Yeah "men's lives" is great. Try to get the first edition, which has the photographs in it.

"The longest silence" by Thomas McGuane is a fine book.
Same with "the fish's eye" by Ian Frazier.
"Practical light-tackle fishing" by Mark Sosin
Giant Bluefin by Whynott

I dont eat oranges sorry

I would recommend "The Surfcasters Quest". I really enjoyed that book and felt like I was walking around with the author fishing BI. Not a how-to but more of a why we do what we do kind of book but in the process takes you down an interesting path.[/QUOTE]


"Surfcaster's Quest" is my favorite. I have run into the author, Roy Rowan at Finn's and other places on BI. In the book he talks a lot about the zen of surfcasting.

I did not like "Striper Chronicles" at all.

Ditto on Men's Lives and two books I always pick up at yard sales, to give to friends, that folks should read once in their lifetime are the Snow Leopard and At Play in the Fields of the Lord (Peter Matthiessen). Good to broaden those horizons...

I'll second that.
A friend got me a signed copy.
(It Should have been entitled 'yuppy surfcasting on BI)

Chuckg--I'm reading snow leopard right now. OM!

Reading the Water, by Bob Post.

Love the dune monsters.................:shocked:

Completely agree.

:rotfl:

Ditto

I wonder how many people bought an 11' white rod cuase of that swill.

Not to mention that mirrolure.

We, Bryan, Spence and I actually ran into that guy at the SW Point on the Block about 3 years ago, 2 days after Thanksgiving and, guess what? He was throwing the red headed mirror lure. No lie!!!

20 Years is #1 for me. 1st book I read on the subject and opened my eyes about my own back yard. I grew up spending summers in N. Truro and never had any idea what was going on along the back beaches. We were on the bay side, and noone in my family knew the first thing about fishing....

Giant Bluefin was outstanding. Eastern Tides also very good.

That's the one for goosefish to read in Mandarin ;)

I was gonna ask what languages it came in.

ich spreche nur ein bisschen deutsch aber nein apfelsinen

i would like to borrow:
Men's Lives and Reading the Water.

Anyone got one to loan?

If you liked Tim Coleman's To Catch A Bass then you'll probably like the one he's doing now for SRI Press...It's a shore manual with a focus on how-to for plugs, soft plastics, reading structure....
May-June release.

I must have been living in a cave for the last 35 years. For some reason I never heard of Phil Schwind until fairly recently. After seeing your post I searched around looking for some of his works...very interesting fellow. I found a 1st ed signed Hardcover of CCFisherman in a bookstore in Co of all places and have in now by my bedside (just started it last night). This looks great. Once I saw your above quote I said I have to read this. Thanks!

Dood... Hook me up with a copy....

One of his favorite sayings was "It's a Phil Schwind that blows no good".

My sister got me one of his books for Christmas several years ago--the one with the cover shot of him surf fishing with a black Harnell and a Surfmaster. Originally published back in the 60s I think.

Must say that of the books I've read that have been posted here, i wholeheartedly concur. Cain't really rank mine from one to ten as I've only read; "On the Run", "Reading the Water", "Striper Chronicles", and one other that has yet to be mentioned. What say you of Milt Rosko's "The Striped Bass Book"? Thought it was quite the primer, sort of a good how-to first read, if you will? BASIC, very basic. But the fundamentals are good to know and what we build our style from.

Will check out the others. Daignault's "Trophy Stripers" waz next on my list, but now youse guys got me thinkin' bout these other cats......like Schwind's "Cape Cod Fishermen", Coleman's "Bass from the Beach", "Men's Lives" and have already checked out "Surfcaster's Quest", and "Call of the Surf" ~those last two were at the top of me list. Of the above six choices, who wants to rank them from first to last?

Thanks gents for all thoughts and considerations!

HAHA so true

I def Like On The Run :wave:

I just read a book that had some real interesting parts, now if I could just remember what they were...
Successful Surf Fishing by Jerry Jansen
I want to read Bass from the Beach by Tim Coleman
To Catch a Bass is a boat book...
The Schwind book I read was really great reading.

It is interesting to read everyones thoughts, likes and dislikes.

Its been a while but I never liked Men's Lives all that much. What did you like about that book? I grew up out that way and know the area very well. My mother got me that book when it first came out and while the photos showed the history I found them painful to look at and to partly blame them for the damage to the fishery, in fact it could be used as evidence of the damaged they caused. I never felt sorry for baymen loosing their jobs either. I was a clam digger 10 years back then in its heyday, made a ton of cash then, in fact it partly put me thru college. I felt the purpose of that book was to make you feel sorry for those guys in some way for loosing there jobs and their grasp on the historical traditions, I could care less about their past, I am more worried about the future! My thinking was no body told them to do that job they shouldn't be upset when they are told they can't do it anymore. Same goes for comm fishing today... but I digress... I will have to read it again and see if I still feel that way, I have not touched it in many years.

I kind of like the chron's because I love BI and anything regarding surf fishing there will catch my interest but I couldn't take the constant mirror lure references either (they are not THAT good). Nobody fished with those things that I knew anyway. After his book came out I picked out is truck a few times...with all the mirror lure decals. whateverworks I guess.

I just got thru that "Blackfish" chapter in Capt. Phils book...jesus was a slaughter...and the waste was enourmous. (for those that didn't read the book they killed hundreds of whales for the mellon-sized sponge in their head which contained valuable oil, the rest of the 30-40' fish was left to rot on the beach.) I still hate to see that kind of "fishing".

20 years on the cape.

Perfect Storm was a good book, as opposed to the movie.

Double Whammy by Carl Hiassen is not by any means strictly fishin book but it is a riot.

Cod by Kurlansky :uhuh: very interesting.

Mike that came out Originally in 72' and was reprinted with additions in 1989.

Anything by Hiassen is pee-your-pants funny.

I used to get the strangest looks when I'd hit a hillarious passage when I rode the Long Island RR.

Flap, I must have the 89 reprint, then.

You know, the best book about Striper Fishing has yet to be written. There are so so many stories. The stories that won't be told far outnumber the ones that have. Some of you have visions of some of the biggest names in Striperdom that would be instantly deflated if the truth got out about some of them.

Alcoholism, drug abuse, lies, self inflated egos and ownership of falsely made reputations. Self appointed heroism without the actual act, cynicism, bullying, deceit, innuendo, embellishment all can be found in most. Mostly after contemplation they are sad really.

Some day I may write that expose' and someday I may not but uncovering the truth is something I strive for in our game and the truth most times is pretty ugly.

There are some books that if I knew then what I know now I would never have bought and was upset that someone could write a series of books on life as a caster/commercial to find that he was in fact putting himself in the place of others success or discovery as his own.

Bravado and sarcasm can often be a means of deflecting the truth about someones actual deficiencies while pointing out the same in others.

Sad, really sad.

*woof!*

i think new england stripers is an awsome book, just cause the info in there is up todate
I know im in it, But its really a good book :)

I may start lying just so I can say I was in a book about surf fishing.