This book strictly speaking is not solely about Fly Fishing.

About 50 percent of its contents is based on  bait and lures but it has been written by a man that others have dubbed "The father of modern day Salt Water Fly Fishing". Reading the book you get the feeling that Joe preferred Fly Fishing to any other technique and was ready to pull out his wand at any minute.

There are a few different ways to write a book on fishing.  The first is pure technique, the second is as a collection of interesting experiences while fishing with interesting people at exotic locations, the third is disguised as a travel book, the fourth is as a coffee table picture book and last but not least is the "Fred and I went down to the river..." ( with variations and combinations of these main themes ).  Joe has selected the "Fred and I arrived at the river and saw the fish feeding on the surface, so I tied on a Royal Wulff and after my third cast the fish rose and the fight was on........"  At times I enjoy all of these different writing styles so this description has been included so the potential purchaser of this book basically knows what he is getting.

The essential criteria for a classic fishing book is whether the author writes of his own pioneering work or does he write what his guide told him worked in a particular area. Joe writes of trying to be the first to land a Tiger fish on fly without the aid of a wire trace and other such experiments with different fish and locations.   

In gathering the experiences related in this book Joe travelled to the ends of the Earth. He visited such destinations as Africa, New Zealand,  South America, Australia, Iceland, Scotland and many many more.

He targeted all the usual suspects like Bone Fish, Tarpon, Trout, Salmon, Barracouta, Marlin, Sail Fish and Tiger Fish to name but a few.

Joe gives us a run down on all the tackle used and  the information required to travel and fish these locations (all this knowledge is circa 1964). Joe includes  the cost of guides and beats for both Salmon and Trout.

I found this book a pleasure to read and thoroughly enjoyed stepping back in time with this well respected pioneer of Fly Fishing. There are some good condition copies of this book circulating on the Web book shops for a fair price, so why not grab a copy, I know I am richer for the experience.