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Fishing from the Rock of the Bay

The Making of an Angler

James Batty

$49.99

Hardback

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English
Merlin Unwin Books
01 November 2021
I hardly remember life without a rod in my hand, writes James Batty in the opening sentence of his autobiography in fishing. When his American wife moved with him to Cornwall, she saw his family photo album and commented that there was hardly a single picture of him in which he wasn't fishing. This witty, wacky account is Jim's tale of his obsession with his hobby of fishing, wherever his work took him around the world, seeking out lemon sharks in the Gambia, Striped Bass in New York and salmon in British Columbia. Jim's genre of writing is a mixture of John Gierach and Bill Bryson: his style is wry, witty and incisive. The end result is an entertaining insight into the mind of a dedicated angler, full of fishing anecdotes, tips and thought-provoking ideas.

AUTHOR: After an early career as headmaster of a small primary school in the Gambia, and further work in Tanzania, Botwana and Ireland, James Batty moved to New York and became a management consultant, a job which enabled him to travel widely and fish regularly in his spare time. He now lives near the tip of Cornwall on the west coast of England with his bewildered American wife Shelley.
By:  
Imprint:   Merlin Unwin Books
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 234mm,  Width: 156mm,  Spine: 30mm
Weight:   643g
ISBN:   9781913159344
ISBN 10:   1913159345
Pages:   288
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Unspecified

James Batty, known to his international army of online followers as ‘Leakyboots’, started fishing at the age of four. In the sixty-some years that have passed since then, he has lived in the Sudan, Tanzania, the Gambia, Botswana, the USA, and the UK; and it goes without saying that a rod never has been far from his hand. He funded his fishing habit by working as a teacher, an accountant, and an international management consultant. Born in Cornwall, James came home about twenty years ago to the rocks and beaches of his childhood, and to the bass he loves to pursue.

Reviews for Fishing from the Rock of the Bay: The Making of an Angler

For anyone who likes a good laugh, along with a weather-beaten slice of angling life, James Batty’s second book is a rare treat. Would appeal to non-anglers as much as the converted. It’s the ideal volume to dip into as the mood takes. * Angling Times * What a joy to read an angler who not only knows their own mind, but is old and weather-beaten enough not to care what we make of them, and knows how to deliver a great one-liner. The chapters themselves are succinctly organised without detracting from the anarchic sense of fun. Seldom above three or four pages, each section starts with a line from music or literature before a departure into something pithy and amusing. This keeps everything punchy, and whether the next section is on making your own lures or angling and drinking in Dublin, it’s a supremely entertaining and “dippable” read. All in all, a great find from Merlin Unwin books and another unique voice to join the fray. * Dominic Garnett *


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