Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Books to consider on summer hiatus
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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It's that time of year when many families are finalizing upcoming summer vacation plans.
Those of us who are outdoors-minded will often find a way to include our passions with our trips.
If we like to fish and go to the beach, for example, we're going to take tackle and we're going to use it.
But we're probably also going to take some real do-next-to-nothing down time, like sitting on a beach reading.
Perhaps one or two of the books you haul along will serve a practical purpose. A hiking or fishing guide book for the area. But maybe you'll also want to tackle something that's main purpose is to entertain, or maybe even educate.
Here are a few suggestions -- all available from your local book store or online book retailers -- culled from my recent reading list:
"American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon"
By Steven Rinella
Hardcover, $24.95
A few years ago, writer Steven Rinella bucked the odds and drew a tag for an amazing and rare hunting opportunity to pursue wild buffalo in Alaska.
Yes, you read that right.
While most Americans equate the buffalo to the wide-open plains of the American West -- a region where plenty of "hunting" is available for those willing to pay for access to herds on private land -- you really have to go north to find a free-roaming wild herd.
Rinella could have covered his preparation for the hunt and the hunt itself, and it would have been a decent read.
Instead, he combines the narrative of the hunt with a deep look at the natural history of these unique animals, with which he has been fascinated since finding a skull years ago during a high-mountain elk hunt.
Buffalo were nearly wiped off the continent in the late 1800s. Rinella describes in detail how that really happened -- and it's not as simple as a bunch of sharpshooters blazing away from the windows of moving trains -- and explains how the animals were saved.
Readers of this book will learn something and enjoy doing it.
"The Big One: An Island, an Obsession, and the Furious Pursuit of a Great Fish"
By David Kinney
Hardcover, $24
A couple of autumns ago, veteran newspaper writer David Kinney of Philadelphia headed up to the Northeast to participate in and write about the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, a five-week fishing fest that makes the Optimist Club's annual tournament on Smith Mountain Lake look like child's play.
The derby, which was started in 1946 to lure visitors to the island after the end of the prime tourist season, offers numerous and generous prizes, and that's certainly part of its appeal. But a big part of the attraction is an atmosphere where millionaires and blue-collar laborers are all in the same thing together.
Kinney picked a good year to fish.
Some derbies have featured intriguing controversy, and this one produced one of the most interesting sagas in the event's history.
If you've ever fished in a tournament or derby, you'll probably see some of yourself in the unique characters in this book. Even if you haven't, you'll be drawn to the great narrative.
"On the Run: An Angler's Journey Down the Striper Coast"
By David Dibendetto
Paperback, $12.99
Every fall, mid-Atlantic anglers eagerly await the arrival of striped bass, which gradually make their way down the coast from their summering grounds off the Northeast Coast.
Rather than target stripers at one spot along their course, Dibendetto followed them.
The fishing action in this 2004 book is good. But, as with any good road trip fishing book, the characters with whom the author connects along the way are what really make this work.
Crews stays positive
In preparation for an upcoming tournament at Kentucky Lake, professional bass angler John Crews of Salem pulled out a video recording of a tournament there a few springs ago.
"It was the one where I got fourth, and where I was third in the Angler of the Year points race seven events into the season," Crews said. "I told my wife, 'Where is that guy?' "
Despite a trying season, Crews thinks that guy is still around and he remains hopeful that he will emerge as the season continues.
"I don't feel like I'm fishing bad," said Crews, who is 90th in the Angler of the Year points on the Bassmaster Elite Series. "I'm not losing a lot of fish, and I'm catching a lot of fish."
They're just not the right fish, said Crews, who has failed to boat a limit on only two days of Elite Series events.
Crews, whose best finish on the Elite Series was 48th at Smith Mountain Lake, said he plans to take a positive approach to the final three events on the Elite Series and hopes he can finish in the top 50 in each.
"That could give me some good momentum heading into next season," said Crews, who recently stepped off the Elite Series for a week and finished 23rd in the Bassmaster Southern Open tournament on Wheeler Lake in Alabama.
In addition to his tournament fishing and preparation this season, Crews has started offering personalized on-water fishing instruction, which he calls Bass Angler Academy.
The rates for up to two adults start at $825 daily.
Crews has done a single day so far this year, but has three days booked later this week and four days booked in June.
He also recently squared off against Lynchburg's David Dudley to film an episode of "Ultimate Match Fishing," a series on Outdoor Channel.
Crews said he couldn't comment on the results from the match, as the air date has not yet been announced.
