Fishing in the West: A Guide to Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba

Matt Hartman is a freelance editor and cataloguer, running Hartman Cataloguing, Editing and Indexing Services.

Western Producer Prairie Books of Saskatoon seems to be bent upon cornering the literary market for Canadian sports activities. Volumes on curling (1981) and on rodeo (1982) have already appeared, and now we have this guide to sports fishing in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Fishing in the West has, moreover, a decided advantage over its predecessors: it is written by an English teacher, one, in fact, who has designs on a novel. The result is that rare and happy combination: a leisure-activity book presented in a witty and literate style.

Chapter one is devoted to a detailed description of various kinds of fish in the West and the techniques best used in their taking. Northern pike, lake trout, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, and the omnipresent walleye are among the 19 species chronicled. Each fish has posed for a clear black-and-white photograph, a boon to the fisherman who wants to know what it is dangling at the end of his line. The chapter concludes with information on such subjects as knot tying, ice-fishing, fly-fishing, and what is contained in the complete tackle box.

The book’s second chapter consists of brief descriptions of “several hundred places to fish that our experts claim are pretty good,” in the words of the author. Carpenter relied on his friends and on the publications of the three provincial governments to compile his lists. Maps are provided for each geographic zone. The descriptions themselves are concise (several lines) and to the point, and include such information as the name of the lake or river, type of accommodation available (including phone numbers), and locations.

When you’ve caught your limit and are hungry, turn to Chapter 3, “Preparation and Cooking of Fish,” and you’ll find information (profusely illustrated) on scaling, cleaning, filleting. The art of preservation is also covered — freezing, pickling, canning, smoking. A welcome addition to the chapter are twenty recipes.

Chapter 4, the contribution of Michael Taft, is entitled “The Folklore of Angling.” Such folklore is, of course, a good part of the reason why fishing has captured the imagination (and leisure time) of so many otherwise sensible Canadians. Probably no pastime surrounds itself with as many tall tales and apocrypha; this is a good enough sampling.

The books from Western Producer are all well bound, with clear type faces; this is no exception. It is promising to find a small publisher so dedicated to a line of quality products. For the public library.