The Fishing Book: Sportfishing in Ontario

Hans B. Neumann is a history lecturer at Scarborough College, University
of Toronto.

This large-format, lavishly illustrated book has a tight focus on the
large and committed community involved in sports fishing. It would hold
little appeal for those not hooked on this form of outdoor recreation.

The text represents a compilation of separate chapters written by noted
and expert fishing enthusiasts on the delights of pursuing the major
species of game fish found in Ontario. The species discussed range from
the common to the elusive: from coho or chinook to smallmouth bass to
muskie and steelhead to brook trout. Eventually all the major targets of
the sports angler are highlighted. Along the way many other areas
receive attention as well: fly-fishing, the increasingly popular hobby
of fish viewing and photography, and recipes for preparing all kinds of
caught game fish.

Everywhere in the text one finds tons of friendly, chummy advice to the
converted on how to land the “big one”—advice culled from many
years spent pursuing the wily, scaly quarry. The many superb full-page,
color photographs (some devoted to wildlife the angler may see while
fishing) do much to enhance the text as well as to arouse at times the
envy of those less successful at sports fishing.

No doubt the people who put this glossy book together were well aware
of the importance of sports fishing for Ontario’s tourism industry.
The book would receive a deservedly welcome reception among sports
anglers outside Ontario. Yet the various authors of the separate
chapters do not pander—all simply wish to share their enthusiasm and
knowledge of the sports-fishing experience. This book should find a
treasured spot on the bookshelf of every avid devotee of rod and reel.