A Fishing Life Is Hard Work (Hardcover)

~ Art Scheck (Author) "AN EDITOR OF GREAT WISDOM AND EXPERIENCE, MY FIRST AND BEST mentor in the fishing-magazine game, told a parable that didn't sink in for several..." (more)
Key Phrases: plug rod, fake bugs, plastic worm, New England, Casa Braggadocio, Hula Popper (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While writing about writing about fishing might seem pretentious, this volume of essays from Scheck, a former editor of countless fishing glossies, is quite the opposite. A mostly humorous, sometimes caustic but overall sentimental collection, it is part cautionary tale about turning one's best-loved hobby into a nine-to-five job and part unmasking of the holy trinity of "the fishing magazine game"-fly fishing, fly fishing writers and tackle companies-that can drain the fun out of fishing. For instance, in "Ixnay the Atinlay," Scheck and a buddy fish a local stream, their running dialogue mocking alternatively the technical nature of fly fishing ("employ the Australian Spiral Staircase Cast") and the overly florid writing associated with the sport ("The crystalline surface of the stream exploded in a shower of diamonds"). As the essays unfold even the author doesn't go unscathed, as in "The Art of Deception," where he reports standing by and watching as a young boy with a spinning rod and an archaic lure hooks the trout Scheck's fancy fly outfit couldn't land. All this sarcasm and criticism is balanced nicely with Scheck's joyful recollections about solitary fishing trips and fruitful experiences with his father and daughters. These personal essays give a more complete picture of Scheck and show the reader he is not too embittered to embrace fly fishing's unofficial and unmockable laureate, Norman Maclean when he admits, thanks to a life spent fishing, he has been "blessed by waters."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811700410
• ISBN-13: 978-0811700412
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,623,615 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your ordinary fishy book!, September 1, 2003

By	"gusielove" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

If you enjoy fishing, this book is a MUST READ. If you enjoy a master storyteller at his best, this book is a MUST READ. Or, if you simply enjoy a good belly laugh or welling up emotionally about a man who totally and unabashedly adores his wife and two daughters, this book is a MUST READ. It is certainly at the top of my list for gift-giving!

I received this book as a gift and, being a total City creature whose idea of a nature walk is a stroll through the Museum of Natural History, my first reaction was "Oh Lord, how am I going to read this?" But, being related to the author by marriage and having spent many long weekends and vacations deep in conversation with Art and knowing his ability to enthrall a room with his stories, I settled down on the subway to start working my way through what I considered an obligation. By the time I had finished the Preface, I was totally and completely hooked! This was no mind-numbing book on how to catch the biggest fish in the pond! True to the worn out cliché, I laughed, I cried. And startled many of my fellow commuters doing so! Granted, some of the stories were personal treasures to me but even if I didn't know the people in this book, they would be as real to me as they are to Art because of the way he described them, and as important. All through this wonderful book I could hear his voice telling these wonderful stories. He truly is a wordsmith of the first caliber and this book will take a very special place of honor on my over-crowded book shelves and I know I will find myself picking it up many times over the years to visit with him when I can't get to South Carolina to be with him in person.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd give it anywhere from 1-5 stars, July 23, 2007

By	Pevans "Pevans" (New York NY) - See all my reviews

Boy, this book was something else. If I could I'd give it anywhere from 1-5 stars, depending. Parts of this book were one thing, then others would be something completely different. The common thread: fishing. They fished like all hell.