A favorite possession —

[Ken Jones]

One of my favorite possessions is a book — How to Fish the Pacific Coast by Raymond Cannon. It is the book (although I had a different copy) I used as my fishing Bible when young. The book is a First Edition book signed "To a good fishing friend Carl E York. Here is to a full creel and a fuller life, Ray Cannon. Dated May 29 1953 and below it says 6th book sold. The lines in the picture are simply the covering on the book.

 

[moonshine]

One of my favorite books as a kid. Spent many hours pouring over the info of the fish identifications. I'd try to copy the black and white drawings of the fish. I would draw detailed images of thornbacks circling my rig on the seafloor.

Ray Cannon started as an actor in silent movies. In his later years he transitioned to writing about fishing the Sea of Cortez. He had his own column in Western Outdoor News.

 

[Ken Jones]

I saw some of his columns.

 

[moonshine]

Ray Cannon's close companion was actress Carla Laemmle. She was the neice of Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Studios. Carla later served as his editor.
As a kid, those people were larger than life. Google Ray Cannon and you'll have plenty of information. I was exposed to his later days as an outdoor writer near the end of his career arc. He came from the generation of writers that really made what I read spring off the page. When he wrote of the Great White Shark, he used the label, "Man Eater." Not politically correct by modern standards, but that sort of writing made my skin crawl as i read his chilling words by the beam of my flashlight.