Q&A with James Prosek
A conversation with James Prosek, author of A Good Day's Fishing
Q: How old were you when you started fishing? What first drew you to the sport?
A: I began fishing at the age of nine when I was introduced to it by a friend of mine at school, a fellow nine-year-old named Stephen Bartlett. Stephen was kind of a troublemaker in school and I was always kind of a goody-goody, so some people had a hard time understanding our friendship. It was, of course, fishing that bonded us. Stephen had this box full of beautiful, colorful lures and I wanted to have that same box with lures. I started learning all the fun names of the lures-jitterbug, hula popper, roostertail-and loved the idea that you could pull something out of its element, the fish from water, into my element, the air.
Q: Did you teach yourself to fish on your own or did someone teach you?
A: My first introduction to fishing was through my uncle Frank, my father's brother, when I was five or six, at which time I didn't really like it. My friend Stephen was really responsible for teaching me how to fish by example.
Q: In addition to writing the story for A Good Day's Fishing, you also did the illustrations. Did you take up painting and illustration before or after you started fishing?
A: I started painting in watercolors when I was five, copying the bird paintings of John James Audubon. My first paintings, then, were of birds. My father's passion has always been watching birds so that's where I picked up my admiration of birds. When I was nine and started fishing, my paintings turned from birds into fish. So the answer is that I started painting before fishing.
Q: Do you think of yourself first as an artist or a fisherman?
A: I'd like to think of myself as an artist who fishes, as opposed to a fisherman who paints. Fishing became the vehicle for my painting subject matter, but the painting came first.
Q: So far you've dedicated much of your career to writing about fishing. Why do you think people are so interested and passionate about fishing, particularly in a day and age when "food" is as close as the nearest fast-food restaurant or convenience store?
A: I think people fish for many reasons, every one different. But these days fishing provides a healthy connection to the outdoors, the wilderness, nature, whatever you'd like to call it. I believe that fishing still exists and people are so passionate about it because it is more than just a pastime, it is an expression of a predatory urge that has evolved over millions of years in humans. Today recreational anglers release most of the fish they catch; it's no longer about food, it is simply a performance of stalking and killing, but without the bloodshed.
Q: What inspired you to create a book for children on fishing?
A: I wanted to write a book for children on fishing because fishing was such an important part of my young life. Fishing helped me discover myself, to find my own footing, in the wake of my mother leaving home when I was nine. When my mother left, I started going off into the woods by myself with a fishing rod. It gave me a certain power to know that I had this skill to catch fish that not a lot of my friends did. I wanted to do this book because there are virtually no good fishing books for children, period, which to me is remarkable. In England there is a famous children's book on fishing called, Mr. Crabtree Goes Fishing. Every adult angler in England grew up reading that book.
Q: Other than fishing and illustration, what are you most passionate about?
A: I love to play guitar and sing, and I like to write. I have kept a journal since I was thirteen and I find that writing my experiences is a big part of my life.
Q: Did you read books about fishing when you were young? If not, what kinds of books did you like to read? Did you have any particular favorites?
A: Because there were no fishing books for kids, I read adult books and flipped through fishing magazines. I also read all the fishing tackle catalogs with pages of colorful lures, I loved those catalogs, like Bass Pro Shops, and Cabela's. I wanted to one day have a bass fishing boat with floor compartments filled with lures and fishing tackle. I think a big part of the enjoyment of fishing is all the stuff you get to collect. In fly fishing the box of flies is like an angler's jewel box. My favorite books when I was a kid were C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Q: In A Good Day's Fishing, the boy is searching through his tackle box for his lucky hat. Do you have a lucky hat or something in particular that you take with you on fishing outings for good luck?
A: I have had several lucky hats over the years. Currently my luckiest hat is a wool cap I wear when the weather is cool. With certain hats you just catch more fish. I think because if you have something you believe is lucky, you have confidence that you will catch fish, and confidence goes a long way in fishing. I also carry a coin in my tackle box for good luck. It is a Slovenian coin, called a tollar, with a trout on it.
Q: Do you fish all year round?
A: Yes I like to fish all year round. I really enjoy ice fishing occasionally. Fishing through the ice is very solitary, very quiet, and the weather can be really nice if you're dressed for it. The wind is what is really uncomfortable in the winter.
Q: You are considered one of the leading experts on fly-fishing. What drove you to make a career out of fishing, instead of merely using it as a hobby?
