Books on World War II are common enough. Less prevalent are those that deal with how the war effected other aspects of American life. Certainly fishing during the war is not what one would expect as a subject for a full-length book. But Mike Rivkin has written one, Angling and War: The Collision of Big Game Fishing and WWII. A comprehensive view of the war and its effects on fishing, wrapped in a glossy almost-coffee-table sized book, Angling and War is easily one of the best fishing books in a number of years.
War looks at the development of fishing through the backdrop of World War II. It’s not simply an artistic choice. In fact between the late 1930s and the late 1940s, the sport of fishing went through an accelerated evolution in tackle, technique, and boats. For most of that, the war was responsible. Advances in technology aided the angler in the post-war years, while experiences in the Pacific and Mediterranean gave the post-war angler new venues to try for big game fish.
The book concentrates on big-game saltwater fishing. Though inshore saltwater and freshwater fishing were affected in a similar way, the emphasis on the offshore angler fits the book’s focus well. By the start of the war, big game fishing had emerged from a niche sport to a full-time passion for millions of anglers. Fishing magazines and books were immensely popular. Boating was becoming a pastime enjoyed by more and more middle class people. But when the war started things changed. Tackle manufacturers went to churning out military supplies, and the sport took a hiatus. Fishing became about survival.
The military looked to fishing professionals to design effective fishing survival kits for mariners stranded at sea. The new kits also told how to catch and eat fish off survival rafts. These advances saved countless number of servicemen waiting on rough seas for help to arrive.
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