In 'A Jerk on One End', Hughes traces his love of fishing back to his earliest boyhood on Sydney Harbour, and recounts the high and low points of his career with rod and reel: the surge of triumph at his first catch, the shame of having his father catch him trout-fishing with live bait (an act of sacrilege in the eyes of every fly-fisher) and hair-raising shark tales that he picked up on the Sydney waterfront. Hughes captures brilliantly the essence of many species of fish in wonderful portraits - the delicate striped bass, the infinitely treacherous tarpon, the fastidious, elusive trout and the giant bluefish tuna, which holds the dubious honour of being the most expensive and sought-after animal on Earth.
Mixing memoir, history, adventure, folklore and stunning descriptions of the fathomless mysteries of the deep, 'A Jerk on One End' is a superb piece of prose and a profound meditation on the beauty, the excitement and the peerless pleasures of fishing.
