New in Paperback: The harrowing adventure-at-sea memoir ("Terrific."-Daniel James Brown) recounting the 2013 search-and-rescue mission for lost Montauk fisherman John Aldridge. "A Speck in the Sea is a terrific read-harrowing and inspiring at the same time. In the end it's a moving testament both to our individual will to survive and to our collective will to come to the aid of others in distress. I couldn't put it down." -Daniel James Brown, author of The Boys in the Boat In the dead of night on July 24, 2013, John Aldridge was thrown off the back of the Anna Mary while his fishing partner, Anthony Sosinski, slept below. As desperate hours ticked by, Sosinski, the families, the local fishing community, and the U.S. Coast Guard in three states mobilized in an unprecedented search effort that culminated in a rare and exhilarating success. A tale of survival, perseverance, and community, A Speck in the Sea tells of one man's struggle to survive as friends and strangers work to bring him home. Aldridge's wrenching first-person account intertwines with the narrative of the massive, constantly evolving rescue operation designed to save him.

A must-read about these magnificent but sometimes deadly creatures-thoroughly revised, expanded, and updated

This invaluable, well-illustrated book presents a carefully crafted, step-by-step programme which teaches the complete novice air pistol shooter how to attain a high level of marksmanship. The training begins with a detailed consideration of safety procedures, basic pistol craft, range construction and the types of air pistol that are available (spring-powered, pneumatic and CO2) and how they work. The author then moves on to consider holsters, targets, and the advanced skills associated with trigger control, the hold, presentation, the stance, the fast draw and rapid fire shooting. Finally, detailed attention is paid to markmanship exercises but the author emphasizes that these should only be undertaken after all of the techniques set out in the previous chapters have been mastered. Whether you are a novice or more experienced, if you are interested in the fast growing pastime of air pistol shooting for pleasure, then this is the book for you.

"If you are a bird hunter looking to improve your marksmanship, welcome to the skeet field!" Steven Mulak explains how the sport of skeet can help you hunt those unpredictable birds. Illustrations and photographs clearly show the right way--and the wrong way--to shoot skeet and improve your score. Mulak's information takes you from the skeet range to the hunt, with a new set of tools at your fingertips. What makes someone a good shot? Steven Mulak has given this question a lot of thought, and his book analyzes problems faced by shooters everywhere. A good shot doesn't miss the same shot twice because he figures out why he missed it and what he must do to correct his mistake. Shooting a shotgun well takes skill, and this book will help you improve your technique. * What to look for in a field shotgun * How to improve technique and how to recognize and change bad habits * How to use skeet to improve your hunting plus clay target games

It may be a "best-kept secret," but central Texas has some of the best fly fishing in America. With Texas native and fly fishing expert Aaron Reed as your guide, enjoy dozens of wades and paddles, all within easy reach of Austin. Discover secluded spring creeks braced by soaring limestone cliffs. Wade in broad pools dotted with lily pads and stands of water willow. Paddle deep, slow rivers. Easy-to-follow narrative, detailed maps, and gorgeous color photographs make it easy to "Go fishing now!" even if you have only a few hours to spare. There's something for every angler in central Texas. Visit the nation's southernmost trout fishery on the Canyon Lake tailwaters. Catch more than half a dozen species in a single day, including native Guadalupe bass and the only cichlid native to the United States. Fly Fishing Austin and Central Texas is your passport to the challenges and rewards of angling in this unique and beautiful region. A look inside: 49 detailed on-the-water route descriptions to 12 featured streams More than 100 legal access points on 19 creeks and rivers Full-color maps showing stream access points More than 300 full-color photographs Dozens of local angler-friendly hangouts Local and natural history from dinosaurs to current events Descriptions of common flora and fauna found in the area Comprehensive Texas river law primer Tips for taking kids fishing. Advice for selecting rods, reels, and line for local conditions and species Local fly shops and guide services The mysterious story of Round Rock's "Hairy Man" Where to find and how to catch trophy rainbow trout Winner of the 2020 National Outdoor Book Award And much, much more!

’I can’t recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I can’t remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did.’

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that it’s born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe – a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from both light and science, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies.

And yet . . . There is still so much we don’t know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eel’s metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we don’t know exactly why.

What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us.

This is the basis for The Gospel of the Eels, Patrik Svensson’s quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature.

