The Life and Legend of Sheridan Jones: America's
Pioneering Outdoor Writer & His Search for the Perfect Fishing Lure "
This is from a book review:
"Few historical figures have led as
exciting a life as Sheridan R. Jones. The son of an American pioneer who
helped found the state of North Dakota, through hard work and education he
became a college professor as a young man. But his first love was the
outdoors, a passion that began when he won a new fishing reel in a popular
outdoor magazine's writing contest. This set him on a course to become one of
America's most prolific outdoor fishing writers and eventually the editor of
the magazine Outer's Book. His fishing articles about techniques, strategies,
lures, species, and preservation drew acclaim across America and even from
soldiers overseas during World War I who received the magazine for free.
However, Sheridan's daytime was as a professor at Ellsworth College in Iowa
Falls and his students only knew and admired him as Prof. Jones. His book
Black Bass & Bass Craft was the best selling fishing book for 1924 and a
landmark event in the history of bass fishing. Because his expertise in
fishing know-how was second to none, almost all of the early fishing lure
companies sent Sheridan their newest lures for analysis and possible
endorsement in his fishing articles. Illustrated in this book for the first
time are these same lures which have been preserved in their original mint
condition. They are important examples of the unique fishing culture in a
turbulent period in American history that included World War I, the Roaring
'20s, and the Great Depression. These events shaped Sheridan's life
significantly, and brought major changes to America's pioneering outdoor
writer and his search for the perfect fishing lure.