Bonefishing!

Rating:
Summary: The Exception Proves the Rule
Review: I tend to side with Charley Waterman: the world does NOT seem to need yet another book about bonefish angling. However, this book is exceptional and is indeed accretive to the otherwise mostly redundant library. The photos alone are worth the price tag: It will get you through landlocked months away from the flats. Kaufmann is not a new comer trying to prove himself..he's a salty veteran who, like McGuane or Kreh, would be welcome on a flats outing in our boat.

Rating:
Summary: Give it time
Review: My first reaction to this book, having bought it without the chance to look inside, was nice pictures, extensive travelogue on places I'll never go, not worth the money. At that stage I was just getting into saltwater fly fishing. I have had this book for a year now and it has definitely grown on me. The information is pretty good, except you don't know that until you go fishing, come back, and read it again, then it clicks. And the content has application to any flats fishing. The photos, spectacular to start with, sink in and begin to captivate and (this is the worrying bit) you start analysing the content in detail, eg for reels, flies, shirts, packs, boots, and any other detail that might help. Okay, the captions to the photos could use some editing and maybe the text could too, but I find myself returning to this book time and time again - expecially through the winter - when other books are getting dusty

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Ordered this book with high anticipation. Had heard marvelous things about the content. Granted, it's beautiful with gorgeous pictures and some great technique descriptions. Perhaps my expectations were too high but considering the size and cost, I would expect this book to be fairly encyclopedic. But when you need to resort to another book for fly patterns/tying and leader construction, I think that is reasonable cause for disappointment. Given those are some basic areas to cover in considerable detail, the cover of the book is much more enticing than the viscera.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Coffee Table Book
Review: Truly beautiful book with many terrific photos. It is worth owning just for the pictures. I did not read his earlier now out of print bonefishing book, but imagine most of the technique section is a repeat. After a while, all of these fishing books are the same. You can only describe fishing for bones to a certain level, then you just have to go do it! The travel section was extremely thorough, although one might assume it is a plug for Kaufmann travel.