Introduction: The Intrigue Part One: Catching Fish My First Fish The Secret to Catching Fish Offering Nothing: Fishing Without Bait Fishing for Money Fishing from a Boat How a Fish Fights What a Smart Fish Knows Fish Fighting Styles Face to Face The Original American Fishers Surf Casting Fishing Buddies Going Out for a Spin Wise and Humble The Casting Ballet Fair Play Beautiful Bugs The Mystery of Salmon Fishing by the Seat of Your Pants The Bigger the Fish The Perfect Rod Women Who Fish Part Two: What Do I Do with It Now? Keepers Is It Cruel to Catch a Fish? Bleeding a Fish The Scale of the Task Keeping a Head in the Game Showing Some Guts What Most People Want to Eat How to Cook a Fish Catching a Salt Fish Two Celebrity Fish Dishes The Seam Bream (and My Favorite Recipe) Part Three: Fishing by the Book Believing in Poets It May Be Wisdom The Quiet Fish A Favorite Contemporary: Norman Maclean That Delicious Pull By the Banks of the Trailer Park Big Two-Faced River Appendix: A Guide for Fish Ten Tips to Help Avoid Being Caught Bibliography Acknowledgments.