Fly fishing is a battle of wits, pitting a human against highly intelligent, athletic animals. The allure, Mark Kurlansky suggests, is that fly fishing makes catching a fish as difficult as possible. In such books as Cod, Salt, and Paper, Kurlansky greatly elevated our appreciation for things we thought we understood, and he does the same here for his lifelong passion, taking us along on his fishing expeditions to Alaska, Ireland, Norway, Russia, Japan, and Basque country.

"This being a book by Kurlansky, who never met a fact he didn't like, the narrative turns from his experiences as a fisherman to a more universal history…. Stuffed full of trivia, data, lore, and anecdote-a pleasure for any fan of trout fishing."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)