Book Review: Dave Mercer's 135 Secrets Fish Don't Want You to Know
You're out on the water. It's a tough day. The fish are inactive, and it seems like there's nothing you can do to change your luck. You vaguely remember some tip you read on the internet awhile back. But your memory is failing you, so you go back to what you were doing. Before you know it, the day is over, and you haven't caught any goods ones. If only there was a book you could easily take with you on your fishing trips...
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Luckily, there is: Dave Mercer's 135 Secrets Fish Don't Want You to Know. I'll admit, the first thought I had when I got this book in the mail was: man, this book is really small. It's only about 16 X 12 cm (roughly 6 X 5 inches). I didn't like the size at first, but since buying it I've realized that a small book has practical advantages. It's really easy to throw in with your tackle, and so you can take it with you on your trips. Also, the paper used in the book is glossy or high quality or whatever you want to call it. Basically, it won't get ruined as easily if it gets wet, which is a nice bonus.
Some of the fishing tips in the book are relatively simple, while others are more advanced. Examples of basic tips are 'sharpen your hooks', 'learn how to use your electronics' and 'never leave a good bite'. The more advanced tips include comments on various rigging techniques, usually with illustrations, and a whole slew of good advice on how to properly maintain your gear.
Another great thing about this book is that it has knot tying illustrations. For the advanced fisherman, this may be a waste of space. But let's be honest, unless you're one of those lucky people who gets to be out on the water every weekend, you've probably had a few of those s**#, I've tied this knot dozens of times before what am I doing wrong kind of moments. Mercer's book shows you how to tie four knots: palomar, San Diego jam, double uni, and loop. Having these illustrations in the book is a nice touch.
I should point out a few others things about the book. Though the author points out at the beginning that "a fish is a fish and methods or equipment used for one will also work for others," it's pretty clear that the book focusses on bass fishing techniques. This isn't a bad thing, but if you mainly fish for other species this may not be the book for you. Mercer also throws in a few personal anecdotes throughout the book. His stories are funny and well told, but the book could do without them. When I'm out fishing, I don't really need to read about Dave Mercer taking a dump in a minnow bucket.
I'm also not a huge fan of how the book is organized. Unfortunately, like other fishing books, Mercer's is basically a collection of tips put together in no particular order. I'm not saying that I could do a better job, but it'd be nice if the tips were at least grouped together into sections: crankbaits, weather, gear maintenance, soft plastics, etc. Mercer and Battisti (the guy who actually wrote the book- Mercer admits this, saying that he just "blabbed along" while Battisti wrote everything down) could've done a better job polishing the final product by putting the tips in separate categories or chapters. Flipping through the entire book every time you want to find advice on a particular topic is kind of annoying.
But overall, Mercer's book is one of the better ones I've purchased. It's definitely going into my tackle box when fishing season starts and I think it'll help me become a better angler, and it'll probably do the same for you. Now all I have to do is wait for winter to end so I can actually start trying out all of these methods- remember, knowledge is important, but it's no substitute for experience.
Related Posts:
Book Review: Fishing Mapbook (Zone 15: Central Ontario)
Book Review: Trespassing in God's Country
.jpg)
Luckily, there is: Dave Mercer's 135 Secrets Fish Don't Want You to Know. I'll admit, the first thought I had when I got this book in the mail was: man, this book is really small. It's only about 16 X 12 cm (roughly 6 X 5 inches). I didn't like the size at first, but since buying it I've realized that a small book has practical advantages. It's really easy to throw in with your tackle, and so you can take it with you on your trips. Also, the paper used in the book is glossy or high quality or whatever you want to call it. Basically, it won't get ruined as easily if it gets wet, which is a nice bonus.
Some of the fishing tips in the book are relatively simple, while others are more advanced. Examples of basic tips are 'sharpen your hooks', 'learn how to use your electronics' and 'never leave a good bite'. The more advanced tips include comments on various rigging techniques, usually with illustrations, and a whole slew of good advice on how to properly maintain your gear.
Another great thing about this book is that it has knot tying illustrations. For the advanced fisherman, this may be a waste of space. But let's be honest, unless you're one of those lucky people who gets to be out on the water every weekend, you've probably had a few of those s**#, I've tied this knot dozens of times before what am I doing wrong kind of moments. Mercer's book shows you how to tie four knots: palomar, San Diego jam, double uni, and loop. Having these illustrations in the book is a nice touch.
I should point out a few others things about the book. Though the author points out at the beginning that "a fish is a fish and methods or equipment used for one will also work for others," it's pretty clear that the book focusses on bass fishing techniques. This isn't a bad thing, but if you mainly fish for other species this may not be the book for you. Mercer also throws in a few personal anecdotes throughout the book. His stories are funny and well told, but the book could do without them. When I'm out fishing, I don't really need to read about Dave Mercer taking a dump in a minnow bucket.
I'm also not a huge fan of how the book is organized. Unfortunately, like other fishing books, Mercer's is basically a collection of tips put together in no particular order. I'm not saying that I could do a better job, but it'd be nice if the tips were at least grouped together into sections: crankbaits, weather, gear maintenance, soft plastics, etc. Mercer and Battisti (the guy who actually wrote the book- Mercer admits this, saying that he just "blabbed along" while Battisti wrote everything down) could've done a better job polishing the final product by putting the tips in separate categories or chapters. Flipping through the entire book every time you want to find advice on a particular topic is kind of annoying.
But overall, Mercer's book is one of the better ones I've purchased. It's definitely going into my tackle box when fishing season starts and I think it'll help me become a better angler, and it'll probably do the same for you. Now all I have to do is wait for winter to end so I can actually start trying out all of these methods- remember, knowledge is important, but it's no substitute for experience.
Related Posts:
Book Review: Fishing Mapbook (Zone 15: Central Ontario)
Book Review: Trespassing in God's Country
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