Monster Man!

Writing is plain hard work. It only comes a little easier when you can relate directly from true experience. If you haven't lived it, then it's damn tough to try and write it. That's how I'd categorise "Monster Man", the story of Frank Mundus, a Montauk charter captain. You get the facts, no fiction!

The book covers the period 1943 to 1976. Maybe the heyday of big fish angling before the commercial boys really started to hit the offshore stocks. It gathers up not just the adventure of skipper and angler battling white sharks, mako's, porbeagles and blues, but you get a deep insight in to what goes in to running a charter boat business.

Frank relates the good times when fish were easy to come by and the customers easy to please, but also the days they weren't. You get an insight in to some of the varied characters that come as customers and crew to a charter boat. Most of all it tells the tale of sharks, unpredictable monsters that can turn a fight for fun in to a desperate fight for personal survival. A mako leaping right at the gunnel can just as well land in the boat as back in the sea.

This is an easy read. If you're a committed angler it's easier still. Because Frank tells it from experience you'll recognise the edge of excitement in his words. You'll know the feelings the anglers and captain think as a long fight ensues, the despair of big fish lost, and the thrill of capture. Don't get to thinking that is just a fun read either, you'll learn something too. There are accounts of fishing and technique in this book that when applied to your own fishing will increase the catch.

Most fisherman and anglers have seen the film "Jaws". The author, Peter Benchley, is said to have modelled his character "Quint" on Frank Mundus, and reading through the book it does throw up more than a few similarities. That comes out of the pages too. Sure Frank had to be tough and I figure fed his temper now and then, but also carried a sense of humour that could calm tensions and get the situation back under control.

"Monster Man" was first wrote back in 1976 under a different title. It was then called "Shark Man". I have a hardback copy of that book that's been with me for years. I collect fishing books, but only a few are repeatedly picked up and re read, usually in the depths of winter when the weather is bad and the boat dry in the drive. I figure I've read this book maybe seven or eight times. That's the best way I can describe it. It's a compelling read, and one that stands the test of time.

Monster Man is published by Abery Publishing Company, PO Box 860, Honaunau, Hawaii 96726. Also check out Frank's website fmundus.com, and look out for Frank's autobiography "Fifty Years A Hooker".