Tragic Fishing Moments 



of angling books as fascinating and as necessary to 

 the content of my fisherman's soul as the collection 

 of lures and rods is essential to my equipment. 



The stories contained in this book are from the 

 pens of the rank and file of American fishermen. They 

 represent the one vivid tragic moment in the life of 

 the angler. We lovers of "the blameless sport," as 

 Wordsworth called it, have all had our tragic moments, 

 but usually there is just one desolating experience 

 which stands out from all the rest. 



It has always been my contention that every fisher- 

 man has at least one good fishing story in him. When 

 I was associate editor of Outers' Recreation, I decided 

 to prove this, and planned a series of fishing stories 

 to be written by the readers of the magazine, under 

 the title of "My Most Tragic Fishing Moment." 

 Literally, hundreds of stories resulted, and this book 

 contains the cream of those received the first six 

 months. Few, if any, of the authors had ever dreamed 

 of appearing in print, yet the stories they wrote became 

 the most nationally famed feature series ever known 

 in the history of outdoor magazines. 



To the veteran of rod and reel these fish tales will 

 recall many of his own experiences. All of us will 

 confess to having often stopped our friends to tell 

 of this or that experience, and doubtless, too, have 

 been interrupted by one of theirs. The age old urge 

 shared by every man of us to tell about our one great 



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