fishing

Broken Man on a Halifax Pier by Lesley Choyce

Fifty-five-year-old Charles Howard has lost his long-time journalism job and has been swindled out of his life savings. Standing by the edge of Halifax Harbour on a foggy morning, contemplating his dismal future, his ritual of self-pity is interrupted with the appearance of the mysterious and beguiling Ramona Danforth.

Best New Brunswick Reads of 2018

Looking back on all the books I reviewed in 2018, there were plenty of good ones that came out of New Brunswick.

Before I get to highlighting just a few of them, I would like to mention how unhappy I was at the hearing of the passing of Raymond Fraser in 2018. He will leave a definite void in the East Coast writing scene, but he leaves behind a legacy of enjoyable reading and poetry as well.… Continue reading

The Crackie by Gary Collins

Newfoundland’s master storyteller Gary Collins returns with a novel written in his cogent style that blends together fiction and history into a uniquely readable book that anyone would enjoy. That may sound like a marketing line you might read on the back of one of Mr. Collin’s books, but I have read and/or reviewed several of his books and I’ve always found them to be enjoyable, compelling reads.… Continue reading

Bryant Freeman: All Things Fishing by Doug Underhill

Miramichi author Doug Underhill and Nimbus Publishing have truly done the Atlantic salmon sportfishing industry a service by bringing the story of Bryant Freeman to bookshelves. A quiet, unassuming man, Mr. Freeman is well-known and loved by many who fish the Miramichi River and its tributaries. He is also well-known for his Riverview, New Brunswick fly-tying shop Eskape Anglers where, among other things, he sells his famous “Carter’s Bug” salmon fly.… Continue reading

Life on the Great Northern Peninsula by Adrian Payne

-time author and memoirist Adrian Payne has compiled stories taken from his life growing up and working in and around Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula in places like Cow Head, Parson’s Pond, and Hawke’s Bay. Born in 1940, he left school at an early age (which he regrets doing) to hunt, cut wood, and fish to make a meagre living in the 1950’s and 60’s. Aside from four years spent in Toronto, he has resided in Cow Bay where he lives to this day.… Continue reading

The Trawlermen by Clarence Vautier

Clarence Vautier was born in 1972 in La Poile, Newfoundland. He moved away to attend high school, and after high school, he fished with his father, Clarence Sr., and his brother Raymond for a short time. He later went to work as a deck officer on the Great Lakes, first for P & H Shipping, then for Algoma Central Marine, where he remains today. Clarence Vautier currently resides in St.… Continue reading

Call of the Ocean cover

The Call of the Ocean by Jim Wellman

Flanker Press has just released an invaluable book penned by Jim Wellman of twenty-eight fascinating profiles of people who are (or were) involved with the modern ocean fishery industry in one way or another. There are stories of lives lived on the sea, lives lost at sea, lives saved at sea, boat builders, both young and old, women who fish or who are instrumental in promoting the fishing industry, even lobbying in Ottawa for various reasons, all on behalf of the fishing industry.… Continue reading