The Angler's Life: Collecting and Traditions

The devoted angler doesn't just pursue his meditative sport at stream, lake, or shore; he brings its nostalgic memorabilia into every room of the house. Fishing is an avocation that demands devotion, inspires colorful tales, and enriches memories of vacations, childhood days, and summertime. In The Angler's Life, the authors of the popular companion books The Sporting Life and Living with Dogs bring to life the anecdotes, artwork, keepsakes, and traditions of a pastime that is a passion for its devotees.

With 30 irresistible stories and more than 300 stunning color photographs, The Angler's Life unveils the "obsessive interest in things piscatorial" that distinguishes most avid fishermen and women (not to mention children, who in these pages seem plucked from the novels of Mark Twain). From sea to river to pond throughout America and even across the Atlantic, The Angler's Life explores the lives and environments of a diverse range of fishing aficionados in four chapters.

The chapter "Fishing Rooms" ducks inside to take a close look at dens festooned with antique creels; Pennsylvania bookbinder Sid Neff's 2,000-volume angling library; fishing editor and writer Nick Lyons's art-filled Manhattan brownstone; and even a 17th-century British "fishing room" erected by Charles Cotton in honor of Sir Izaak Walton, revered author of The Compleat Angler. In "At the Lake" we are invited to tour both an elegant lake retreat in Georgia and a fishing family's woodland cottage in Connecticut. "Coastal Waters" takes us from the century-old Tuna Club of Catalina Island, California, to an artist's cottage outpost on Chesapeake Bay, to Cabbage Key, a sun-drenched tarpon fishing island off the coast of Florida. The authors continue their cross-country journey in "On the Stream," visiting small fishing towns in northern Michigan, a Western river where both fish and conservation money are raised, and a fisherman's antique-filled converted one-room schoolhouse.

Whether focusing on fly-fishing, ice-fishing, surf casting, or deep-sea fishing, the authors beautifully capture the mystical side of the sport -- the side that inspires anglers from all walks of life to surround themselves with elements that make tangible their love of the water and the open air.

With a glossary of terms, a listing of the best spots to locate certain fish, and a source guide packed with information on everything from finding fishing gear to furnishing an Adirondack-style home, The Angler's Life is itself a virtual collector's item for both anglers and non-anglers alike.