A dozen of the greatest offshore fishermen in the world have come together in this book to share their stories of adventures on the high seas while chasing after great fish and world records. Each of these men has contributed one or more stories in a compilation by Patrick Mansell a noted novelist of fishing adventure books called the Bimini Twist Adventures.

Meet fourteen remarkable Australian (and one Kiwi!) jacks and jills of all trades with a wealth of experiences from the good old days to modern times. Hailing from all walks of life, they share their memories with renowned yarn spinner Sandy Thorne in a collection of stories full of wisdom and wit. There's Danny, the champion jockey who refuses to ever truly hang up the saddle; 'Dusty', the WW II rear gunner who survived thirty raids over Germany; and Dot, the seemingly dainty 97-year-old who was once a bullocky's offsider. Then there's Bob, who's been a truckie, fighter, croc-wrestler and lotto winner; Doris, the once hard-toiling dairy farmer who's as chirpy as a willy-wagtail; and Roy, the Vietnam vet turned world-class waterskier. Between them, the characters in this book have survived the Depression, seen world wars come and go and witnessed monumental changes in everyday life. There's comedy and courage in their adventures, as well as tales of triumph over adversity. Through their stories, Sandy finds the elements that make up the classic Australian character: a no-nonsense, never-give-up approach that means these people are still firing on all cylinders in their eighties and nineties, and truly embody what it means to be a living legend.

As one of the most lauded fishing destinations in the United States, boasting world records on varieties of fish, Florida has proven irresistible to the world’s top anglers for more than 100 years. Florida’s Fishing Legends and Pioneers systematically chronicles the exploits of the most influential men and women of the sport throughout the state. Chosen by Doug Kelly for their contributions to the techniques, equipment, and strategies of fishing--and often radiating colorful personalities--these "hall of fame" legends and pioneers have helped preserve the Sunshine State as a top fishing destination that currently draws nearly five million anglers to its bountiful waters each year. Interviews with such current angling luminaries as Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte, Mark Sosin, Joan Salvato Wulff, Roland Martin, Guy Harvey, Al Pflueger Jr., and a number of other renowned figures are found throughout the book. Organized chronologically, this intelligent and captivating book provides readers a greater and more accurate perspective on how recreational fishing in Florida evolved over more than a century. It also features rare historical information and photographs from past decades. Florida’s Fishing Legends and Pioneers is for everyone, from novice to master, who loves fishing!

For three years, journalist Richard Louv listened to America by going fishing with Americans. Doing what many of us dream of, he traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from trout waters east and west to bass waters north and south. Fly-Fishing for Sharks is the result of his journey, a portrait of America on the water, fishing rod in hand. To explore the cultures of fishing, Louv joined a bass tournament on Lake Erie and got a casting lesson from fly-fishing legend Joan Wulff He angled with corporate executives in Montana and fly-fished for sharks in California. He spent time with fishing-boat captains in Florida, the regulars who fish New York City's Hudson River, and a river witch in Colorado. He teamed secrets of fishing and living from steelheaders in the Northwest, Bass'n Gals in Texas, and an ice-fisher in the North Woods. Along the way, he heard from one of Hemingway's sons what it was like to fish with Papa and from Robert Kennedy, Jr., how fishing changed his fife. As he describes the eccentricities, obsessions, and tribulations of dedicated anglers, he also uncovers the values that unite them. He reveals the healing qualities of fishing, how it binds the generations, how the angling business has grown, and how the future of fishing is threatened. But most of all, Fly-Fishing for Sharks is about the unforgettable characters Louv meets on the water and the stories they tell. From them, Louv learns about our changing relationship with nature, about a hidden America -- and about himself.

Follow Ernest Hemingway's exploits on the Bahamian island of Bimini from 1935 to 1937, the very moment in time when the International Game Fish Association (under the author's co-leadership) was emerging. Covers Hemingway's role in the formation of the IGFA, his underappreciated seminal writing about competitive saltwater angling when the sport was still in its infancy, the amazing fishing he enjoyed on the island, and the way all of these experiences translated into the composition of his posthumous novel Islands in the Stream. This is the only book on this period in Hemingway's life and reveals unexpected dimensions to the Hemingway portrait that deserve attention, including his surprising humor, his advanced conservationist views several decades before the environmental movement even began, and his egalitarian ideas about his contemporary female counterparts in the big-game fishing world—challenging the usual portrait of Hemingway as a chauvinist with no personal rules, boundaries, or conscience. Includes beautiful vintage photographs of 1930s Bimini that have never been published in book form.

As World War I rages around the globe, Chan Beebe and his young bride, Elizabeth, take a steamer to Angola and trek the ancient slave trails there in search of coveted petroleum to fuel the Allies' war machine. They find a brutal continent, where death, cannibalism, and deadly fevers are commonplace. Like the hypnotic beat of a tribal drum, Beebe draws readers deep into the bush, where the expedition encounters deadly denizens, both animal and human. The land is a hunter's dream, with plentiful game, angry elephants, charging lions, terrifying hippo, enraged buffalo, and crocodile-infested waters. Beebe's elephant-hunting descriptions are especially riveting, and the number of hippos he shot to feed his caravan is staggering by modern standards. With Beebe's "devil gun," the team survives a bloody gunfight with a hostile king and his savage Quissama cannibals. Lured ever deeper into cannibal country by a mysterious pounding tom-tom, they stumble upon a macabre scene: Seated upon a massive throne is a dead Quissama king, his shriveled body smoked and blackened, a massive gold royal ring resting around his neck. After Beebe and his team steal the necklace in a daring raid, they flee along a midnight trail, only to cross from one cannibal country into another! Beebe's harrowing tale and multitudinous hunts capture all that was post-WW I Africa--from the magnificent beauty of the land and its creatures to the savage native cultures that have endured for millennia. Amazingly enough, Beebe's journal with the original photographs remained unpublished for more than eighty years, but now this intrepid explorer’s tale of courage and adventure is finally available!