The book!
Well here it is folks. 6 years, and many moons after I started it, my book ‘ A Bass Angler’s Life’ is finally a reality, and represents a long-time ambition achieved. I’ve always enjoyed writing, particularly about fishing, and this has been a real ‘labour of love’ as they say. My writing has been mostly via BASS, in its quarterly journal and elsewhere, but I always had a hankering to write a book of my own.
When I retired at the end of 2012, the project began with a rough plan of the things I wanted to include. At first it was just something to do in the winter months, when I wasn’t fishing. As time went on, I realised that I needed to pull my finger out, and actually get something published. I nearly went for it last summer, but the ‘project’ was in danger of eating into my fishing time, something which cannot be allowed (unless it’s a question of life or death!), so I decided to finish it off during the winter/spring just gone; I also hoped this might give me another season to bag that double, but alas that wasn’t to be!
‘A Bass Angler’s Life’ hot off the press!
I thought I’d missed the boat when, after what seemed like ages since a book on bass fishing was published, two came out in short succession last Autumn. But I needn’t have worried, for although James Batty’s ‘The song of the solitary bass fisher’ and Marc Cowling’s ‘The lure of the bass’ are both excellent books, mine offers the reader a slightly different take on the world of bass angling, one which I hope will appeal to all who enjoy the wider aspects of this wonderful pastime, and how this relates to our family and working life, something we all have to juggle with at times. My life as a bass angler has been rich and varied, and taken me down many different paths; I have tried to share the breadth of experience this has given me in the book.
The blog will be a continuation of the book. I aim to post blogs, covering fishing, bass science, bass conservation/management, and anything else related to bass fishing, on a fairly regular basis, depending on what’s happening, so please have a look when you can.
You’ll find some information about the book in the early pages via the taster link, but I thought a short summary of each chapter might help:
Chapter 1
How I got into bass fishing, and how my fishing style has broadened over time. Balancing fishing activities with family life.
Chapter 2
The people who have inspired and fished with me.
Chapter 3
The way I fish – with bait (includes collecting and storing bait), and with lures.
Chapter 4
The factors which influence when and where I go fishing, including types of marks, time of day and year, tides, winds, sea conditions, atmospheric pressure.
Chapter 5
Some of my favourite places in Cornwall. Discovering and fishing new marks and areas.
Chapter 6
Learning about bass fishing.
Chapter 7
The ways in which fishing affects and enriches our lives and brings us into contact with the natural world as a whole.
Chapter 8
Fishing mishaps, interesting occurrences, amusing situations.
Chapter 9
Some good fishing days, including notable catches, achievements, discoveries and fond memories.
“Tight lines” as they say, and thank-you for your interest.