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Fish Know Two Things
So perhaps the book title captured your attention. Either way, here’s my view on angling. The purpose of this book is to encourage you to go fishing and catch that special fish. Also, I want to share with you my somewhat alternative approach to catching fish. Fish know two things. What does that even mean, I hear you ask. In essence, fish do know two things, safe and danger.
235 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
About the author
Stephen M. Davis
13 books74 followersWinner of
Book Talk Radio Club's
Book of the Year 2019
Before we get to the bit about me, here's the blurb for Rebecca & the Spiral Staircase:
Rebecca is far from your average modern-day young woman.
She would rather leave her mobile phone indoors and instead sit in the woods sketching imaginary worlds.
Unbeknown to her, she possesses a key that will take her to a world beyond rational thinking.
This unique gift opens a concealed passageway that takes her into the history of the family's 400-year-old manor house.
By way of an ancient spiral staircase in a tumbledown summer house, her journey into the past begins.
Ahead of Rebecca lay a number of missions all dependent on her timely intervention.
The connections she makes will have a significant effect on those she meets.
The further she goes, the more she realises her destiny is to stop time from taking an alternative direction.
This change of direction, unless altered, will ultimately have an adverse effect on the people closest to her.
It is not until her final journey does she truly comprehend her providence and the consequence of her time in the past.
This realisation opens the door once more for Rebecca – A Way Back, ultimately taking her Beyond all Reason.
These fearless chronicles will test even the most vibrant imagination.
Join Rebecca and hear her every thought as she journeys through life’s unseen passageways.
Stephen M Davis
Born 1957, East London
Growing up in the East End of London had its ups and downs. Still struggling to recover from WW2, austerity was high on the agenda. My grandfather grew fruit, and vegetables, and had ducks and chickens, all of which served as the mainstay of our diet. A glass of orange squash on a Sunday was the week’s highlight - poor me. Far from it, I loved every minute. Even at 5-years-old, I would stay out ‘til it got dark, and felt safe, because I was. I learned to appreciate the smallest of things and to get my energy from the environment, rather than other people. I learned respect and discipline from both my grandfather who worked on the River Thames and my father who was in the military police. The only downside was my mother’s illness – schizophrenia and alcoholism – bless her.
At the age of 12, and with my mother permanently hospitalized, my father moved me to rural Essex. This was a good time for me, until the age of 16, when I was in a horrid house fire. It was suggested by the doctors, that my life hung in the balance, and so it proved. On the fourth day, for nine minutes, I was on the other-side. Hey, I was 16 and wasn’t ready to go yet, having too much to do and achieve.
This incident changed my view and perspective on everything. I did okay at school, with a low grade in English being the only downside. I loved drawing and with the help of my art tutor, gained a place in St John Cass Royal School of Art studying graphic communication and typography. I went on to become a graphic artist, something I detested, feeling I was prostituting a God-given ability. I loved art but hated drawing what other people wanted. A relative, who worked for Royal Mail suggested I joined him, as shift work would allow me time to paint whatever I wanted. I did, and it gave me a regular income, freeing me to paint what I wanted to paint. My art has been described as a cross between Dali and Disney, similar to the rock album covers of the 70s.
Thirty-two years later, I was fortunate enough to retire early from a senior Royal Mail managerial position. Although I have never stopped painting, my artistic temperament was about to show its face in another unexpected way.
Now retired, I decided to write a book, primarily to improve my English. Ha, being a ‘bloke’ I thought let’s write a sci-fi book, ‘coz that’s what blokes do. I struggled with this, and although I completed it, was never comfortable with this gene. I am not surprised that it resulted in the usual ‘auto, thanks but no thanks,’ from lite
Book Talk Radio Club's
Book of the Year 2019
Before we get to the bit about me, here's the blurb for Rebecca & the Spiral Staircase:
Rebecca is far from your average modern-day young woman.
She would rather leave her mobile phone indoors and instead sit in the woods sketching imaginary worlds.
Unbeknown to her, she possesses a key that will take her to a world beyond rational thinking.
This unique gift opens a concealed passageway that takes her into the history of the family's 400-year-old manor house.
By way of an ancient spiral staircase in a tumbledown summer house, her journey into the past begins.
Ahead of Rebecca lay a number of missions all dependent on her timely intervention.
The connections she makes will have a significant effect on those she meets.
The further she goes, the more she realises her destiny is to stop time from taking an alternative direction.
This change of direction, unless altered, will ultimately have an adverse effect on the people closest to her.
It is not until her final journey does she truly comprehend her providence and the consequence of her time in the past.
This realisation opens the door once more for Rebecca – A Way Back, ultimately taking her Beyond all Reason.
These fearless chronicles will test even the most vibrant imagination.
Join Rebecca and hear her every thought as she journeys through life’s unseen passageways.
