Rod Rage [Hardcover]

Rhea Topping (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

The do's and don't's of angling etiquette.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

You're quietly working that favorite stream that you thought was your secret place when suddenly a fellow fisherman walks up noisily out of nowhere, accompanied by his large dog cavorting in the water. The movement unsettles the stream and the noise spooks the fish you were stalking. Does your anger end in rod rage? Has the stranger violated unwritten rules of etiquette that govern the sport? Master instructor Topping addresses such questions in this witty and wise collection about rules of the rod. Covering topics ranging from fishing salt-water flats to rules regarding boats, guides and international etiquette, she emphasizes that throughout history, civility and common sense have ruled the rod. Thus, in 1496 Dame Juliana Berners admonished anglers not to "fish in any poor man's private waters without his permission and his goodwill," while Topping's own dos and don'ts include "wade quietly and slowly in company" and "don't whoop and carry on when you hook a fish." Though somewhat repetitive (because the rules all boil down to courtesy), Topping's collection should serve as helpful, informative reading for avid anglers. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

"I submit first of all that there is no such thing as sport without ethics." So writes Roderick Haig-Brown in this superb collection, which plumbs with depth and humor the finer points of fishing etiquette.
Here's Vlad Evanoff on which surf caster gets the best spot on the shore; Al Kyte on his seven points of fishing etiquette; Cathy and Barry Beck on how much river room to give another angler; Ray Bergman on how to treat beginners and spin casters; Billy Pate on courtesy on the flats, and more from:

Joan Wulff
Bob Clouser
Gary Borger
Mel Krieger
Steve Rajeff
Mallory Burton
Mike Lawson
Seth Norman
Stu Apte
Nick Lyons
Lori-Ann Murphy
George Kelly
Flip Pallot
Tom McGuane
Gary LaFontaine
Ernie Schwiebert
Dave Whitlock
Michael Baughman
Lee Wulff
Tom Jindra
Jim Teeny
Jack Gartside
Dick Talleur
William Tapply
Jerry Kustich
and many others

For every angler who wondered what to think of the guy just downriver, here's the ultimate guide.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159228552X
• ISBN-13: 978-1592285525
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,936,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Guide to Enjoyable Angling, May 20, 2005

By 

John W. Colburn "Editor, Mid-Atlantic Flyfisher" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rod Rage (Hardcover)

(Rod Rage; The Ultimate Guide to Angling Ethics; edited by Rhea Topping; Guilford, Connecticut; The Lyons Press; 2004; 292 pp; Hard cover; $22.95)

Much of the present day writing is simply a repetition of the accumulated experiences and thoughts of our forebears, especially writing about fly fishing. Today's writers often unwittingly restate the knowledge they acquired through reading the older books and articles without crediting the earlier authors.
When one comes across a book that actually quotes the writings of the earlier authors, it is to be treasured. Such a book is Rod Rage: The Ultimate Guide to Angling Ethics, edited by Rhea Topping (The Lyons Press, 2004).
Ms Topping has searched the literature of fly fishing, from the 15th Century's Dame Juliana Berners to the 21st Century's Federation of Fly Fishers' Chairman of the Board Gary Grant, to find the best thinking about fly fishing ethics and etiquette. She has quoted often lengthy passages and complete articles from writings of more than sixty authors, many of the names well known in fly fishing circles.
In compiling Rod Rage Ms Topping has not just accumulated other writers' work. She has written short, but insightful introductions to each author and closes the book with a summation of much of the thinking of the quoted authors. "Some Dos, Don'ts, and Solutions" cover such problem areas as "Crowding: The Biggest Problem", "Respect for Other Anglers", "Some Options for Fishing in Crowds or With Friends", "On Rights-of-Way", "On the Environment", "On the Law", "On Boats", "The Client's Responsibility to the Guide", and "The Guide's Responsibility to the Client".
The book is illustrated with black and white photos and cartoons of some of the good and bad ethical situations as well as photos of many of the authors quoted.
Rod Rage should be required reading for any fly fisher-no, any angler who goes to a creek, river, lake, pond, estuary, flats, or blue water to enjoy the sport of angling and tries to avoid spoiling the sport of others. Rhea Topping is to be commended for compiling the thinking of these authors as "The Ultimate Guide to Angling Ethics" for us.
[...]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read... very entertaining and informative, July 20, 2005

By 

Thomas Chou (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rod Rage (Hardcover)

Not only is this book enlightening with regard to etiquette, it provides humorous anecdotes by some of the premier fly fishing personalities of our time. It's a very easy read, and being a fairly experienced fly fisher, I was surprised by how much I learned.
It's a great read for beginners to experts alike, and I'm sure our waters would be a better place if all fishermen read this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Rod Rage, June 30, 2009

By 

Rhea R. Topping - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rod Rage (Hardcover)

An interesting, funny, and important collection of stories and photos of angling ethics, etiquette, and pointers on how to avoid confronts while angling.Should be in all fishing libraries.