A Look Through My Book Case — Nick Taransky

Nick Taransky - Trout fisher, word and book lover, cane rod builder - and banjo strummer guides us through his book case.

In these strange days, we trout anglers may be luckier than most in a few ways. Firstly, when things begin to open back up, I have to think that solitude and space out on the water will be an acceptable place to be compared to some other close quarters interests. Secondly, after all that time without seeing an angler, those rout are going to be so easy to catch… And thirdly, we are used to a closed season over Winter anyway. It’s just that this time the “closed” is applying to quite a bit more than fishing, and maybe for a little longer.

Of course, time off the water is an opportunity for tackle maintenance, fly tying, and other fishing related activities. In modern times we have been presented with an endless stream of fishing films and podcasts. Many of these are worth tuning into, but I think that the humble old book can be just as good, and maybe even better, when it comes to engaging your mind.

Over the years, I’ve somehow managed to fill two bookcases with something like 600 books on fly fishing, which does seem like quite a few, but actually must just be a drop in the ocean of the total number of fly fishing books. I’ve never been a collector as such, but in general if I’ve been able to find a hard cover version, or first edition of a book I’ve wanted to read, I’ve tended to buy that if there wasn’t too much of a premium on the price.

Some editions of some books have remained collectable, but in general, the resale value of books has declined significantly. The good news is that many books that were out of reach for everyday readers can now be found at very affordable prices. A lot of books are available as Kindle versions, but out of print books, and classics, for me are much better enjoyed in hard copy.

This season, my “Winter” reading started a little earlier than usual – half way through Summer! Drought, heatwaves, fire and thick smoke gave the season an “end of the world” feel almost as soon as it started. So I was happy to stay home and work more on rods, do a little reading, and waiting for the weather to cool down. And just as it did, bang, the COVID-19 zombie apocalypse hit. Crazy days indeed. Thankfully, I haven’t have to resort to turning my book collection into toilet paper, but at one stage I was wondering if the cheaper paperbacks might need to be “repurposed”.

Anyway, onto more pleasant matters! Hopefully I can suggest some good books based on my recent reading. Looking back, in 2011, I penned an article on my Winter reading, and scanning though that article made me realise how many of those books I’m probably due to read again. A nice thing about quality writing is that good books stand the test of time, so old and classic books can be worth re You can start with one small bookcase, but soon another will be needed.

If you have even the faintest sense of humour you must search out some Patrick F McManus books. Laughing in bed though is dangerous.

reading more than once. Without rehashing that article from scratch, I’ll weave in some of the titles and authors I mentioned there as well.

Where to Start?

With such a vast number of titles to choose from, you can focus on one area of interest, or read from a range of different types of book – how to, memoir, humour, historical, travel/location and more. I will try and cover a reasonable amount of ground, but these will just be some arbitrary highlights based rather than a comprehensive reading list!

Soon after I fell down the fly fishing “rabbit hole” in the early 1980’s, my fly fishing mentor, Ray Brown, gave me some excellent advice. He suggested as a starting point, to get hold of Arnold Gingrich’s “The Fishing in Print”. Well written and very readable in its own right, it is self described as “A Guided Tour Through Five Centuries of Angling Literature”. It covers important and respected writing from Dame Juliana Berners though to the time of publication, 1974. It concludes with an annotated list of over 30 recommended books published from 1935 onwards. So if you want to be a serious student of quality angling literature, this is a wonderful place to start. Be warned, if you go down this path, you might need to get a new bookcase, but on the bright side, the books will be a lot cheaper these days than they used to!

While I’m mentioning “books about books”, though it’s a different style of book – being more of a list/value guide reference than a cover to cover read, Jim Findlay’s “Australian Fishing Books” is an invaluable resource and starting point into the Australian side of things. Robert Traver is essential reading.

Humour

I think one thing that many of us can do with at the moment is a laugh. For snortingly funny short stories, I can suggest no further than the outdoor writings of Patrick F McMannus. Starting with “A Fine and Pleasant Misery”, there are dozen or so similar titles that you can devour a chapter at a time. He also wrote a number of funny and escapist crime novels too, starting with “The Blight Way”

Another funny little book, is Norman Thelwell’s “Compleat Tangler”. One of many in Thelwells themed series on a range of subjects, it features gorgeously illustrated cartoons depicting the English fishing culture of the 1960. I got my copy as a little kid, and only understood a fraction of the humour and English references, but loved it anyway. Over time more of the humour made sense, so it was a book I appreciated several times over, and still makes me smile when I look through the little yellowed pages today.

Memoirs and Essays

I’m currently in the middle of John Gierach’s second most recent book, “All Fishermen are Liars”. I’ve long been a fan of his work, and though I haven’t read him much lately, I think it’s time to go back and read a few favourites. Of course, his breakout “Trout Bum” made the term mainstream. He has probably been the most successful writer in the “memoir/short essay” category since it was first published in 1988, and all of his books contain the sort of dry humour and wisdom that I really enjoy. Prior to that, I’d read Harry Middleton’s “The Earth is Enough”, a wonderful memoir about growing up as a teenager with his grandfather and uncle in the Ozarks of America. “On the Spine of Time”, about angling in the Smoky mountains, is another Middleton book that is widely acclaimed, though he was never rewarded financially for his writing, and was working as a garbage collector to pay the bills when he died. www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

His poignant style manages to be both hilarious and sad at the same time, in a way that I haven’t experienced from any other writer.

