The Fishing Here is Great!

The illustrations are more interesting than the text in this British import. Mills, a zoologist and editor of a fisheries management magazine, has dredged up every fishing cliche one can think of: the tale of the big one that got away, the purchase made from the local fish store to deceive family members about the angler's prowess, the assertion that fishing provides an excuse for drinking, the fervent hope of malcontents that the fish will pull the fisherman to an aqueous end. The illustrations are all postcards of the last 100 years, adorned either with photographs, oil paintings or cartoons; most entertaining are the joke postcards, though the humor is rather quaint. There are chapters on fishing sites, appropriate garb, fisherwomen, changing styles in equipment. The book is a less than satisfying documentary of the sport. (April 18)