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Fisherman field editor Charley Soares with
another jumbo linesider fooled by one of his tube and worm rigs on a warm early August morning. Fish
from 36 to 51 pounds made their final mistake chasing a slow moving tube fished quietly close to
the bottom. For details on how you can become successful at employing this DEADLY COMBO just
email us a request for your copy of the guide which is available now.
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READING LESSONS-THE GOOD BOOKS
When I refer to the term "well read" it is not used in the sense that we normally apply that axiom. The club members would bring their used books and magazines to the club once they were finished with them at which time they were put on a shelf or in a book rack in the social room next to one of the old easy chairs or rockers. No one-that is absolutely -no one- was allowed to remove those books from the club until they were frayed and illegible and only then were they tossed out or used to ignite kindling. There was even a by-law regarding used books and magazines. This reading material was the exclusive property of the members so that ruled out my borrowing any books, at least legitimately. This was during a period when I thirsted for information, particularly the Field and Streams, the Sports Afield and the Outdoor Life magazines. They were my only source of adventure outside the normal boundaries of my localized travels and to me they were precious. They always had the most spectacular covers primarily the work of the most famous artists of their day. Frederick Remington, Bob Khun and so many others whose names escape me would sketch these renditions of hunters at a lonely campfire cooking their evening meal as a hungry grizzly approached to share in their repast. Another great cover was a scene from an old Winchester poster which depicted two men on a frozen mountain ridge looking across a vast canyon at the speck of a Dall sheep on the other side. These drawings left a great deal to the imagination and whenever I came across one that had not been ripped and torn I'd cut it out and hang it on the wall inside the boat shed. From the hungry young boy who watched and waited for a chance to pick up the scraps today I am fortunate to have one of these treasures on my wall. It is the work of master artist Philip R. Goodwin portraying a 1930's era hunter in a green guide's canoe taking a shot at a huge bull moose which they jumped along the edge of the pond. Early on it was difficult for me to gain access to this reading material but there was usually a narrow window of time when I could hide in the clubs kitchen and read a story or two. Occasionally it was difficult because the books were so curled and worn but the most frustrating thing was reading two pages of a great adventure story and just as the hunter was about to line up his target or the guide was about to slip the net under a trophy pike there was a notation at the bottom to turn to another page at the back of the magazine. You can imagine the frustration of becoming so caught up in a life and death struggle with the outcome hanging in the balance only to find that someone had cut out an ad on the opposite page taking the ending of the story with them.
The caretaker at the Weetamoe knew how much I loved to read anything concerning the outdoors so he made a deal with one of the club's high rollers. When that member finished reading his magazines he would wrap them in a grocery bag and leave them for my mentor. Most of the magazines were monthlies that arrived a week or so before the issue date stamped on their covers so I would begin looking for my package about the first or second week after they were displayed on the newsstands. Whenever I received a package I would hurry through my errands then rush home with my collection. Perhaps it was not the proper word to describe my addiction however my mother accused me of devouring those books. She would try to convince me to read one story a day so that the books would last longer but I read them from cover to cover and burned out many a Ray-O-Vac battery reading in bed after lights out. While some avid readers might not agree that there were and are great works of outdoor literature I am not one of them. I read Shakespeare because it was an assignment but I read authors such as Frank Woolner, Corey Ford, George Bird Evans, Professor Havilah Babcock, Gene Hill, and Robert Ruark, authors whose words stirred a passion and took this poor boy on journeys across the country and the world. To this day I believe my introduction into the outdoor life was greatly enhanced by the sporting magazines and the rare novels that came my way. In this generation of children who no longer play outdoors reading is a lost form of entertainment and education. Children remain indoors because that's where the electrical outlets are even though many of these new high-tech toys are battery powered. I realize it's so much easier to hand a child a game boy, X-Box or a video and allow them to entertain themselves but thank god that is not the case with my grandson. He loves to be read to and now he is reading on his own. He loves stories and outdoor sports and this is no accident because both his father and mother realize the value and the healthy benefits of an active life. When he was four years old he was hiking the Sourlands Mountains with his parents and he regularly ice skates and participates in gymnastics. When I have the opportunity to read to him it is usually a book which has an outdoor or natural history slant and I pray that his love of the outdoors and all things natural will be shaped by his positive exposure to outdoor writing. I hope I'm around when he is old enough to begin reading the same magazines that I hungered for when I was a boy because I intend to provide him with all the great outdoor literature I have collected and enjoyed over these many years. You can really appreciate good writing and story telling when you are nearing the end of a book and you are reluctant to finish it. I owe a great deal of thanks to the old timers who saved their books and magazines for me and I plan to repay their favors by making the same sources available to any youngster who expresses a desire to read about fishing, hunting, boating, camping, hiking and the outdoor sports. Rather than dump those books in the recycle bin share them to a youngster or donate them to schools or organizations that will put them to good use. An informed public can be a vital ally of the fisherman and outdoorsman at a time when we can use all the help we can muster.
Previous Tips...
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THIS WEEK'S QUESTION COMES
FROM
Bill R. of Westerly, Rhode Island. |
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Hi Charley. Several months ago you made note of the fact
that your new tube and worm book would be ready for Christmas and we should look for that announcement. Did I miss it and if I did is the book still in the works? I have a worn out the coffee stained copy of your original booklet on fishing the tube and worm in my possession and refer to it whenever something is not working the way it should. Please put me down for a signed copy of your new
guidebook and please make an announcement as to when we can expect to see it.
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Dear Bill, I can't begin to tell you what has transpired since
I made that premature announcement but it would make Murphy's Law seem like good fortune. Suffice it to say the book is written, Fisherman Editor Zach Harvey has sent me the last of the illustrations he created and we are going to press sometime within the next two weeks and depending on the negations with the printers it might even be sooner. Thank you for your patience
and please tell your friends I should begin distribution soon. |
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