Nick Lyons - The Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories

All the excerpts used in this book are used by permission of the author, the authors estate, or by statute unless otherwise noted.

Where works have been reprinted recently, the last known edition is indicated for the readers benefit.

The Primitive Fish-Hook by Barnet Phillips. From The Century . lianThe Macedonian Invention, or the First Mention of an Artificial Fly by William Radcliffe. From Fishing from the Earliest Times (Ares Publishers Inc., 1974). The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton. From The Compleat Angler: Or, The Contemplative Mans Recreation (Modern Library, 1998.) Ktaadn Trout and The Ponds (Selections) by Henry David Thoreau (1846). Trout: Meeting Them on the June Rise by Nessmuk. From Fishing with a Fly , eds. Charles F. Orvis and A. Nelson Cheney (Book Sales, 1990). Trout Fishing on Long Island by Frank Forester. From the Appendix of Walton and Cottons Compleat Angler . Reuben Wood: My First Fish by Fred Mather. From Men I Have Fished With (Forest and Stream Publishing Co., 1897). Trouting Along the Catasauqua by Frank Forester. From Frank Foresters Fugitive Sporting Sketches . The Boy and the Angle by Rowland E. Robinson. From Silver Fields and Other Sketches of a Farmer-Sportsman (Houghton Mifflin Company). The Boy and the Brook by Lathan A. Crandall. From Days in the Open (Fleming H. Revell Company). A Little Miss and a Big Fish by Ruth Mae Lawrence. From Tragic Fishing Moments , ed. Will H. Dilg (The Reilly & Lee Company, 1922). Some Memories of Early Days by Lord Grey of Falloden. From Fly Fishing (The Lyons Press, 1985). Fishing with My Daddy by Jimmy Carter. From An Outdoor Journal (University of Arkansas Press, 1988). The River God by Roland Pertwee. From The Saturday Evening Post (July 7, 1928). Theyre in the River by John McPhee. From The Founding Fish (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2002). The Black Bass as a Game Fish by James A. Henshall. From Book of the Black Bass (Kensinger Publishing, 2006). Red, White, and Bluegill by Ted Leeson. From Field & Stream (July 2004). Sacred Eels by James Prosek. Colors that Attract Bass by Ozark Ripley. From Bass and Bass Fishing (Sportsmans Digest Publishing Co., 1924). The Leopard of the Lake by Leonard Hulit. From Fishing with a Boy: The Tale of a Rejuvenation (Stewart Kidd Co., 1921). A Big Fish, S-o-o-o-o Long by W. N. Hull. From Fishing Across the Continent: Short True Stories for Boys (Kensinger Publishing, 2005). The Lunge by Stewart Edward White. From The Forest (Kensinger Publishing, 2005). Slasher and the Shad by Hart Stilwell. From Outdoor Life Anthology of Fishing Adventures: The Worlds Best Stories of Fishing Adventures (Popular Science Publishing Co., Inc., 1945). Carp Fishing by Frank Forester. (Popular Science Publishing Co., Inc., 1945). Carp Fishing by Frank Forester. From Frank Foresters Fish and Fishing of the United States, and British Provinces of North America by Frank Forester (Arno Publishing, 1970). Bow-fin Fishing in the South Slang by Rowland E. Robinson. From Thomas H. Chubbs Catalogue of Anglers Supplies . The Mascalonge by James A. Henshall. From Bass, Pike, Perch, and Other Game Fishes of North America (Stewart Kidd Co., 1923). A Pickerel Yarn by Fred Mather. From Forest and Stream , September 4, 1897. A Big Muskellunge by W. N. Hull. From Fishing Across the Continent by W. N. Hull (A. Flanagan Co., 1905). The Shanty by Jerry Gibbs. Fishing in the Ohio, John James Audubon. From Delineations of American Scenery and Character (Kensinger Publishing, 2006). Down to the Sea! by Charles Kingsley. From The Water-Babies (Puffin Classics, 1995). Tale of a Bonefish by C. Blackburn Miller. From Outdoor Life