[dropcap]P[/dropcap]oking around the downtown Ft. Lauderdale, Florida – Broward County Library System, which frequentlly gets rated as the best system in the U. S., I stumbled onto The Fisherman’s Ocean by David A. Ross, Ph.D. I’ve read, and in some cases attempted to read, heavy tomes on the subject of marine science. Most are long-ish and so detailed in a doctorial way that I can feel my eyelids closing just thinking about a few that will never get finished and sit on my bookshelves catching dust.
Here at last, in layman’s terms, is a fisherman’s guide to the habitat and behavior of saltwater fish. Ross is a fly fisherman and he delivers the goods for anglers of any persuasion with understandable and useable information. Ross’ expertise is unmistakable as a writer, fisherman and scientist. His focus, how to use marine science to help you find and catch more ocean fish, is spot-on from page one to 299. Throughout, Ross uses sidebars to isolate the critical elements in each chapter or multiple subjects within chapters. Making getting the point simple. And in all cases useable.
Ross answers questions we’ve all asked; can fish feel pain? What are scales for? What can fish see, hear and smell? Does barometric pressure create habit changes for ocean fish?
Joe Healy editor of Saltwater Fly Fishing said: “Reading Dave Ross’s work will give you in-depth knowledge of the ocean, its processes, and marine fish, which can only make you a better saltwater angler.”
The author, an oceanographer, explains the marine environment and the factors that affect where game fish congregate, how they move with tides and currents. The illustrated text covers inshore and offshore habitat and will prove invaluable to anyone who fishes in saltwater, whether in the surf, on the flats, or out at sea.