Many will be familiar with Robert Traver’s (aka John Voelker) “The Testament of a Fisherman”. If you're not familiar with it, Google it. This short paragraph encapsulates why many of us fish, and is a beautiful and emotive piece of writing. Traver’s books, “Trout Magic” and “Trout Madness” are a reflection of his quality as an author, and well worth tracking down. Less recognised is his curious “Anatomy of a Fisherman”, a mix of short paragraphs and colour photos, with space to add your own entries! I love this quirky book and its hilarious little vignettes.

Oh Canada

In 2016, I visited Canada for a bamboo rodmakers gathering, and fell in love with the awesome scenery of British Columbia. Roderick Haig-Brown captured the essence of the region, as well as its rivers, salmon and steelhead. He wrote prolifically, but “Fisherman’s Fall” is known as a classic. Another book of his that Bob Clay, bamboo rodmaker, and former steelhead guide recommended to me was “The Measure of the Year”. It’s more about the seasons of British Columbia, and Haig-Brown’s country life as a Magistrate than a fishing book, but I enjoyed it immensely. While on the tangent of “Canadian non fishing books”, I where I live in New South Wales, plus the Taranaki region of New Zealand where my wife Miri comes from. Another of his books that is really enjoyable (again, a non fishing one), is “Springtime in Taranaki”, about growing up in country New Zealand.

All of David Scholes’ books have a special place in my heart, and previously hard to come by titles can now be picked up at very reasonable prices. I think it’s worth having a copy of everything that he wrote. He can still take me to the stream with his words like few others, and gently impart a wealth of useful how-to information at the same time.

Harry Middleton is worth a read and Tom Sutcliffe is prolific and entertaining.

can highly recommend John Vaillant’s “The Golden Spruce”. A riveting non fiction about the disappearance of environmental “activist” Grant Hadwin, it also chronicles the history of the Canadian forestry industry in fascinating detail.

Australian Classics

We’ve had some wonderful writers here in Australia, but in the past, many of the more desirable books have been on the expensive side. As I mentioned, these are much more affordable now, so it is a great time to fill gaps in the collection.

I recently re read Douglas Stewarts’ “The Seven Rivers” and I’d forgotten how beautifully it was written. It’s a bonus that he writes about the Monaro region

South Africa

About ten years ago, expat South African, Alan Meyburgh very kindly gave me a copy of Tom Sutcliffe’s iconic “Hunting Trout”. It’s a mix of road trip stories through South African trout country, plus some technical fishing information and fly recipes. Tom is seen as the founding father of modern South African trout fishing, and his writing does justice to his position. Long out of print, a third edition of Hunting Trout will be published soon. Keep an eye out for it! “Hunting Trout” was followed by “Shadows on the Streambed” and most recently “Yet More Sweet Days”. Both are a similar style and format to “Hunting Trout”, and well worth owning. Tom is also an accomplished artist, and illustrated his own books. I’m lucky enough to have a number of his watercolours and pencil sketches too.

Fly Tying

I must admit, though I like tying my own flies, for me most fly tying books are more of a reference than an actual read. One notable exception is another Ray Brown recommendation. “Sunshine and the Dry Fly”, by J. W. Dunne, was published nearly 100 years ago, but is an enlightening discussion on colour, translucence and other aspects of materials and naturals that is relevant to this day. So it gets an honourable mention!

Well hopefully some of those titles, even the old ones will help with some reading (or re reading) through our current “closed” season! Nick Taransky

JUMBO TUNNY

The fish are waiting

Kelly ‘Hooch’ Hunt

Jumbo Tunny

I don’t profess to be an expert on such matters but it would seem we are close to being able to fish freely again. If when you read this I am sure it will be soon. Covid19 mostly stopped us fishing, but not planning to fish. This is fabulous news as the big JUMBO tuna are hungry and are wondering where we all are.

The first real good frosts have hit the state and we are seeing a dump of snow here and there. That is when the old timers would get their jumbo hunting gear out and get keen. Hitting the bait grounds off Eagle hawk neck and the likes. The southern tip of Schouten Island and out towards the shelf to the east. Pedra Branca always gets a mention when JUMBOs are mentioned and the memories of schools of 100 plus kilo fish stampeding and greyhounding towards the boat and the lures.

So we have had plenty of time to clean and go over the gear the last few months. Never should we be so well prepared to battle the big strong brutes of our offshore waters. The Southern Bluefin tuna is our most accessible gamefish and pound for pound is one of the toughest to subdue. So it is a good thing your gear and lures are in prime condition.

Helen O’Neill with her 140kg bluefin caught in February 2019 fishing at Pedra Branca onboard Mustang Sally with Jonah Yick. This fish was a potential female 37kg world record, unfortunately a seal grabbed it in the final minutes of the fight. This fish was used as part of a CSIRO genetics study. www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.