Through the exploration of eels in literature (Günter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) and the history of science (we learn about Aristotle’s and Sigmund Freud’s complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal. In this exploration, we also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best.

As Patrik Svensson concludes: 'by writing about eels, I have in some ways found my way home again.'

A detailed history of the development of fishing reel technology and fascinating stories of the notable manufacturers who produced them are related here. Fly casting, bait casting, spinning, and spin casting reels produced in America and Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are shown in over 180 fine photographs and drawings. Reels produced by famous manufacturers are shown, including J. C. Conroy and Company*TM, William Mills*TM, Julius Von Hofe*TM, and the Kentucky reel smiths B. F. Meek & Sons*TM and B.C. Milam*TM. Current market values are provided in tables. This book will be prized by anyone who has ever cast a line out over the water on a cool, still morning.

This volume is written about working on one of the finest sporting firearms ever invented - the shotgun. Included are types of shotgun from everyman's dream gun, the sidelock ejector, to the everyman gun, the humble economy single barrel. It covers the work a gunsmith actually encounters, much of this information has never previously been published and may help the reader appreciate the complexity and great range of skills and knowledge a gunsmith needs, something unique in the 21st century. Topics covered include: guns and gunsmithing; tooling & equipment; stripping & servicing and examination for faults; minor and advanced barrel work; rejointing barrels to actions and lockwork; minor and major stock repairs; blacking, bluing, browning and engraving, and finally gun proof and the Law.

Kevin "Doctari" Robertson's best-selling book on shot placement for African game, The Perfect Shot, has now been completely revised and updated: extensive additions to the text; 300 all-new photos of the animals covered; and revised, detailed anatomical drawings. The Perfect Shot II also has shot-placement details for a number of species not covered in the original edition, including blesbok, bongo, black wildebeest, grysbok, nyala, reedbuck, roan, and steenbok. In all, twenty-seven African game species are now covered. Robertson, a licensed professional hunter and veterinarian, first developed The Perfect Shot a dozen years ago, and it was quickly recognized as the most comprehensive work ever undertaken to show the anatomical features for all classes of African game. His revised version reflects his increased knowledge of big-game anatomy and shot placement. In addition, the chapters on bullet construction and performance have been substantially revised to cover the advances in bullet development that have occurred in the twelve years since the publication of the original edition. The book covers just about every animal you might hunt in Africa, from the big, dangerous species (elephant, buffalo, rhino, and hippo) to the large cats (lion and leopard) and from the largest antelopes (eland and bongo) to the smallest (duiker, grysbok, and klipspringer). Even Africa's more unusual species (giraffe, crocodile, zebra, and hyena) are covered in detail. Each animal is shown in at least one color field picture as well as a color ";ghost view"; that illustrates the shoulder bones, heart, lungs, brain, and spinal column. These views allow you to see precisely where to place your shot in relation to how the animal may be standing. Most species now have multiple illustrations from different angles for easier understanding of the different shot-placement options.

Eugene Connett, III, the venerable founder of The Derrydale Press, described Edmund Smith as "the most polished writer we have ever published. The discovery of this manuscript in 1936 was, he said, "one of the happiest events of the past year." Smith was a master New England storyteller who expressed his love and knowledge of wild places through the medium of short stories. The title comes from an experience of the author and a boyhood friend who together enjoyed the thrill of catching their first bass with worms in a tomato can. Warm, evocative stories from locales all over the Atlantic seaboard. Originally published by The Derrydale Press in 1937, this classic of outdoor literature will appeal to the armchair sportsman as well as the accomplished hunter and fisher. Illustrated by Ralph L. Boyer.

In this book, expert fly designer John Barr covers his techniques for catching more fish, including trout and warmwater species such as bass. His unconventional techniques include adapting tactics for bass and panfish for catching trout-and using trout techniques for warmwater species. He covers his deadly technique of fishing multiple flies in detail and shares his favorite fly combinations for fishing the hatches, both in rivers and still waters. Even if you're wise to the technique of fishing multiple flies to increase your chances of catching fish, John Barr takes that game to a whole new level in this book. There are chapters on fishing all the major hatches, streamer fishing, fishing for warmwater species, lake fishing, as well as critical insights into the mental game that enables the top 10 percent of anglers to catch 90 percent of all the fish.