Anthology of Fishing Adventures: The Worlds Best Stories of Fishing Adventures (Popular Science Publishing Co., Inc., 1945). The Angler and the Weakfish by Charles Bradford. From The Anglers Secret (G. P. Putmans Sons, 1904). Sea-Fishing in Simons Bay by Sir George Aston. From Mostly About Trout (George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1921). Sharks on the Shell Bars by Vereen Bell. From Outdoor Life Anthology of Fishing Adventures: The Worlds Best Stories of Fishing Adventures (Popular Science Publishing Co., Inc., 1945). The Saga of the Yellowfin by Mark Sosin. Keeping Busy When Not on the Casting Deck by Lefty Kreh. The Anglers Battle Royal: The Taking of the Tarpon by Charles F. W. Mielatz. From The Outing Magazine (1903). The Tarpon of Turners River by A. W. Dimock. From The Book of the Tarpon (Meadow Run Press, 2004). The King of the Mackerel by Charles F. Holder. From Big Game Fishes (The Macmillan Company, 1924). The Island by Margot Page. From Little Rivers (The Lyons Press, 1995). Trailing the Sea-Bat by Charles Frederick Holder. From The Outing Magazine (April 1900). Byme-by-Tarpon by Zane Grey. From Tales of Fishes (Amereon Limited, 1976). Skeltons Party (selection) by Thomas McGuane. From The Armchair Angler (Galahad Books, 1996). The Lakes at Inhluzane by Tom Sutcliffe. From Hunting Trout (2003). 2000 Words of Heartfelt Advice by Verlyn Klinkenborg. About the Brown Trout by Samuel G. Camp. From Field & Stream Magazine (March 1907). The Trout and the Indian by General John McNulta. From Field & Stream Magazine (May 1900). First of April by William Senior. From Near and Far (Sampson Low, Marston, & Co. 1888. Practical Dry-Fly Fishing for Beginners by Emlyn M. Gill. From Practical Dry-Fly Fishing (Easton Press, 1996). The Evolution of a Flyfisher by Joan Salvato Wulff. Pied Beauty by Gerard Manley Hopkins. From An Anglers Garland of Fields, Rivers and Many Other Country Contentments compiled by Eric Parker (Carroll & Nicholson, 1952). A Bit of Luck by Harry Plunket-Greene. From Where the Bright Waters Meet (Excellent Press, 2006). Fishing with a Worm by Bliss Perry. From Fishing With a Worm (Houghton Mifflin, 1916). Nuptial Dress and Etiquette by O. W. Smith. From Trout Lore (Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1917). The Value of Observation by George M. LaBranche. From The Dry Fly and Fast Water (Greycliffe Publishing, 1998). The Demon of the Foam by H. Prescott Beach. From The Best of Sports Afield (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1996). Salmon-Fishing by A. G. Wilkinson. From Sport With Gun and Rod in American Woods and Waters , ed. Alfred M. Mayer (The Century Co., 1883). Empty Baskets Change the Tune by Alexander Mackie. From An Anglers Anthology , ed. Eugene Burns (The Telegraph Press, 1952). Two Old Trout of the Pools, and the Little Dry-Fly that Finally Accomplished Their Ruin by Emlyn M. Gill. From Practical Dry-Fly Fishing (Easton Press, 1996). The Big Trout of the Hog-Back by O. W. Smith. From The Best of Sports Afield (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1996). The Finest Trout in the River by Harry Plunket-Greene. From Where the Bright Waters Meet (Excellent Press, 2006). Winter Angling by Frank S. Pinckney. From Fishing With a Fly , eds. Charles F. Orvis and A. Nelson Cheney (Book Sales, 1990). Nothing Fishy About Trout by Dave Barry. From The Miami Herald (September 19, 2004). In Praise of TroutAnd Also Me by Paul ONeil. Copyright 1964 by Life Inc. