LINE DOWN! THE SPECIAL WORLD OF BIG-GAME FISHING. By Jack Samson. Illustrated by Victoria Blanchard.

1973 1st edition. Large 8vo (182 x 260mm). Ppxii,177. B/w illustrations by Victoria Blanchard. Blue cloth, spine titled in gilt.

Samson was editor of "Field and Stream" magazine and a well-known big-game angler. Readable stories of fishing for saltwater gamefish from bluefin tuna to tarpon". Jack Samson shares some of his experiences... real encounters with the great fish, from his wide-eyed amazement one summer long ago when his father hooked and boated a broadbill swordfish off Block Island, to his own battles over much of the world in years to follow. Line Down! brings alive all the excitement of this challenging sport, and joins the exclusive company of fishing books that succeed in communicating what is nearly incommunicable - the intensity of the search, the loneliness of the fight, the shared reward. Yet this is a book of facts as well... Each chapter is full of information on the big fish and how they are caught, and there is a detailed appendix on boats, equipment, and technique". Chapters include:- The broadbill swordfish; The black marlin; The sailfish; The blue marlin; The bluefin tuna; The dolphin; The special world; A green fish; The striped marlin; The barracuda; A boat is for fishing; The mako; The tarpon. Appendices include:- Equipment and technique; The IGFA rules. The foreword is by A.J. McClane.