Great Kingfish Captains
REVIEWS:
From Palm Beach Post staff writer,
Willie Howard's summer reading list for outdoor enthusiasts:
"This book... provides a rare look into the world of commercial
hand-line kingfishing. The heart of the book comes from
interviews with five commercial Kingfish boat captains.
Howard ends with his reflections on decades of fishing the ocean."
July 18, 2008 - "Al Tyrrell is/was my father-in-law- I was married to his stepson, Chuck.
To this day, I still consider him my Dad. I fished on his boat, Carol Ann, with him many, many times through all kinds of weather and through all kinds of fishing (bottom and long-line) before Chuck bought a boat of his own.
The fondest memories of my teenage years are spending time within him and being with him on his boat. Back in the late '70s, Al would take off to fish no matter what. I remember all of the cold, damp, foggy winter mornings; watching countless breathtaking sunrises; catching bait fish before we hit the inlet; the familiar "jerk" of the long-line when the kingfish hit and how exciting it was to reel each one in, no matter how many times you had done it before - it was so very addictive! - winter noreaster storms that would blow your mind; dolphins playing with your boat on the way out; the sound of the boat moving through the water; sunfish sticking their head out of the water and taking a peek at you; sea turtles; the sound of the kingfish smacking back and forth in the fishbox; the sharks & barracuda "stealing" the fish; gutting the fish on the way back to the fishhouse, winter waves taller than telephone poles, the sides of which you could reach out and touch from the gunnel of the boat like you were the sides of a brick wall - I would look up and still not see the top of sometimes; summer squall storms so severe you said a little prayer to yourself that you would make it back in one piece. once in a while it was really living life on the edge and I loved every second of it. It was truly the best of times!!!. That man would fish the boat no matter what! I don't care what anyone says, the Carol Ann was and is the best boat in the feet. Al built the boat himself along with his sons. She always took good care of us and always got us back to the dock in one piece. I could go on and on and on about the great times I had fishing with Al Tyrrell.
***I am so grateful that someone honored Al and his fellow fishermen with this wonderful book so that their stories and memories could be properly preserved. I look forward to reading it and reminiscing about all of the wonderful fishermen and the
VERY BEST TIMES OF MY LIFE!" -- Ms. Beasley
January 15, 2008 - "I enjoyed the book very much. I don't know much about fishing so it took me a while to get the hang of the specialized fishing terms.
The two things that I enjoyed most about the book was first, tracing people's lives with fishing being the common thread (or in fishing parlance, the common line). It gives some understanding of what draws those people to kingfishing.
Secondly, I found intriguing looking at the world from the fishing boat - all the unusual things that happen out in the ocean - the storms, the sharks, the refugees, the drug runners, and the other fishermen.
I could almost feel the rolling of the boat and smell
the pot of fish chowder.
Congratulations on a good book."
-- Dr. Rod Matthews, University of Wisconsin
January 3, 2008 - "Excellent! The copy is bright, even crisp and
clean. The artwork is brilliantly colored and the paper is top notch.
Excellent job! Cover came out very, very nice! .
I commend you for a fine product!
Now that you have it in hand, you cannot deny that is was worth it.
I knew you couldn't."
--Terry Armstrong, Author and Treasure Salvor,
Co-author of Rainbow Chassers
January 8, 2008 - "I, too, have heard and account of the green lights one night off of Daytona Beach. I don't know the guy, but he was telling anyone who would listen; He was on the beach late one night and the ocean lit up with a green light from the beach and as far out as he could see. He said that he could see the ocean bottom and fish, etc. His description was so vivid that I haven't been able to forget it. Now, I'm really curious.
Again, great book. Wish you all the success." --Sue Russell
Randy Wayne White
2011
I’m Florida novelist Randy Wayne White, and think Terry Howard’s
GREAT KINGFISH CAPTAINS is superb, foresighted, priceless and compelling…It is an important addition to Florida fishing history…
What impressed me was that the book was cleanly written, yet does not impose on the pure voices of the men interviewed.
"A good read is a good find"
The angler in everyone appreciates a good fish story. It may be exciting, humorous, sentimental or educational, but whichever it is, an angler's passion for his or her sport keeps him turning the pages.
This year, several books with a fishing motif are drawing interest from the angling community.
Several also have close ties to the Treasure Coast, having been authored by local anglers or including stories about them within their pages.
Here are a few that have been released in the past year and are worth a read, beginning with one of the most famous writers who ever lived and a surprising new book of his works.
---Ed Killer, edward.killer@scripps.com
From left to right - Lester Rebells, Al Tyrrell
and his daughter and Terry Howard
Never fish but loved the book
October 9, 2011
By Paul Mannweiler (Indiana USA) -
Being from Indiana I have never fished for kingfish. However I recently picked up a copy of Mr. Howard's book at an art festival in Florida.
The author's thorough research and wonderful story telling ability remind me of a fishingman's David McCullough.
Mr. Howard's love for his subjects and his detailed description of an earlier time in Florida brings the reader along whether you have ever fished a day in your life.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about a new topic but wants to completely enjoy themselves in the process! I can't wait for the author's new book!
September 22, 2011
By Jackie - This review is from:
Great Kingfish Captains (Kindle Edition)
Since I was a young girl, my parents have had a second home on North Hutchinson Island, Fort Pierce, FL.
My father had a boat and he would take me fishing with him. Fort Pierce fishing is great and I have very fond memories fishing in this area.
I found this book "Great Kingfish Captains of Fort Pierce, Florida" and read it. It brought back some great memories and was written very well.
I loved reading stories from other fishermen in the area.
Again, it was very well written and easy to read.
Would recommend this book to anyone that loves to fish.
High Seas Wranglers
"I loved the book the it was. I am not just saying this.
The nature of the content - story telling, moving from the life of one guy to another, as seen from Terry's experienced eyes, is perfect. I read his first book and this one was so much better it surprised me a little bit. Terry is a good author, but this thing is really excellent. Structure is fine. It's not a how-to book, after all, and he tells the stories in a good order based on his own years in the industry and on those boats. It is a beautiful book about a way of life that will never be the same."
"This is a collection of touching, sad, joyous and scary stories that could well have been written by somebody famous. I live on water. He puts me there, and will put and reader there, too."
---GARY POYSSICK, Founder of OnlineFisherman.com
"This book reads a little like Hemingway, and the flavor is so much more direct and structured."
Having read Howard's other book, and having worked in an industry of telling people's stories, I have great respect for his method of recording and transcribing these stories. The reader will quickly learn this is not storytelling in the classic sense used most frequently by an aurthor, but in a rawer sense as is actually communicated by the teller. Memories are not always recounted smoothly, as these stories indicate. And that's fine, because these are in fact, interviews. I love it and appreciate the hard work he poured into this book."
"Capt. Howard does a wonderful job of capturing the classic unique storytelling style of these seamen. These stories of the sea, and the comparison and constrast of two decidedly different disciplines in fishing - commercial vs. recreational, really give the reader a nearly complete image of the adventures as they are retold from vivid memories of the men who lived them.
Like many a fish, the catch grows a little longer, a little heavier, and a little meaner when the tale is retold. The tale itself also gets a little better with time."
---ED KILLER, Outdoor Editor for TC Palm Newspapers