Stephen M Davis
Born 1957, East London
Growing up in the East End of London had its ups and downs. Still struggling to recover from WW2, austerity was high on the agenda. My grandfather grew fruit, and vegetables, and had ducks and chickens, all of which served as the mainstay of our diet. A glass of orange squash on a Sunday was the week’s highlight - poor me. Far from it, I loved every minute. Even at 5-years-old, I would stay out ‘til it got dark, and felt safe, because I was. I learned to appreciate the smallest of things and to get my energy from the environment, rather than other people. I learned respect and discipline from both my grandfather who worked on the River Thames and my father who was in the military police. The only downside was my mother’s illness – schizophrenia and alcoholism – bless her.
At the age of 12, and with my mother permanently hospitalized, my father moved me to rural Essex. This was a good time for me, until the age of 16, when I was in a horrid house fire. It was suggested by the doctors, that my life hung in the balance, and so it proved. On the fourth day, for nine minutes, I was on the other-side. Hey, I was 16 and wasn’t ready to go yet, having too much to do and achieve.
This incident changed my view and perspective on everything. I did okay at school, with a low grade in English being the only downside. I loved drawing and with the help of my art tutor, gained a place in St John Cass Royal School of Art studying graphic communication and typography. I went on to become a graphic artist, something I detested, feeling I was prostituting a God-given ability. I loved art but hated drawing what other people wanted. A relative, who worked for Royal Mail suggested I joined him, as shift work would allow me time to paint whatever I wanted. I did, and it gave me a regular income, freeing me to paint what I wanted to paint. My art has been described as a cross between Dali and Disney, similar to the rock album covers of the 70s.
Thirty-two years later, I was fortunate enough to retire early from a senior Royal Mail managerial position. Although I have never stopped painting, my artistic temperament was about to show its face in another unexpected way.
Now retired, I decided to write a book, primarily to improve my English. Ha, being a ‘bloke’ I thought let’s write a sci-fi book, ‘coz that’s what blokes do. I struggled with this, and although I completed it, was never comfortable with this gene. I am not surprised that it resulted in the usual ‘auto, thanks but no thanks,’ from lite
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 19, 2026
There are fishing books that teach you how to tie a knot, choose a lure, or read the water and then there are books that quietly change the way you think about fishing altogether. Fish Know Two Things: An Angling Diary belongs firmly in the second category.
At first glance, the title feels playful, almost cryptic. But once you settle into Stephen M. Davis’s reflections, it becomes clear that the phrase “fish know two things safe and danger” is more than a clever hook. It is the philosophical backbone of the entire book. Davis strips angling down to its psychological and instinctive core. He invites the reader to stop overcomplicating the sport and instead step into the world from the fish’s perspective. That shift alone makes this diary compelling.
What I appreciated most is the tone. This isn’t a rigid manual dressed up as storytelling. It reads like an experienced angler sitting beside you at the water’s edge, sharing hard-earned lessons not just about fish, but about patience, observation, and humility. The diary format gives the book authenticity. You feel the quiet mornings, the missed strikes, the thoughtful adjustments. It’s reflective without being sentimental, practical without being mechanical.
Davis’s “alternative approach” is not about gimmicks. It’s about awareness. About asking: Does this feel safe to the fish? Or does it signal danger? That simple binary reframes lure selection, presentation, and even how we move along the bank. It’s surprisingly profound in its simplicity.
There’s also something refreshing about the book’s purpose. It doesn’t aim to impress with technical jargon or overwhelm with charts and formulas. Its goal is clear: to encourage you to go fishing to pursue that “special fish” with a sharper mind and a deeper understanding. And by the final pages, you genuinely want to.
Professionally speaking, this book stands out because it bridges instinct and strategy. It respects the intelligence of both the fish and the reader. Passionately speaking, it reminds us why we started fishing in the first place.
At first glance, the title feels playful, almost cryptic. But once you settle into Stephen M. Davis’s reflections, it becomes clear that the phrase “fish know two things safe and danger” is more than a clever hook. It is the philosophical backbone of the entire book. Davis strips angling down to its psychological and instinctive core. He invites the reader to stop overcomplicating the sport and instead step into the world from the fish’s perspective. That shift alone makes this diary compelling.
What I appreciated most is the tone. This isn’t a rigid manual dressed up as storytelling. It reads like an experienced angler sitting beside you at the water’s edge, sharing hard-earned lessons not just about fish, but about patience, observation, and humility. The diary format gives the book authenticity. You feel the quiet mornings, the missed strikes, the thoughtful adjustments. It’s reflective without being sentimental, practical without being mechanical.
Davis’s “alternative approach” is not about gimmicks. It’s about awareness. About asking: Does this feel safe to the fish? Or does it signal danger? That simple binary reframes lure selection, presentation, and even how we move along the bank. It’s surprisingly profound in its simplicity.
There’s also something refreshing about the book’s purpose. It doesn’t aim to impress with technical jargon or overwhelm with charts and formulas. Its goal is clear: to encourage you to go fishing to pursue that “special fish” with a sharper mind and a deeper understanding. And by the final pages, you genuinely want to.
Professionally speaking, this book stands out because it bridges instinct and strategy. It respects the intelligence of both the fish and the reader. Passionately speaking, it reminds us why we started fishing in the first place.
Displaying 1 of 1 review