Books about the outdoors make great Christmas gifts

By V. Paul Reynolds

If you are doing last-minute Christmas shopping for the sportsman or sportswoman in your life, books about hunting, fishing and the Maine outdoors make great gifts that are sure to please. They make a  personal gift and, best of all, are within a price range that is reasonable.

For convenient online shopping for a wide array of Maine outdoor books, check out this website: www.sportingjournal.com and simply click on “Outdoor Books.”At this site you will be able to peruse a comprehensive collection of outdoor books, complete with a synopsis of each book, their prices and instructions on how to order.

For what it’s worth, here are four of my top choices:

1. The Deer Hunter’s Digest, edited by V. Paul Reynolds

From the vast 30-year archives of the Northwoods Sporting Journal, the most memorable and useful articles about deer hunting, and other big game hunting, have been selected and included in this 377-page repository, a priceless one-of-a-kind collection that is a must-have for the book shelf or bed stand of any serious deer hunter. This comprehensive digest includes wonderful photographs and covers every aspect of deer hunting written by seasoned deer hunters who know the deer woods like no others. From hunting strategies to the best deer rifles, meat preparation and personal reflections from special deer camps, The Deer Hunter’s Digest covers it all!

Edited by Northwoods Sporting Journal  editor, V. Paul Reynolds, this limited edition of The Deer Hunter’s Digest is available for purchase. Send a check for $24.95, plus an additional $6 to cover postage, to: Maine Outdoor Publications, 51 Branchview N., Ellsworth, ME 04605.

2. Night Killers Blood Lusting Poachers, by Timothy C. Flanigan

Retired Pennsylvania Game Warden, Timothy C. Flanigan, puts the reader in the right-hand seat on night patrol. In his new book, Night Killers: Blood Lusting Poachers, he recounts incidents of investigating, pursuing, arresting, and prosecuting villainous NIGHT KILLERS encountered during his 30-year career in these immersive, action-packed true tales of poacher attempts to take wildlife illegally.

Purchases for the paperback are available through Amazon.com for $14.95 or hardback for $21.95, then settle in for all the action.

3. Trolling Flies for Trout and Salmon, by Bob Leeman and Dick Stewart

At long last, revived from the fishing book archives, THE authoritative book on New England streamer flies – how to tie them and how to use them. Trolling Flies for Trout and Salmon by Dick Stewart and Bob Leeman. This book was first published in 1982 and again in 1992. The book comprises 125 pages with color plates or more than 90 classic streamer flies and tying recipes from a Winnipesaukee Smelt to a Barney Google and Rangeley Centennial. Leeman and Stewart also share with readers many tips and tactics for trolling streamers for trout and salmon throughout New England.

“This wonderful fishing book is the gospel when it comes to streamer flies and trolling tactics. A classic! – V. Paul Reynolds, editor Northwoods Sporting Journal.

Send a check for $29.95 ($24.95 plus $5.00 for postage)  to Maine Outdoor Publications, 51 Branchview N., Ellsworth, ME 04605

4. A Long Way to Walk, by Norman R. Kalloch, Jr.

The story of Benedict Arnold’s march through Maine and Quebec in 1775 and the Forbes family journey in the reverse direction in 1784 has been brought together in a most unique and amazing way by Arnold historian and author Norman Kalloch, Jr. His version of the Forbes’s heartbreaking journey has brought a new and wonderful sense of what could have happened mingled with places and facts in Maine history. This ordeal is now a story no one will forget.

– Kenny R. Wing, co-author, The Lost Village of Flagstaff Lake.

This book is available for $18.95 at book stores, sporting good stores and other Maine retail outlets or from Maine Authors Publishing in Thomaston, Maine.

Finally,  don’t overlook a gift subscription to the Northwoods Sporting Journal for the sportsman in your life. Just call the Northwoods Sporting Journal at 207-732-4880 or use the website at www.sportingjournal.com.

Merry Christmas!

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide and host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network. He has authored three books. Online purchase information is available at www.sportingjournal.com, Outdoor Books.