Zane Grey On Fishing

by Zane Grey, Terry Mort (Editor)

Though he made his name and his fortune as an author of Western novels, Zane Grey's best writing has to do with fishing. There he was free from the conventions of the Western genre and the expectations of the market, and he was able to blend his talent for narrative with his keen eye for detail and humor, much of it self-deprecating, into books and articles that are both informative and exciting.
His first published fishing article appeared in 1902, and he continued to write books and articles on angling until his death in 1939. From the trout streams and bass rivers of the East to the steelhead rivers of the Northwest; from the offshore angling of Nova Scotia and California to the unexplored waters of New Zealand and the South Sea islands, Grey was constantly in motion, sometimes fishing three hundred days a year, always writing to support his passion. At one time or another he held more than a dozen saltwater records, yet he always returned from the big game to the freshwater streams he had learned to love as a boy.
This book is a selection of some of Grey's best work, and the stories and excerpts reveal a man who understood that angling is more than an activity--it is a way of seeing, a way of being more fully a part of the natural world. No writer exceeds Zane Grey's ability to integrate the fishing experience with a world he saw so vividly.

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Pearl Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the rugged Old West. As of June 2007, the Internet Movie Database credits Grey with 110 films, one TV episode, and a series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater based loosely on his novels and short stories.

Reviews

[Robin Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conversational, full of anecdotal detail and a sense of another time. This is a book to keep you company, the voice of a man who loves what he's talking about and relives the moments of his quest with lively humor and a sense of fun.

[Jason Herrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy a good fishing story. This one was mostly about saltwater fishing. It did make me look up the difference between a marlin, a swordfish, and a sailfish.

[Trentt James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice winter read, enjoyed hearing fishing stories from a different time

[Jesse Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about fishing, which was Grey's favorite passion. He has stated that he writes in order to finance his fishing trips. He was a pioneer of big game fishing. He dreamed of buying a big boat and sailing to tropical seas to fish for big game fish species - this book describes how he accomplished that dream. Also, he tells stories of fishing in his childhood for bass and later for Steelhead (one of my favorite fish) on the Rogue River.

[Peter Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

There can be no doubt that Zane Grey achieved much in the angling world, something this book makes abundantly clear. It gives only an occasional glimpse into Grey the braggart, the wealthy sport given to wilful outbursts, the shabby treatment of his wife and friends. The purple prose of a man constructing his own legend. Awful.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I thought this was a good collection of non-fiction about fishing. The writing was good, and it's clear that Zane Grey was passionate about fishing. If you like fishing, this is a good read.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great old school fishing stories. I don't think PETA would like the parts about killing sharks.

[Loree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zane Grey is a wonderful storyteller, his keen detail and his humorous nature made me feel like I was on his fishing adventures.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Besides being a writer of westerns, Zane Grey was an avid outdoorsman. This is a non-fiction discourse on fishing throughout the world.

[Jonathan Jerden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent autobiography covering much of his 1920s fishing the waters off Australia & New Zealand in manually rowed skiffs from his 3-mated schooner.