'So Many Fish, So Little Time" - A Book Review

With severe thunderstorm warnings, gun-metal grey skies, and upwards of 30 mm of rain expected today, what better time to get reaquainted with the comforts of the indoors with a book about the outdoors?

I was recently given the opportunity to review a book by Mark D. Williams entitled, "So Many Fish, So Little Time - 1,001 of the World's Greatest Backcountry Honeyholes, Trout Rivers, Blue Ribbon Waters, Bass Lakes, and Saltwater Hot Spots". Mark is an avid angler and author of books such as, "Trout Fishing Sourcebook" and "Nuts and Bolts Guide for the Backpacking Flyfisher" - Hmm, it seems he has an affinity for trout. I like him already.

As the title states, the book is a worldwide compendium of water systems and the fish that they hold . It's organized by region and covers water from the urban fishing destinations like the 59th Street Pond in Central Park for bass to remote getaways like the Aberdares in Kenya for wild stream trout. Each body of water is given a brief description, and lists the species that inhabit it. It is then followed by a list of resources such as charters, guides, accommodations and angling shops that cater to the area.

As you may have guessed, there are a few more than 1001 bodies of water in the world so it was no doubt a daunting task to narrow down the list. Although the book includes a good number noteworthy locales in Canada, Mexico, the Carribean, Central/South America, Europe, Africa and the South Pacific, the majority of the destinations reside in the United States. It isn't until page 572 (out of 860) that you cross the U.S border and enter the rest of the world.

Mark explains, "When I put this book together, I had to figure out which fisheries I was going to include. A river or lake that's in close proximity to your house has a lot of value - you can get there more frequently, and that combined with good (not great fishing) can make a river/lake/inshore/offshore spot a superb fishing experience".

In his narrative writing style, he goes on to say, "I was determined to write a book of fishing dreams. A book of dreams, a wish list of all the best places in the world to fish. This is a sit-on-the-pot type of book" - I would have to agree with Mark on that one. Some of the my best dreams and ideas began on the pot.

My wife once agreed that wherever we vacation, I can dedicate one day to fishing; she has probably already forgotten ever mentioning this, but it's the first thing that comes to my mind when picking that next destination. To this end, I'll be adding this book to my list of tools.

Now I know that the next time I'm in LA, I can drop my wife off at Rodeo Drive and find myself on Piru Creek fishing for wild trout within an hour - cool.

I'll worry about the visa bill later.