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A. J. McClane

A. J. McClane, 69, A Sport Fisherman And Angling Writer Published: December 25, 1991 A. J. McClane, a sport fisherman and prolific writer on angling, died of congestive heart failure on Saturday in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 69 years old.

For more than four decades, Mr. McClane was the most familiar and respected byline in angling literature. The longtime fishing editor of Field & Stream magazine, he also wrote more than 20 books, many of which sold widely and were standards in their field.

Arnold Gingrich, publisher and founding editor of Esquire magazine, called Mr. McClane's first book, "The Practical Fly Fisherman," published in 1953, the "most comprehensive and useful single volume on all forms of freshwater fly fishing." Educated at Pratt and Cornell

His 1,156-page "McClane's New Standard Fishing Encyclopedia and International Angling Guide," first published in 1965 and again in 1974, has sold nearly one million copies and remains the premier reference source of its kind.

Born in Brooklyn, Albert Jules McClane was educated at Pratt Institute and Cornell University, where he studied fisheries science. In April 1947, he joined Field & Stream and began a career that took him to 140 countries. He was responsible for helping to popularize spinning tackle, which greatly changed angling. He was one of the world's most authoritative fly fishermen and an accomplished distance and exhibition caster.

Mr. McClane was fishing editor and then executive editor of Field & Stream until his retirement in 1977. From 1985 until his death, he was a contributing editor of that publication, and his features roamed a vast canvas of destination, species, historical lore, technical issues, adventures and observations. Wrote Best-Selling Cookbook

Mr. McClane was also a sophisticated gourmet and chef. For several years he wrote about fish and fish cookery for Esquire and was a seafood consultant to restaurants, hotels and airlines. He was the author of the best-selling cookbook, "The Encyclopedia of Fish Cookery," published in 1977. His last book, "A Taste of the Wild, a Compendium of Modern American Game Cookery," was published by Dutton this month.

Mr. McClane is survived by his wife, the former Diane O'Hara of Palm Beach, and a daughter, Susan.