to be the same place as it was way back them when I was one year old. Some good stuff on sea trout fishing in Shetland, but I do wonder how much of that is still valid in these days salmon farms?
I'd say it is certainly worth a read for all that. Add it to your fishing library! :D
I like that old verbose style.
The books I like are invariably languid story type books with lots of asides. So books like Negley Farson's "Going Fishing", David Street's "Fishing in Wild Places" and anything by Roderick Haig brown are among the books I adore. Any of that sort of book, a glass of Old Peculiar, a quick check that the dear lady is watching Casualty, stick on Paganini's Caprices, stoke up me pipe and I'm in clover!
Quotehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/eileensanda/4737085504/#lightbox/
Don't fancy the one you guys are getting.. She looks like one mean women.
:roll:
Ah books........right, hard to see by this one
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=the+longest+silence&tag=googhydr-21&index=stripbooks&hvadid=7974493113&ref=pd_sl_1l90ksvt9e_b (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=the+longest+silence&tag=googhydr-21&index=stripbooks&hvadid=7974493113&ref=pd_sl_1l90ksvt9e_b)
I've tried reading this three times and have always gave up about a quarter of the way through. I know many folk like it and reckon its one of the best ever . But I just dont get it for some reason. :?
Have a wee look on this site !! Some very rare and expensive books on sale here
http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?kn=scottish+trout+fishing&x=0&y=0 (http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?kn=scottish+trout+fishing&x=0&y=0)
Just read Adrift in Caledonia: Boat-hitching for the Unenlightened , as recommended by Billy.
Great read , if anyone wants it PM me I will pass it along .
Cheers Colin
Hi Colin,
I'd be keen to have a read and could pay you postage by paypal
Let me know
Donald
I read Caledonia a couple of years ago. This made me want to read it again but I can't remember who borrowed it?
Since reading it I have met a couple of people that I thought I knew. Turned out they were in the book under slightly different names.
A.
Right now I am reading W.C. Stewart's classic work :
"The Practical Angler or The Art of Trout-Fishing more particularly applied to clear water"
First published in 1857 and it's surprising how little has changed. Same concerns over habitat degradation, recommendations to use stiff rods etc and Stewart was covering the same theories that some more contemporary writers have made to look their own. The writing style is wonderful. If you have not read this book get it. You won't regret it. Amazon has lots of copies, they are just scans of the originals but you quickly get used to the oddness of it. Alternatively you could download and print it out. It's well out of copyright, but I reckon it's worth buying a hard copy. No wonder this is a Scottish trout fishing classic.
Quote from: admin on December 20, 2011, 09:24:15 PM
Right now I am reading W.C. Stewart's classic work :
"The Practical Angler or The Art of Trout-Fishing more particularly applied to clear water"
First published in 1857 and it's surprising how little has changed. Same concerns over habitat degradation, recommendations to use stiff rods etc and Stewart was covering the same theories that some more contemporary writers have made to look their own. The writing style is wonderful. If you have not read this book get it. You won't regret it. Amazon has lots of copies, they are just scans of the originals but you quickly get used to the oddness of it. Alternatively you could download and print it out. It's well out of copyright, but I reckon it's worth buying a hard copy. No wonder this is a Scottish trout fishing classic.
I'd have to agree with that Fred, cracking read altogether.
At the moment I'm reading One Man and his Bike by Mike Carter. Its about a journalist who is was fed up with the humdrum of city life etc and decided to get out of London and cycle round the coast of Britain without much forethought and planning. Thoroughly enjoying this book.
Quote from: admin on December 20, 2011, 09:24:15 PM
Right now I am reading W.C. Stewart's classic work :
"The Practical Angler or The Art of Trout-Fishing more particularly applied to clear water"
First published in 1857 and it's surprising how little has changed. Same concerns over habitat degradation, recommendations to use stiff rods etc and Stewart was covering the same theories that some more contemporary writers have made to look their own. The writing style is wonderful. If you have not read this book get it. You won't regret it. Amazon has lots of copies, they are just scans of the originals but you quickly get used to the oddness of it. Alternatively you could download and print it out. It's well out of copyright, but I reckon it's worth buying a hard copy. No wonder this is a Scottish trout fishing classic.
You will probably enjoy this as well;
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=The%20Angler%20and%20The%20loop%20Rod (http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=The%20Angler%20and%20The%20loop%20Rod)
http://www.wildfisher.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=16986.0 (http://www.wildfisher.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=16986.0)
TL
MC
I liked that one too. There was a right old set to between Cholmondley Pennel and Stewart . Stewart thought Pennel was regurgitating his ideas. The editor of the "field" eventually got fed up with them abusing each other and stopped printing their harangues. Sound familiar?
Yes Malcolm and I noticed Stewart having a go at Stoddart a few times in the book. :D
Quote from: admin on December 21, 2011, 11:12:49 AM
Yes Malcolm and I noticed Stewart having a go at Stoddart a few times in the book. :D
Stewart had a pamphlet printed about the matter;
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=a%20caution%20to%20anglers (http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=a%20caution%20to%20anglers)
TL
MC
It's a shame they lived so long ago. It could have been quickly cleared up had they the opportunity to "Ask Stan" :D
On the last few pages of W.C. Stewart's "The Practical Angler". A great historical read. Couple of notable points: he had a worming season, basically he wormed for a few months when the main spring hatches ended. He confusingly referred to the large stoneflies as "mayflies" and the wanton slaughter of fish makes you wonder why there are any left at all. He talked in terms of "baskets" of tens of pounds. Changed days indeed.
The stonefly was the northern mayfly because that was when they appeared. It had nothing to do with nomenclature or entymology :)
Quote from: admin on December 02, 2011, 02:06:48 PM
I'm on the last few pages now of "A Singing Reel" by Moray Maclaren. I'd give it a mixed review TBH. Firstly it really is of another age, only 50 odd years old or so, but very much a different world. Nothing wrong with that of course (I read lots of old stuff), but it does make me realize how old I am getting. :lol:
Well enough written and while I found his style - which is basically never use 10 words when 110 will suffice - enjoyable to begin with, I did start to find it tedious 1/2 way into the book and found myself skim-reading many paragraphs to get to the point he was making. He does tend to over embellish to make or illustrate his point a wee bit. Just my opinion of course.
I'd like to visit Faroe after reading it, but accept it is unlikely to be the same place as it was way back them when I was one year old. Some good stuff on sea trout fishing in Shetland, but I do wonder how much of that is still valid in these days salmon farms?
I'd say it is certainly worth a read for all that. Add it to your fishing library! :D
Just finished this one. A nice enough read, if a little hard work at times. McLean clearly loved his fishing though and it was interesting to read a book written some 60 years ago, and realise how the underlying pleasures to be had from the sport don't change much over time. Pity the same can't be said for the quantities of fish available. Fortunately though, some things do appear to have changed for the better - attitudes to catch and release for one.
As others have said - it does whet the appetite for the Faroes as well . . . one day . . .
Have just finished Life and Limb by Jamie Andrew, not fishing related but worthy of a mention.
http://www.jamieandrew.com/content/view/32/52/ (http://www.jamieandrew.com/content/view/32/52/)
Truly inspiring story, lost his best friend and both hands and feet to frost bite after 6 days trapped on an Alpine ridge.Returned home to Edinburgh , got back to work and back to the climbing,sailing,marathons and trecking he did before.
Well worth a read and can be bought direct from the link.
Cheers Colin