The image that comes to mind when you think of big game hunters is of African safaris with men carrying enormous guns hunting exotic game. But there were women on those trips as well, and not just the trips to Africa, and they were often as successful at the hunt as the men. Women such as Lady Florence Dixie, Agnes Herbert, Osa Johnson, Grace Gallatin Seton, and Gladys Harriman hunted so well, they made names for themselves and wrote of their adventures. Divided into chapters detailing a specific time period, region hunted or individual woman, With Rifle and Petticoat explores the interesting women who hunted a variety of big game animals around the world.

From childhood on, Ernest Hemingway was a passionate fisherman. He fished the lakes and creeks near the family's summer home at Walloon Lake, Michigan, and his first stories and pieces of journalism were often about his favorite sport. Here, collected for the first time in one volume, are all of his great writings about the many kinds of fishing he did--from angling for trout in the rivers of northern Michigan to fishing for marlin in the Gulf Stream.
In "A Moveable Feast, "Hemingway speaks of sitting in a cafe in Paris and writing about what he knew best--and when it came time to stop, he "did not want to leave the river." The story was the unforgettable classic "Big Two-Hearted River," and from its first words we do not want to leave the river either. He also wrote articles for "The Toronto Star "on fishing in Canada and Europe and, later, articles for "Esquire "about his growing passion for big-game fishing. Two of his last books, "The Old Man and the Sea "and "Islands in the Stream, "celebrate his vast knowledge of the ocean and his affection for its great denizens.
"Hemingway on Fishing "is an encompassing, diverse, and fascinating assemblage. From the early Nick Adams stories and the memorable chapters on fishing the Irati River in "The Sun Also Rises "to such late novels as "Islands in the Stream, "this collection traces the evolution of a great writer's passion, the range of his interests, and the sure use he made of fishing, transforming it into the stuff of great literature.
Anglers and lovers of great writing alike will welcome this important collection.

Bass fishing pro Jimmy Houston gives outdoor enthusiasts from beginners to bassmasters spiritual insights and fishing tips in this yearlong devotional. What does a fishing lure have to do with following Jesus? How can casting our lines remind us of our commitment to godly living? In what ways does the underwater world teach us about God's purposes? In Catch a Better Life, hugely popular pro fisherman Jimmy Houston shares wisdom from the Bible along with plenty of savvy fishing advice. Each entry in this 365-day devotional includes: a Scripture verse from the Old or New Testament a brief meditation that applies insights from the art of fishing to spiritual growth a pro fishing tip With its colorful photos and a presentation page, this full-color book makes a perfect gift for: the outdoor enthusiast anyone who loves to fish or wants to learn followers of Jimmy Houston as TV host and fisher extraordinaire retirement parties, Father's Day, Grandparents' Day, birthdays, Christmas If you love God's creation--along with the excitement of the catch--and want to grow in your spiritual life, reel in this fisherman's devotional guide to following God with purpose.

This book-a reprint of the original 1939 edition-offers an in-depth look at some of the most sought-after game in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. Included are black and grizzly bears, doves, elk and deer, and even Mexican jaguars. Each animal-dedicated chapter details habitat and behavior and includes stories from the author. Based mostly on the author's observations of game while on the hunt or just exploring in the field, this classic is a departure from natural history books that "are simply a rehash of other books that are a rehash of still other books."

When Lily Raff McCaulou traded in an indie film production career in New York for a reporting job in central Oregon, she never imagined that she'd find herself picking up a gun and learning to hunt. She'd been raised as a gun-fearing environmentalist and an animal lover, and though a meat-eater, she'd always abided by the principle that harming animals is wrong. But Raff McCaulou's perspective shifted when she began spending weekends fly-fishing and weekdays interviewing hunters for her articles, realizing that many of them were more thoughtful about animals and the environment than she was.
So she embarked upon the project of learning to hunt from square one. From attending a Hunter Safety course designed for children to field dressing an elk and serving it for dinner, she explores the sport of hunting and all it entails, and tackles the big questions surrounding one of the most misunderstood American practices and pastimes. Not just a personal memoir, this book also explores the role of the hunter in the twenty-first century, the tension (at times artificial) between hunters and environmentalists, and new models of sustainable and ethical food procurement.