A: Well, I don't consider myself an expert at all. I think that anyone who calls himself an expert in fishing is mistaken. The beauty of fishing is that you can never learn it all, that no one is ever an expert. I didn't choose fishing as a career, if it is my career; then it chose me.
Q: Do you think it is important for children and adults to have a hobby or a passion for something like fishing or illustration?
A: Absolutely. I have trouble thinking about what I would do if I wasn't passionate about fishing or painting. I do not own a television. I think there are some good things on TV, but there's nothing on it that I can really learn that I can't learn from a book or from experience. TV is for people who want to live through other people, which is fine. I like to do that through watching movies. I try to see all the movies that come out that people talk about. I think a passion is healthy, even if it seems small and esoteric. For instance, if you are in love with butterflies, you can see the whole world through them. Fishing has led me to an appreciation of new artists, new places, peoples, architecture, and so on.
Q: What advice would you give to children before their first fishing trip? What advice would you give to a fisherman or fisherwoman who is frustrated with his or her results?
A: Persistence is very important in fishing if you want to catch fish. You just have to put in the time. The fish are on a different schedule from us, they feed at certain times and you have to be there when they're ready to bite. I would just encourage young fishers to realize that fishing is more than just catching fish, it is a way to learn about the natural world and yourself. If you're not catching fish, don't worry too much. It is easy to get frustrated while fishing, the line gets tangled, you get snagged on the bottom, but you learn to solve the problems and move on; it's a bit like life.
Q: Do you have any exciting fishing trips planned? Any new books in the works?
A: I am working on a book about eels, which are a very slimy and mysterious fish. In February/March, I'm going to New Zealand, in the southern Hemisphere, to search for giant eels. The local people, the Maori, worship these eels and hold them as sacred. I painted an eel in A Good Day's Fishing, as a kind of reference to my eel project.
This interview is provided by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and can be reprinted for publication either in full or excerpted as individual questions and answers, as long as they are reprinted in their entirety.
Reviews
A Good Day's Fishing
James Prosek
This enticing introduction to fishing can be enjoyed by both neophytes and regular practitioners. The text is simple and brief, beginning with the tackle box. For each lure, fly, or other essential there, our narrator recalls the fish he caught with it. Along with an old sandwich, he finds hooks, tools, a tape measure. But it's only when he comes upon his hat that he can finally take the box, rod, and reel and go fishing. The few words per page serve mainly as the captions for naturalistic watercolors of the wide array of "thing-a-ma-bobs" inside his box. We are led into the book by the large fish that swims right off the double title page. The illustrations are accurate representations, but we can sense the affection Prosek must have for them as well. The scenes of the fish caught are equally naturalistic and appealing, even for non-fisherfolks. The book concludes with an extensive "Lure and Fly Glossary" which explains and illustrates the vast array of types of lures and flies available. 2004, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Ages 5 to 10, $15.95.
Reviewers: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
ISBN: 0-689-85327-0
A Good Day's Fishing
James Prosek
Author, artist, fishermanProsek has made his mark as a trout expert with books like Trout: An Illustrated History and Trout of the World. Here he shares his expertise with younger aspiring fishermen or fisherwomen. Beautiful from beginning to end, the book opens with a dark-haired boy in a fisherman's sweater starting out for the day with net and tackle box. But something is missing! As the boy rummages through his tackle box, he shows us the equipment needed to catch perch, sunfish, carp, bass, and his favorite fish, brook trout. Readers will find each lovingly portrayed item fascinating from the many-sized hooks ("Aren't they cool?") to the delicate flies tied from furs and feathers. Not every find is useful; for example, a maggoty old peanut butter and jelly sandwich turns up and (surprise!) an eel. Sharp-eyed detectives may spot a clue about halfway through, but it's still fun to discover at the end the one really indispensable thing for a perfect day's fishing. Prosek's precise but luminous watercolors make each page something to be pored over, whether he's painting a bright yellow perch or the elegant rose-bellied brook trout. A special treat is the informative glossary of lures and flies with their evocative names, each accompanied by its own tiny illustration. Prosek, who lives near a fishing pond in Easton, Connecticut, has produced a lovely picture book for anyone who fishes, dreams of fishing, or senses that "fishing is a pastime that can keep you interested for a lifetime." 2004, Simon & Schuster, Ages 5 to 10, $15.95.
Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft (Children's Literature)
ISBN: 0-689-85327-0
Added 06/15/04
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