Notes on Fishing was Sergei Aksakov's first book, and Russia's first angling treatise. Notes, which has been compared to Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, presents a Russian gentleman's affectionate observations on the fishing tackle, angling techniques, and fish species he came to know during five decades of adventure-filled fishing in the vast Russian steppe and environs of Moscow. Notes on Fishing, however, goes beyond more discourse on angling; it offers a rich multitude of viewpoints: philosophical, literary, linguistic, ethnographic, biological, and conservationist. Aksakov has imbued his notes with a deep fondness for the Russian land and an expertly conveyed atmosphere of personal and national nostalgia.

Translated by: Thomas Hodge