The bamboo fly rod still represents the pinnacle of the fly-fishing art; its apparent simplicity and delicacy belie the craftsmanship and strength that are the hallmarks of all great rods. A growing number of people have tried to learn the art of making bamboo rods from a shrinking number of secretive craftsmen. The revised and expanded Handcrafting Bamboo Fly Rods is the definitive reference for beginners and experts alike. Wayne Cattanach begins by explaining the qualities that distinguish bamboo from all other materials: It has a tensile strength akin to steel, yet it is very light.
He describes the process that will take anyone from lengths of hard, raw bamboo to a beautiful finished rod with clear, step-by-step instructions and illustrations, including how to find the best supplies; select tools and materials; make heat treaters and binders; cut culms; straighten bamboo strips; plane and stagger strips; bind strips; apply finishes; mount the reel seat, ferrules, and tip-top; and much more. This is surely the most thorough book available for those who wish to make and fish with their own bamboo fly rods.

The magic and majesty of America's greatest western fly-fishing rivers. "Flywater" brings us to the iconic creeks, springs, freestone rivers, and tailwaters that make the American West the world's premier destination for fly fishing. Grant McClintock's first book struck a chord with fishermen, and fifteen years later he takes the reader back to these fabulous places--from the storied Henry's Fork to the Yellowstone to the Thompson River in British Columbia. With extraordinary new photography and wisdom, McClintock revisits these home waters and discovers countless others as well. "Flywater" is a gallery of moments and places. From Idaho and Montana to Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, McClintock's rich photography of trout and steelhead waters surrounded by beautiful Western landscapes creates a compelling journey that the reader, whether fisherman or non-fisherman, will thoroughly enjoy. For the serious fly fisherman, this is an album of shared experiences. For the uninitiated, it is an artfully crafted guidebook to an exotic new world that really does exist on the streams and rivers of the American West.

’I can’t recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I can’t remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did.’

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that it’s born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe – a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from both light and science, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies.

And yet . . . There is still so much we don’t know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eel’s metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we don’t know exactly why.

What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us.

This is the basis for The Gospel of the Eels, Patrik Svensson’s quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature.

Through the exploration of eels in literature (Günter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) and the history of science (we learn about Aristotle’s and Sigmund Freud’s complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal. In this exploration, we also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best.

HINTS ON REVOLVER SHOOTING By WALTER WINANS Originally published in 1904, this rare early work on the revolver and its use, is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. READ COUNTRY BOOKS have now republished it, using the original text and artwork, in a high quality, affordable, modern edition. The author was a well known and respected figure in the gun world of that era. He was an expert shot with all types of firearms and was Vice-President of the National Rifle Association and President of the Ashford Rifle Club. He also wrote "The Art of Revolver Shooting" and "Practical Rifle Shooting." and was a prolific contributor of shooting material to the sporting press. The book's one hundred and thirty six pages contain eighteen detailed chapters and many black and white photographs and illustrations: Selecting a Revolver and Ammunition. - Cleaning and Care of Weapons. - Sights. - Learning to Use the Revolver. - Gallery Shooting. - Bisley: 20 Yards Stationary Target. - Disappearing Target. - Rapid Firing. - Traversing target. - Team Shooting and Coaching. - General Remarks on Shooting in Competitions. - Stage Shooting. - Trick Shooting. - Target Shooting off Horseback. - Shooting in Self Defence. - Revolver Shooting for Ladies. - Shooting in the Dark. This is a fascinating read for any gun enthusiast or historian, with much of the information and advice still useful and practical today. "Beware of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, bear 't that the opposed may beware of thee." Polonoius.

Venture into an animal's life story through its tracks and signs. More than simply determining where an animal crossed the road, tracking can lead to a study of how the animal uses its habitat, how it travels, where it feeds or hunts, how it breeds and raises its young, and how it survives. In this book, leading tracking expert Jim Lowery distills his remarkable expertise, gained over decades of intensive research and practical field experience, into a comprehensive field guide to tracking North American mammals. Fully illustrated with hundreds of drawings and high-resolution photographs, The Tracker's Field Guide sets a new standard for books on tracking. This easy-to-use guide features: Clearly written descriptions plus photos and illustrations of scats, tracks, and gait patterns Easy-to-use track measurements for each animal Tips on proper track interpretation technique Notes on the behavior and habitat of each mammal A glossary of tracking terms Quick-reference summary pages at the back of the book