Author(s): Anna Clark

Australiana | SEPTEMBER 2023 NEW RELEASES

In every coastal town in Australia, there's a bat shop and a boat ramp. In laundries and garages around the country, fishing rods are strung up waiting for their next outing. Walk over a bridge, look across to a wharf and there will be people casting a line. Many people have a special fishing spot, and families pass on tips from generation to generation and exchange fishy tales of amazing catches and near misses. Bringing her personal passion for throwing in a line, author and historian Anna Clark celebrates the enduring pleasure of fishing in The Catch: Australia's love affair with fishing. Charting the history of fishing, from the first known accounts of Indigenous fishing and early European encounters with Australia's waters, to the latest fishing fads; from the introduction of trout and fly fishing to the challenges of balancing needs of commercial and recreational fishers. 'Clark's account is a worthy primer – handsomely illustrated and entertainingly written bait, if you like – for those who might want to trawl a little deeper for insights into the important place of fishing in our national psyche.' John Schauble, Sydney Morning Herald"