Fishermen who pursue fish in strange and difficult habitats have developed a panoply of interesting, innovative, and oftentimes downright weird ways of outwitting them. Some of these are ancient and primitive, such as poisoning, foot fishing, shark noosing, and the suprisingly gentle art of tickling trout. Some are old but sophisticated, like fishing with the aid of cormorants and otters. Others are modern but primitive, nonetheless, such as noodling—grabbing large catfish after feeling for them in muddy waters, or calling them towards baited hooks with noises made by klonking. Yet others are modern and highly technical, such as gas ballooning for tuna off seaside cliffs and poaching fish with homemade electrical shockers. These 100 essays mix fact, lore, and anecdotes in a humorous compilation describing the great lengths to which fishermen are willing to go to extract these relatively dimwitted yet challenging creatures from lakes, rivers, and the sea.

On the cover, a retired school bus driver in Washington rigged a giant slingshot to the side of an ancient Volkswagen Beetle. By rearing back about twenty feet on the rubber sling, he could fire his railroad spike sinker and bait well out into the Columbia River to catch sturgeon.