Parting With Fishing “Stuff”

Moderators: William Anderson, letumgo

Post Reply
joaniebo
Posts: 709
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2014 12:24 pm

Parting With Fishing “Stuff”

Post by joaniebo » Sun Aug 11, 2024 3:44 pm

As my health issues worsen, I’ve had to whittle down lots of my fishing stuff, including books. It’s been somewhat difficult to part with some items but not too difficult with others.

Surprisingly, giving away rods and reels, nets, etc. hasn’t been too difficult but for some reason, books are a difficult matter.

But, for the time being, I’m holding on to the Christopher Knowles’ Orange Otter book, the Smith & Settle books of Brook & River Trouting and North Country Flies, the Roger Fogg and Leslie Magee books and, of course, Robert L. Smith’s book. For some reason, I’m just having a very hard time parting with these books but not others, including all of my Sylvester Nemes’ books.

What is it with the sentimental value of books? Maybe because it’s old school, not digital, not the latest “hip” thing!

Who knows? But what I do know, it’s not easy!

BobM
User avatar
Oenophileangler
Posts: 121
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2021 11:08 pm

Re: Parting With Fishing “Stuff”

Post by Oenophileangler » Sun Aug 11, 2024 8:23 pm

I learned to fish when I was about 8. My uncle taught me to use spin gear, with worms usually, but also Daredevils and Mepps spinners, to catch stocked rainbows in the Sierras (especially Yosemite, when they still stocked fish in the Merced). Life happened and I didn't fish until after my first daughter was born a couple of decades later. I got into backpacking and I thought I would learn "subsistence" hiking and eat caught fish while in the wilderness to reduce the burden of packing in food.

This is a long way of getting to books. I wanted to know about using newer technologies of fishing than the kind of equipment I learned on. I bought a book called Ultralight Spin Fishing, my first ever fishing book. I read this cover to cover but wanted to read more. My local Barnes & Noble had a lot of fishing books back then, but very few on "conventional" fishing. Just fly fishing books. Why was that? Anyway, I bought a John Merwin overview book on Trout Fishing, not knowing that it was about fly fishing. I got it without seriously looking at the contents, and I was disappointed that it wasn't really what I wanted. I read it anyway and I was hooked! I had to read whatever fly fishing books I could get my hands on. Back then, mail-order-books wasn't really a thing yet, let alone electronic books.

Fast forward. My wife complains about the wall of fishing and outdoor books I have, and I have promised her I wouldn't buy any more new books. Now, I go to Abebooks and purchase there, sometimes for more $ than I care to admit.

I have now resorted to purchasing electronic books so that I keep peace at home. I have donated a bunch of my books to our library. Nobody would purchase some of these titles. I still have that spin fishing book and the Merwin book. Won't get rid of them. Pretty sure I saw the Merwin book in the B&N $1.00 pile one day. But that's ok. It's still special to me.

Dale
User avatar
DarrellP
Posts: 278
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2018 10:47 am

Re: Parting With Fishing “Stuff”

Post by DarrellP » Sun Aug 11, 2024 10:15 pm

I get a little grief about my books. Oh well. I don't drink except socially and and don't chase women...
User avatar
JohnMD1022
Posts: 117
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2019 6:18 pm
Location: Maryland

Re: Parting With Fishing “Stuff”

Post by JohnMD1022 » Wed Aug 14, 2024 3:37 pm

I am faced with the same problem.

About a thousand
Fly fishing books, about 200 on guns hunting and bird dogs, and a like number on food.

Some I can give to Mike Watriss at GreAt Feathers for his sale shelf.and some can be sold.

I am planning to offer some to members of this and a couple of other forums if they will pay the postage.
"One of those harmless misfits you see in fishing who do no appreciable damage to the world at large and in the end have only cost themselves the normal life that they never wanted anyway."
No Shortage of Good Days by John Gierach
Fishnkilts
Posts: 723
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2020 9:40 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: Parting With Fishing “Stuff”

Post by Fishnkilts » Mon Aug 26, 2024 11:16 am

Outside of a dog, books are man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. :lol:
Mike62
Posts: 1095
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:50 pm
Location: Northern Maine

Re: Parting With Fishing “Stuff”

Post by Mike62 » Tue Aug 27, 2024 7:37 am

You can never have too many books. Thankfully, my wife is completely supportive of my book buying habits. She only gets a little irritable when I start looking around at fly rods or vintage rifles. I haven't reached the point where I'm ready to purge the flotsam and jetsam of my fishing/hunting addictions, but I have decided that I'm ready to finally back a 30yd. construction dumpster up to the barn door. Small steps...
Mike62
Posts: 1095
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:50 pm
Location: Northern Maine

Re: Parting With Fishing “Stuff”

Post by Mike62 » Tue Aug 27, 2024 7:40 am

Fishnkilts wrote: Mon Aug 26, 2024 11:16 am Outside of a dog, books are man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. :lol:
...which reminds me of something my grandmother used to say when a thunderstorm was coming. She'd step out onto the porch, look up at the sky and say, "Yup, blacker'n than the inside of a cow".
Post Reply