The British Tunny Club, Hardy Bros. tackle and big game fishing in the 1930s
by Mark Ross
What a fantastic book this is. Buy it, borrow it, steal it.....however you get hold of a copy just make sure you get a read of this book if you have even the slightest interest in the subject.
It tells the story of an era long since passed and never to return. During the 1930s huge shoals of herring descended on the British coast every summer. Following closely behind were the bluefin tuna, a fish of immense proportions and reputedly uncatchable on rod and line. What follows are some of the most amazing stories of fishing in British waters you're ever likely to come across. Stories of seven hour battles, boats being towed twenty miles, telegraph pole-like rods being snapped in two, a 763lb tunny being landed by a 12 year old boy only to be refused a certificate by the British Tunny club on a technicality and many more.
All of these stories are set off by hundreds of stunning period photos. The author is also a very keen collector of the old tunny fishing tackle and so there is a great deal of information and hi-res photographs of the kind of tackle being used to tame these huge fish.
Mark Ross has done a very good job of writing this book. It is a bit of a balancing act between a dry book on the history and social history of the Scarborough tunny fishery and the effect it had on the UK and the world; and also an enthralling story of the people involved. On first reading this book I found it very hard to put down, I always had to turn just one more page to see what happened next. Ross, thanks to his extensive research, has brought every character back to life and I found myself getting quite deep into the story.
As mentioned, the author has put a huge amount of research into this book and it really does show. He has turned up huge amounts of original photographs, local, national and international newspaper archives, certificates issued by the British Tunny Club, articles and letters from the Fishing Gazette, various anecdotes and personal accounts and even personal letters between anglers of the time. For the reader wanting to get even further into the subject there are many appendices at the rear of the book plus a bibliography.
Unfortunately the tunny fishing was cut short by the start of the second world war in 1939. For the next six years almost no fishing was done and once the world situation settled down again in 1945 the herring shoals had drifted away and to this day the tuna have never returned to British waters in any real numbers. This book is a glimpse into a fishery I am never likely to see in my lifetime but once existed and despite lasting such a short period has left its mark forever on British fishing history.
This book is the last word on the subject as well as being a fantastic read in its own right. If you are at all interested then I can only suggest you get yourself a copy now while it's still freely available at the cover price of £89. I feel confident that this will set the standard for writing on the history of the Scarborough tunny fishery and will almost certainly become a sought after collector's item in the future. Grab it while you can.
Coch Y Bonddu Books have new copies available for the cover price of £89.
Privately published by the author in 2010. Cloth-bound hardback limited to 250 numbered copies. Deluxe leather-bound edition limited to just 20 copies.
Click here to go back to the list of all reviews.
by Mark Ross
What a fantastic book this is. Buy it, borrow it, steal it.....however you get hold of a copy just make sure you get a read of this book if you have even the slightest interest in the subject.
It tells the story of an era long since passed and never to return. During the 1930s huge shoals of herring descended on the British coast every summer. Following closely behind were the bluefin tuna, a fish of immense proportions and reputedly uncatchable on rod and line. What follows are some of the most amazing stories of fishing in British waters you're ever likely to come across. Stories of seven hour battles, boats being towed twenty miles, telegraph pole-like rods being snapped in two, a 763lb tunny being landed by a 12 year old boy only to be refused a certificate by the British Tunny club on a technicality and many more.
All of these stories are set off by hundreds of stunning period photos. The author is also a very keen collector of the old tunny fishing tackle and so there is a great deal of information and hi-res photographs of the kind of tackle being used to tame these huge fish.
Mark Ross has done a very good job of writing this book. It is a bit of a balancing act between a dry book on the history and social history of the Scarborough tunny fishery and the effect it had on the UK and the world; and also an enthralling story of the people involved. On first reading this book I found it very hard to put down, I always had to turn just one more page to see what happened next. Ross, thanks to his extensive research, has brought every character back to life and I found myself getting quite deep into the story.
As mentioned, the author has put a huge amount of research into this book and it really does show. He has turned up huge amounts of original photographs, local, national and international newspaper archives, certificates issued by the British Tunny Club, articles and letters from the Fishing Gazette, various anecdotes and personal accounts and even personal letters between anglers of the time. For the reader wanting to get even further into the subject there are many appendices at the rear of the book plus a bibliography.
Unfortunately the tunny fishing was cut short by the start of the second world war in 1939. For the next six years almost no fishing was done and once the world situation settled down again in 1945 the herring shoals had drifted away and to this day the tuna have never returned to British waters in any real numbers. This book is a glimpse into a fishery I am never likely to see in my lifetime but once existed and despite lasting such a short period has left its mark forever on British fishing history.
This book is the last word on the subject as well as being a fantastic read in its own right. If you are at all interested then I can only suggest you get yourself a copy now while it's still freely available at the cover price of £89. I feel confident that this will set the standard for writing on the history of the Scarborough tunny fishery and will almost certainly become a sought after collector's item in the future. Grab it while you can.
Coch Y Bonddu Books have new copies available for the cover price of £89.
Privately published by the author in 2010. Cloth-bound hardback limited to 250 numbered copies. Deluxe leather-bound edition limited to just 20 copies.
Click here to go back to the list of all reviews.
