Ed Zern

Edward "Ed" Geary Zern (December 13, 1910 – March 25, 1994) was a writer, humorist, fisherman, environmentalist and conservationist.

Zern was born in Farmington, West Virginia. His father was a professor at the School of Mines at West Virginia University, a mine inspector and a sportsman; and in particular, a fly fisherman. Professor Zern died when Ed was only 15, but he had taught his son flyfishing, and that remained one of Ed's passions for the rest of his life. Ed also accompanied his father on inspections of mines, and he was troubled at the sight of water pollution from mine tailings. The environment as related to the quality of hunting and fishing preoccupied Ed thereafter.

Ed was a member of a Boy Scout troop in his youth, and learned to hunt squirrels with a .22 rifle with the other members. This also brought him closer to the sportsman's life of hunting and fishing.

Zern decided at an early age that he wanted to be a writer. He attended Pennsylvania State University, graduating with a degree in English literature in 1932. Zern then took the $400 he had earned writing for the college newspaper and went to Paris, France, ostensibly to write a novel. The money ran out after four months and Zern returned to the United States (without a novel) and got a job as a merchant seaman that lasted 18 months.

Zern then married, became an advertising man and cartoonist in Philadelphia and began a long series of humorous promotional ads and cartoons for Nash Motors. He continued hunting and fishing in his spare time, but when he said he was disappointed in what he read in sporting magazines of the day, his wife suggested he do it himself. He wrote an article and submitted it to Field and Stream and received a $60 check in return, which was about twice his weekly income. He wrote another article; Field and Stream paid $75; and before long, Zern turned to freelance writing as his main source of income.

Zern submitted a couple of humorous articles to Collier's, and the editor at Collier's, who had left the magazine to work for a book publisher, suggested that Zern write a novel about fishing. Zern reportedly said, "To Hell With Fishing," and that became the title of the book, which was published in 1945. It was a success, selling hundreds of thousands of copies, although Zern is quoted as saying, “I don’t think many fishermen bought it; people bought it to give to fishermen.”

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