Fishy tales share life of ocean adventures

The blurb on the front cover of Fishermen's Tales, by Peter Jessup, sums up the book perfectly: "Incredible stories from New Zealand and the world of fishing."
Lovingly researched over three months, the book includes many seemingly ridiculous stories of Jessup and his fisho buddies, as well as angling stories from overseas.
Once the research was over, Jessup said writing the book was easy.
"The writing came easily because I was so enthusiastic about the subject; it was like telling stories over a few beers."
Jessup has 47 years' fishing experience, ever since he caught the bug while casting for trout in Ohakune as a 5-year-old.
His favourite story is a personal one: "My kids forcing me to take them fishing at 5.30am for the fifth consecutive morning after catching nothing the previous four days. They caught a big kingfish that morning.
"It was a lesson in perseverance."
He has fished all over New Zealand, from the Three Kings to the Chathams and everywhere in between, including international locations as varied as Antarctica, Thailand and Nepal.
Jessup's love of fishing is evident.
"On the water is where you can get away from the stresses of life, see sunsets, sunrises, plus the majesty of the ocean, dolphins and whales.
"All sorts of bizarre stuff happens when you're fishing, you're always learning, there is a real art to it."
The book is not all fun and outrageous yarns. The final chapter, "Fished Out", warns of the threat humans present to fishing stocks by way of overfishing and pollution.
"Everyone wants to catch a big fish but if we continue to catch big fish there won't be any left for our grandkids."
Jessup writes this book after 35 years' experience reporting for The Truth, Auckland Star and the New Zealand Herald, for which he wrote a weekly fishing column.
He has also written for nearly every issue of Fishing World magazine in its eight-year history and has contributed to local and international fishing publications.
The New Zealand author wrote Fishermen's Tales as a holiday book, so readers "can pick it up and read one story or half a dozen".
His model is the Ripley's Believe It Or Not format, so readers question whether the stories are a bit "fishy" - but he assures that the book is "all true".
You can imagine it sitting comfortably on the coffee tables of bachs throughout New Zealand, waiting to be read on those long summer afternoons, the tales then passionately recounted and discussed around barbecues and picnic tables.
REVIEW
Fishermen's Tales,
by Peter Jessup, Hurricane Press
Peter Jessup has compiled a light-hearted book full of interesting fishing tales from New Zealand and around the world. The stories range from the seemingly ridiculous to the extreme, including lucky hauls, close encounters with sharks and everything in between.
The book also contains a chapter on facts about fish and fishing and a chapter on the dangers to fishing stocks of pollution and over fishing.
The tales provide light entertainment perfect for a lazy afternoon read.
Even if you have no real interest in fishing, the book is still an informative and interesting read.