Valentine & Friends Revisited
by Bill Valentine
Arizona had quite of a saltwater fishing community in the 60's and 70's. This book is primarily the stories, reports and musings of Bill Valentine, an outdoor writer for the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette during that time. Mentions of the fly casting clubs here in Phoenix including names and dates, the stories are gems that relate to present day saltwater fishing in the Sea of Cortez and also the Pacific from Southern California.
Lots of pictures of catches, I have found this book useful for my own adventures in the focused area of Puerto Penasco, Cholla Bay and the estuaries of the area. Although the book is conventional tackle centric, there are stories of fly fishing the area, particularly off the beaches for the expected catches and even descriptions of other more rare fish.
What I truly enjoy about the book is the look at small boat fishing out of Rocky Point for sailfish. You would not know this from the area today as it has lost its popularity due to complex border crossing and the crime reports coming from the area. Rocky Point and Cholla Bay was once THE destination for adventure for the offshore/inshore saltwater fisher, now lost.
Valentine's book describes in detail, the distance and directions, the tackle, the weather and logistics of fishing for the big fish from our nearest seaport. If you are an adventurist fisher in the Sea of Cortez, whether it be from the beach or a small skiff, this book is a must have. It is out of print and rare and in 30 years of searching local area bookstores, I have found only two.
Edit: I have since found a source for new copies of Valentine and Friends Revisited. If you search the title at eBay, you will find a gentleman in Chandler that has “about 50 copies” selling them. I don’t know him nor have I purchased from him. But if you are looking for a copy, that’s the best I can do for this fine book. 😉
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| Bill Valentine |
