[The Third Earl]

Hi, back again, this time wondering how many of us collect old angling books, I have a few, and am lucky enough to have my wife as a "spotter" , she also loves old books, and when browsing sometimes spots a book that may be of interest to me..

I will start with this one, one of my favourites, first published in 1967. Very battered, having come from a local library sale.

Successful Shore Fishing, by Anthony Pearson.

There are some really interesting stories in it, and also some very interesting black and white "plates",showing that the gear back then could do the business just as well as modern stuff...... note the "Intrepid Seashriek" on the front cover. Included are a couple of sample "plates"

Below, an old gent on Blackpool beach after Cod

Below, the Author playing and landing a 102lb Skate.

A very young Des Brennan

I will upload another book later.

Dave.

 

[Beach Person]

I love looking at those old fishing books - the photos have so much atmosphere in them and so many ... fish. Great find.

Love the Intrepid Sea-Streak - on the cover - it came out in 1966 only one year before the book - so that was probably their idea of a state of the art cover for the day. But is that Mrs Doyle from Father Ted using it and gripping a nice Craggy Island bass ? .

PS. The chap night fishing looks like he's got an Intrepid Surfcast.

 

[Beach Person]

Some of the old fishing books could be a bit .... well .... mad . For example, here is a book I have called Angling In Colour which was first published in 1973 but is actually a compilation of bits from earlier books. So what's mad about it - well maybe it's just me but should a book that's more or less an introduction to angling in the UK in all its many forms start like this - with an opening chapter about Shark Fishing and this as the first picture of the book -





Nothing against shark fishing you understand - I just don't think of it as an easy introduction to the joys of angling.

 

[CELOCANT]

Total nostalgia ...

 

[Beach Person]

My all time favourite angling book, Angling Guide To Wales, was published in 1976 and was a bargain at £1 - it was published by the Wales Tourist Board and I suspect it may have been subsidised or low profit at least. Packed with colour maps and detailed descriptions it also covers coarse and game fishing but its best coverage is of sea fishing venues and bait grounds. It is a paperback but of good quality - I bought mine in 1978 and after hundreds of readings, browsings, look-ups and away trips it is still in good, intact condition with zero loose pages. These are usually available somewhere on the Internet and if you haven't got one I'd strongly recommend it (especially if you ever fish in Wales).

 

[Surflite]

Mine is the third edition, (bought in 1980) and is still relevant after all these years!

 

[Beach Person]

Mine is the third edition, (bought in 1980) and is still relevant after all these years! View attachment 265920

I notice they changed the name from Angling Guide To Wales to the one word shorter Wales Angling Guide thus catering for the trend in diminishing attention spans which began in the 1980s and continues now - if it were printed today it would need to be called W.A. MAX ! or similar to get any youngsters to take notice .

 

[Surflite]

Anyone still got one of these? This one is from 1983.
It's the Tony Allen Catalogue that came free with every mail order.
As well as having some useful information on the early Zziplex and Conoflex range, it has a sequence of photographs that "flow" when flicked through quickly.
This was about about as good as it got in the age before "Youtube", and was an invaluable source of reference for my fledgling attempts to "emulate" my casting heroes! Here is Paul Kerry (pendulum) and Richard Jacobs (backcast).

 

[The Third Earl]

Here are another couple of books.

Fishing
By Colin Willock, first published 1960.
Contains information, plates and sketches of rigs, tackle etc. A lot of its contents /information are as relevant today as when it was first published. The Ex wife used to throw dust jackets away, she got to this one before I could stop her ( bitch )

And this one, a Pan pocket paperback. Same Title.

Fishing,
By Richard Arnold first published 1970.
Gives sketches of Rigs, tackle information, etc. Shows some rigs that would probably be frowned upon today in the UK, but are still used abroad.

Dave

 

[Beach Person]

Fishing,
By Richard Arnold first published 1970.
Gives sketches of Rigs, tackle information, etc. Shows some rigs that would probably be frowned upon today in the UK, but are still used abroad.

Intrepid Elite on the cover - finest quality coarse fixed spool that K.P.Morritts ever made.

 

[CELOCANT]

I know this is going completely off the thread about books and apologies, however, for me, the best reel Morritts produced was the Intrpid Supreme. Good for pike and light sea angling. Although the Mitchell 300 is still the best.

 

[Beach Person]

I know this is going completely off the thread about books and apologies, however, for me, the best reel Morritts produced was the Intrpid Supreme. Good for pike and light sea angling. Although the Mitchell 300 is still the best. View attachment 265953

I have two Supremes which I do quite like but to me they are not as good as the Elite - the Elite is smaller so less suitable for some jobs but that doesn't make it a worse reel. Now don't be bringing a Mitchell to an Intrepid fight .

Update : The more complicated Elite is more likely to go wrong - especially its delicate three-way ratchet group. So that's a point in favour of the Supreme.

 

[bigaal]

Here,s a book that I consider a master piece of sea angling literature, Sea Angling with the Baited Spoon by John P Garrad. I can honestly say i don,t think i have ever seen a publication that goes so in depth in the targeting of flounders on the spoon, there are records of his own personal catches on different types and sizes of spoon, how to find where the fish are, methods of using the spoon itself, why flounders are attracted to the spoon etc etc and photographs. the book is 90% about flounders but there is reference to other species as well. It was written in the good old days of sea fishing, when the southern creeks and estuarys were paved with Flounders, and what amazes me is the fact that this man went so in depth on his research into the catching of what some might consider a rather mundane fish.
Defo my favourate Sea Angling book period and well worth a read A

 

[*]

Sea Angling with the Baited Spoon by John P Garrad

I've heard of the book and have been keeping my eyes out for a copy, but no luck yet......

 

[Surflite]

I've got the 1982 "Sea Angler's Guide to Britain and Ireland" by John Darling, which was an inspiration for the time, and still fascinates today when I look at some of the prints in the light of this forum!
The black & white print shows the father and son team (that's Mike Miles who still runs it to this day) of Cardiff dealer Angler's Supplies, and I suspect that may be our very own Derek Townsend (Ticker) in the foreground, at the Lite Rods factory, Bridgend.

The next print could have been me (it's not) at Ogmore Deeps in the late 70's with the Mitchell 602P and glass rod!

 

[R10R]

 

[Beach Person]

Scary mark !!!

 

[Patudo]

My interests lie more in fishing for saltwater game fish but I still have Brian Harris' 'Guinness Book of Sea Fishing' which was acquired while at school - still enjoy leafing through it.

The late Trevor Housby was the father of a friend of mine and I have a few of his books - arguably more entertaining than informative but it's always interesting (and humbling) to get an insight into the fishery of those days.

Is there mention of tunny in any of your older books, gents? Brigadier Caunter's book on shark angling in Great Britain has a short chapter referring to tunny sightings in Cornwall, and Des Brennan wrote a few paragraphs on them in one of his books on sea angling - I wonder what he would have thought of the tuna caught off northwest Ireland over the last decade or so.

 

[Beach Person]

A book I bought many years ago because it was about Sea Fishing and it was cheap. It's an enjoyable read but I'm not sure I ever learned very much from it except that there seems to have been an awful lot of fish about back in 1953 when it was written.

 

[Andy7671]

Hugh Stoker...?

There were those books..Tope,
Bass
Rays etc about A4 size and quarter inch thick.

Wish I was more of a magpie