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. The Miramichi it aint, so all right, its 116th St. by John Bryan. From Sports Illustrated (October 17, 1977). An Exploring Expedition by W. C. Prime. From I Go A-Fishing (Harper & Brothers, 1915). A Furcoated Fish by B. F. Wilder. From Tragic Fishing Moments , ed. Will H. Dilg (The Reilly & Lee Co., 1922). The Sportsman Tourist by John A. Lant. From The Best of Field & Stream (The Lyons Press, 2002). Memories of Mahseer by P. R. Bairnsfather. From A Book of Fishing Stories , ed. F. G. Aflalo (Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1913). The One That Got Away (selection) by Howell Raines. From The One That Got Away: A Memoir (Scribner, 2006). The Man Who Lived Two Lives in One: Zane Grey by Robert H. Boyle. From Sports Illustrated (April 29, 1960). Thaddeus Norris by Fred Mather. From My Angling Friends (Forest and Stream Publishing Co., 1901). The Angler by Washington Irving. From Roger Caras Treasury of Great Fishing Stories (Galahad Books, 1999). What and Who Is an Angler? by Thaddeus Norris. From The Armchair Angler , eds. Terry Brykcyznski and David Reuther (BBS Publishing Corporation, 1994). The Fishermans Song by Thomas DUrfey. The Devout Angler by Collin D. B. Ellis. Observations on the Practice of Angling by John J. Brown. From The American Anglers Guide (Derrydale, 1993). Note to Don Juan Canto XIII by Lord Byron (1818). Fishin Jimmy by Annie Trumbull Slosson. From Fishin Jimmy (Books for Libraries Press, 1969). A Painter, an Angler, and Some Others by William Scrope. From Days and Nights of Salmon Fishing in the Tweed (The Mercat Press, 1975). Fishing by Reverend Thomas Bastard (1498). Crazy for Rivers (selection) by Bill Barich (The Lyons Press, 1999). A River Runs Through It (selection) by Norman Maclean (University of Chicago Press, 1976). On Norman Maclean by John Maclean (from Fly Rod & Reel , 1990). George Croonenberghs by John Maclean. From an introduction for George Croonenberghs at a meeting of a Chicago chapter of Trout Unlimited and from a eulogy given in October, 2005. A Worms-Eye View of Fishermen by Beatrice Cook. From The Armchair Angler , eds. Terry Brykcyznski and David Reuther (BBS Publishing Corporation, 1994). A Defense of Fishermen, Grover Cleveland. From A Creelful of Fishing Stories , ed. Henry van Dyke (Charles Scribners Sons, 1932). A Single Step by George Reiger. From The Washington Post . The Even-Tempered Angler (selection) by Louis Rubin (Winchester Press, 1983). Whats in a Name? by Howard Frank Mosher. The Solitary and Friendly Sport by R. Palmer Baker Jr. From The Armchair Angler , eds. Terry Brykcyznski and David Reuther (BBS Publishing Corporation, 1994). Midstream Crisis by Lamar Underwood. From Editors in the Stream (Halo Books, 1992). Blue Dun by Frank Mele. From Small in the Eye of a River (Paul Pursell, 1988). Storytelling on the Thames by Jerome K. Jerome. From Three Men in a Boat (Viking, 1978). Ol Settler of Deep Hole by Irving Bacheller. From Eben Holden: A Tale of the North Country (Dodo Press, 2006). The Lucy Coffin by W.D. Wetherell. A Fatal Salmon, Frank Forester. From A Creelful of Fishing Stories: A Pastime Book , ed. Henry van Dyke (Charles Scribners Sons, 1932). A Gallant Poacher by John Buchan. From John Mcnab (The Houghton Mifflin Company, 1925). Brannigans Trout by Nick Lyons. From Full Creel (Grove Atlantic, 2001). A Fatal Success by Henry van Dyke. From Fishermans Luck ( Indypublish.com , 2002). On Dry-Cow Fishing as a Fine Art by Rudyard Kipling. From The Fishing Gazette (December 1890). The Hole by Guy de Maupassant. From Selected Short Stories (Penguin, 1987). The Lady or the Salmon? by Andrew Lang. From Angling Sketches (Kensing Publishing, 2006). Fish Are Such Liars! (selection) by Roland Pertwee. From Fish are Such Liars! (Livingston Publishers, 1972). A Wedding Gift by John Taintor Foote. From A Wedding Gift (The Lyons Press, 1992). Mr. Theodore Castwell by G. E. M. Skues. From Side-Lines, Side-Lights & Reflections (Seeley Service & Co., Ltd., 1932).