Of Wind and Tides

Of Wind and Tides is a delightful autobiography of one of the world’s true fishing legends. The book progresses chronologically, starting from the 1930s to the 1940s, from Stu’s childhood to the next decade depicting Naval service and his Pan Am duties that took him to exotic places to fish, where few men had previously tread. He takes the readers along with him as a college student, a young Naval Aviation Cadet through flight training and first landings on an aircraft carrier, to flying the first all delta wing supersonic jet fighter plane. Then spending 34 years on Pan Am’s seniority list, flying everything up to and including some of the inaugural 747 flights.

He describes happenings like taking the airplane away from the captain when he was only the co-pilot…threatening to hit him over the head with a fire bottle if he didn’t let go of the controls…and flying a 747 as the captain almost four hours on a New York to Tokyo nonstop flight with only two engines on the right wing working.

After the 1960s, Stu honed his skills guiding in the Florida Keys, spending more than 40 years with baseball great Ted Williams. He set one world record after another. His exploits included being one of the first Americans to enter the Soviet Union to experience virgin fly-fishing waters. As with Zane Grey’s books, Stu reveals fishing secrets galore mixed with great color and action.

Of Wind and Tides includes life’s adventures such as ejecting out of a fighter plane at 20,000 feet during the Korean War. A variety of chapters are dedicated to stories about Stu fishing with some of the sporting worlds greatest celebrities, including Boston Celtics John Havlicek and the Chicago Bears Dick Butkus, while co-hosting ABC’s “American Sportsman” TV show with Curt Gowdy.

Much of the book is written as if an instant replay. It includes flashbacks, interesting vignettes with fellow anglers and pilots – including a steamy yet hilarious interlude with a flight attendant. Stu’s travels around the globe to pursue big fish describes what all anglers want to know – how and where to fish and how to have fun while doing it.