Author Trevor Housby
Publisher Blandfrod Press
Published 1985
Rating ***
Trevor Housby was a ‘larger than life’ figure on the UK angling scene and a prolific angling writer, now sadly no longer with us.
When this book was produced, big game fishing was not the foremost thought of British anglers, but much has changed over the last few years. Overseas travel costs have massively reduced and are now withing the financial range of many anglers so travelling to exotic locations has become the norm and has been included frequently in the angling press which in turn has inspired others. The advent of charter boats has also grown this sector of the sport. TV shows like John Wilson’s Gone Fishing and books such as these were the inspiration for many.
The world has changed greatly since this book was written, which probably explains why wreck and conger fishing have been included to appeal to British anglers at the time as these were fish within their bounds of possibility, and anglers may noy even have known of tarpon and rooster fish.
Each chapter details the tackle used, methods and finally tales from Trevor’s angling life. The tackle has changed dramatically with rods now being made of carbon fibre and relatively unbreakable compared to rods of that era. Line has changed with braid and fluorocarbon now extensively used and reels with powerful drags are readily available for big fish.
The environment in UK waters has also changed. For ling, pollack and cod the catches have massively reduced, as have the size of the fish due to overfishing, but bluefin tuna have returned in numbers, massive six gill sharks can be caught just off the west coast of Ireland and there even ideas that the Celtic Deeps may hold billfish!!!
This makes much of the book dated, but the last section of each chapter relating Trevor’s experiences does still whet the appetite.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this book is how quickly things have changed in a relatively short time. It is well written and brings back many memories for fishers of my generation and is worth reading