‘The Compleat Angler’ is much more than an instruction manual on fishing. It’s a Walden-like meditation on nature and friendship
The Compleat Angler isn’t so much a technical manual on how to fish as it is a book on how to enjoy the countryside and all of its bounty. Essayist William Hazlitt, writing in the 1800s, called it “the best pastoral in the language.”
This Obscure Fishing Book is One of the Most Reprinted English Books Ever
I have never read it.
Apparently, fishing is powerful stuff when Machiavellian cutthroats find joy in it.
…and it goes back a long ways.
*Sept 7, 2023 update
It is Chapter 30 in Steve’s A Sportsman’s Library
It pays to have the right bait\fly\lure. The theme of countless books, articles, and discussions.
*Sept 7, 2023 update