Fish Watching - (Comstock Book) by C Lavett Smith (Paperback)

About the Book

Who hasn't stopped along the banks of a stream to look for fish? Anyone who wants to enjoy fish in their own world will want this lavishly illustrated guide to a new kind of nature study. An expert whose passionate interest in fish is contagious, C...

Book Synopsis

Who hasn't stopped along the banks of a stream to look for fish? Anyone who wants to enjoy fish in their own world will want this lavishly illustrated guide to a new kind of nature study. An expert whose passionate interest in fish is contagious, C. Lavett Smith is promoting a whole new outdoor pastime--fish watching.

From the Back Cover

Who hasn't stopped along the banks of a stream to look for fish? Anyone who wants to enjoy fish in their own world will want this lavishly illustrated guide to a new kind of nature study. An expert whose passionate interest in fish is contagious, C. Lavett Smith is promoting a whole new outdoor pastime - fish watching. Designed to be used outside, the book opens with tips on where, when, and how to find and watch fishes in their natural habitats. Smith starts with hints for the beginner, and comments on equipment and ways of taking notes. He describes the major types of running and still waters, along with the kinds of fishes to be found in each. Nearly 200 drawings and photographs, thirty-six in color, illustrate the habitats and the fishes a watcher may see, and there are general accounts of the major groups of fishes found in the fresh waters of the United States and Canada. The central theme of the book is natural history: habitat selection, food and feeding habits, defense adaptations, and reproductive mechanisms. Smith describes habitats ranging from tiny headwater creeks to large rivers and estuaries. Food habits include straining plankton, cropping small insects, and feeding on other animals. He points out the reproductive specializations that watchers may often see - the development of special, sometimes brilliant breeding colors, the construction of nests, courtship rituals, and in a few cases parental care of the young. Vignettes describing Smith's adventures in the field add a special flavor to a charming book that will appeal to readers of all ages - including those who fish.

Review Quotes

"Provides a wealth of information on eastern North American freshwater fishes as would be expected from someone whose ichthyological legacy includes E. Raney, R. Suttkus, and R. Bailey."

--Bruce A. Thompson, Coastal Fisheries Institute, Center for Coastal, Energy, and Environmental Resources, Louisiana State University, Copeia, 1996, No. 1

"This book should delight anyone who is interested in the natural world, and should help fish watching take its rightful place alongside the better known pursuits of amateur naturalists."

--John A. Baker, Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 70

"Until C. Lavett Smith published Fish Watching, good fish books were as scarce as unicorns.... An emeritus curator of herpetology and ichthyology at the American Museum of Natural History, Smith crafted Fish Watching as a book about fishes. Not about catching them. Not about keeping them. Not about cooking them. Just about them.... The result is a most pleasant and surprising work of natural history writing devoted solely to fishes. The surprise is how successfully Smith keeps Fish Watching simple.... For feeling good about loving fishes just for what they are, I'll read Fish Watching."

--Kevin Cook, The Coloradoan, August 1, 2004