NOTE: Drawing Closed Friday 16 June
Paging through this week’s offering from Skyhorse Publishing – The Ultimate Guide to Kayak Fishing – the same principle I penned last week applies here:
I don’t know about you, but I love picking the brains of folks that are very good at something – it doesn’t really what they’re genuinely good at – but folks who have that little something extra have figured out an angle you and I (perhaps) haven’t yet, and more often than not, they’re willing to share (at least a part of) what makes the magic.
Author Joel Spring does just that in his just published The Ultimate Guide to Kayak Fishing I’ve been reading through several evenings this past week. He takes (and even tags it in the subtitle) a very, and might I say damned refreshing, practical approach to thinking about, getting started with, and prospering as a kayak-based fisherman.
I sure wish something like this had been around back in 1999 when we bought our first set of Wilderness System sit-on-tops for fishing the Laguna Madre in South Texas. It would have saved a world of angst and errors back in the day, and while those experiences are thorough and earnest educators in the school of hard knocks, a few less bumps and bruises along the way would have been nice.
The book has a bevy of good information about everything from selecting a kayak and gear to transport, maintenance and storage, with of course a healthy dose of thoughts about actually kayaking as well as fishing tips and tricks to get your skills up to par in far, far less time than the school of hard knocks approach noted above.
Of some import, and targeting my snobby-assed, fly-only compadres out there who think that anyone who fishes with anything but the latest and greatest fly gear is a buffoon (and you damned-well know who you are), Mr. Spring takes a far more egalitarian approach to fishing from kayaks and embraces a plethora of technical approaches to piscatorial pursuits.
Not only can it be a hell of a lot of fun, embracing use of different gear in different situations and modeling the winning techniques of guys and gals who are really, really good at varied approaches, can teach you more in a single season than you’d figure out on your own in a decade or two of trying. One does, however, need to have a willingness to learn.
If you’re willing to listen, Mr. Spring has a lot to teach you.
Thanks to Skyhorse Publishing, we have an absolutely pristine, never-even-opened copy to give away.
Update 16 June: Today’s book winner is Stephen S from Savannah, GA. Congrats and an email has been sent this morning.
