Although I would never admit it to her, sometimes my wife is right.

I do get a little depressed this time of year. Who wouldn't now that hunting season is over and it is really just too damn cold to fish?

My idleness does, however, give me time to engage is one of my other hobbies, which is hunting old books. Not just any old books -- I hunt for old books about hunting and fishing.

In my pursuit of these treasures, I have spent a lot of time checking out garage sales and used book stores. Now, thanks to the Internet, I do most my book hunting sitting on my rear in front of a computer.

There is no disputing that a lot of very well written outdoor literature being published these days. But, for my money, it is hard to beat the books and stories written in the first half of the last century.

The fishing stories of John Gierach are great, but has there ever been a better story written about the romance and therapeutic value of fishing than Hemingway's classic Nick Adams adventure "The Big, Two Hearted River"?

I don't think so.

Here is list of my favorite top 10 hunting and fishing books of all time:

1. "Stories of Old Duck Hunters"

by Gordon MacQaurrie.

Contrary to the title, this collection of magazines articles from the 1930s and 40s also includes stories about camping, fishing, deer and bird hunting. Sadly, MacQaurrie, who at the time was the outdoor editor of the Milwaukee Journal, died fairly young. Fortunately he left an extensive collection of articles and short stories, enough to fill two more volumes of his work. How good is his work? Well, because of this book, I almost moved to northern Wisconsin back when I still got excited about pro football and absolutely hated the Packers.

2. "The Old Man and the Boy"

by Robert Ruark.

Another collection of stories, most which were originally published in Field and Stream, recount the outdoor adventures of a boy growing up along the North Carolina coast between the two great wars and learning how to hunt and fish under the tutelage of his grandfather. I'm not really into fancy dining and drink, but I would dearly love to have sat down to the dinner of terrapin egg stew and roast Canvasback at a water front restaurant hotel in Baltimore as described in this book.

3. "Gun Dogs and Bird Guns"

by Charles Waterman.

This is a relatively new book, published in 1986. Dogs, birds and nice guns -- what more could you ask for? One story in particular about a Brittany named Kelley over which Waterman shot all 18 species of North American game birds is worth the price of admission all by itself.

4. "Grizzly Country"

by Andy Russell.

This book isn't really about hunting or fishing, although it includes both activities. This book is a thesis on North America's premier wild animal and the country in which the grizzly makes it home. I dare anyone with a soul to read this book and continue to support drilling on the Rocky Mountain Front.

5. "The Art of Hunting Big Game"

by Jack O'Connor.

He lived the life and wrote it all down in a manner that allowed you to be there with him. I'm guessing more than a few boys decided they wanted to move West and become a big game hunter with a .270 on their shoulder after reading O'Connor's articles in Outdoor Life. I actually met O'Connor in a sporting goods store in Lewiston, Idaho, in the mid 1970s. By then, the bottle had done a pretty good job on him, but I still felt like I was in the presence of a God.

6. "Great Fishing Stories"

by Edwin Mitchell.

This is an excellent collection of early 20th century fishing stories, including Hemingway's "The Big Two Hearted River" and a Zane Grey's tarpon fishing adventure.

7. "Trout"

by Ray Bergman.

This is more of a "how-to" fly fish for any kind of fish in any kind of water book. Although dated in terms of present day equipment and conditions, it is still worth reading if nothing more than to enjoy the incredible color plates of hundreds of wet and dry flies, buck tails and streamers.

8. "Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns"

by Jack O'Connor.

What my dad and the Army didn't teach me about firearms, I picked up from this book. For an English teacher, old Jack sure knew his guns and more importantly, he knew how to get that information across to someone who doesn't.

9. "The Outlaw Gunner"

by Harry Walsh.

Mostly I enjoy this book for the photos, lots of black and white shots of market hunters on Chesapeake Bay with an obscene bag of ducks and guns designed to kill a lot of birds with a few shots. Sure, this kind of hunting had to be stopped to save the birds, but it would take a stronger man than me to pass on the opportunity to do the same if given an extended magazine Browning and flight of divers trolling in to a corn baited bay.

10. "African Game Trails"

by Theodore Roosevelt.

After leaving the presidency, Teddy headed to Africa with his son Kermit to collect animals for the Smithsonian and over a year's time shot themselves a Noah's Ark load of game, including 17 lions, 20 elephant and even one big python. There is no doubt that Ruark and even Peter Capstick do a better job of writing about African hunting, than Teddy. But I like this book if for no other reason than I miss the days when our president could not only talk coherently, but also write a thoroughly entertaining book.