At age nineteen, Pat Ardley packed up her belongings and left Winnipeg for Vancouver, looking for adventure. Little did she know that she’d spend the next forty years in the wilderness, thirty of which would be spent with a man known as George “Hurricane” Ardley. Pat met George soon after arriving in Vancouver, and not long after that the two of them set out for Addenbroke Island to work as junior lighthouse keepers. The journey up to the little island in the Fitz Hugh Sound, 483 km north of Vancouver, took four rolling days by Coast Guard ship—and a huge leap in lifestyle. There, the couple fell in love with the wilderness lifestyle and each other. They learned to grow their own produce, keep chickens, can clams and salmon, build their own furniture, and in the evenings they read aloud to each other for entertainment. But, of course, it wasn’t always easy. Pat’s fear of the ocean made for a constant struggle in her marine environment, and being the partner of an adrenalin junky (he didn’t earn the nickname “Hurricane” for nothing!) sometimes made for a wild ride. Soon Pat and George were starting their own remote fishing lodge in Rivers Inlet, not so far from where the adventure began on Addenbroke Island. Financed by their wilderness odd jobs, the lodge came together slowly but surely through the couple’s hard work. George proudly added a nursery to the float lodge when their family grew, and they made sure the little ones knew not to step out the door without wearing a life jacket. Life was full of both challenges and rewards, and dealt plenty of disasters and close calls (including grizzly encounters) but the lodge business supported the family, and gained a steady clientele who were enticed back year after year by the warm welcome, beautiful setting and plentiful salmon, giant halibut and ling cod. After running the lodge together for twenty-seven years, George passed away from cancer. Despite all the advice she received to the contrary, Pat decided to run the business on her own with the assistance of her two children. Through resolve and strength in adversity, Pat outgrew the shadow of Hurricane Ardley and earned an intimidating nickname of her own: Don’t-Mess-with-Me Ardley. Reminiscent of British Columbia classics like Fishing with John, I Heard the Owl Call My Name and the evocative wilderness writings of Chris Czajkowski, this memoir is a touching tribute to coastal life.

The product of 4 decades of research, this well-illustrated book traces the biggest Atlantic salmon ever caught on a fly. Using interviews, correspondence, published accounts, archival photographs, maps, this is a unique record of a disappearing fish.

Fred Buller has spent four decades pursuing stories of Atlantic salmon weighing 50lb and more _ sometimes a great deal more. He produced the first volume of The Domesday Book of Giant Salmon in 2007, which immediately became a classic of angling history. As a result of the first volume_s publication, yet more extraordinary salmon catches have come to light. In this new second volume, Buller collects the tales of capture of yet more Atlantic salmon over 50lb caught in Europe and North America, including those caught on the fly, by rod, or by other means. Each capture is carefully researched and examined for veracity, and confusions dismembered. All the case histories feature original photographs where available of the catches, their locations, the fishermen, and irreplaceable artefacts; along with snippets of fascinating background information. Much of the book is a testament to a world that has almost disappeared _ of great catches and huge fish taken on legendary rivers: the Grand Cascapedia, Restigouche, Tay, Alten, Namsen and Vosso in their heyday between 1880 and 1930. It is a work of loving dedication and a deserving tribute to the king of fish, which will fascinate anglers of every persuasion.Praise for The Domesday Book of Giant Salmon:_An utterly absorbing book full of relentless imagination, stories, excitement and great white hunter photographs, it is a _must read_ for every salmon-fisher _ this book is a masterpiece._ Trout and Salmon_Years in the making, this is a fisherman_s treasury, the definitive collection of every recorded landing of a giant Atlantic salmon and the stories of their capture whether on the fly or by other means._ The Economist_Remarkable ... a wealth of wonderful stories and pictures._ Financial Times_An anecdotal delight._ Sunday Telegraph_This is not only the factual Wisden of salmon angling ... but also the ultimate album of the sport._ Irish Times"If you_re a salmon fisherman, it_s a must" Ian Botham, The Times