Introduction 1Part 1: Before the Bite 5Chapter 1: Getting Hooked on Fishing 7Chapter 2: Gathering What You Need to Fish 19Chapter 3: Finding Good Fishing Water 31Chapter 4: Putting a Face on the Fins: Common Freshwater Fish 49Chapter 5: Familiarizing Yourself with Common Saltwater Fish 71Chapter 6: Staying Safe on or near the Water 85Part 2: Gearing Up Without Going Overboard 95Chapter 7: Matching the Rod and Reel 97Chapter 8: The Bottom Line on Line 119Chapter 9: It's Terminal (Tackle): Hooks, Sinkers, Snaps, Swivels, and Floats 137Chapter 10: Going Ahab: Fishing from Boats 155Chapter 11: 21st Century Tech: What's New and What's Necessary 171Part 3: The End of Your Line: Enticing Fish with Bait, Lures, and Flies 183Chapter 12: Real Food for Real Fish: Using Bait 185Chapter 13: It Only Looks Alive: Tricking Fish with Lures 201Chapter 14: Fish Don't Fly, But Flies Catch Fish 219Part 4: Now You're Fishing 235Chapter 15: Tying Popular Fishing Knots and Rigs 237Chapter 16: Choreographing Your Cast 263Chapter 17: Exploring Different Fishing Techniques 283Chapter 18: The Fun Part: How to Hook, Fight, Land, and Release a Fish 301Part 5: After the Catch 317Chapter 19: Photographing and Preserving Fish for Posterity 319Chapter 20: Cleaning Fish for the Table 331Chapter 21: Biting Back: Cooking and Eating Fish 341Part 6: The Part of Tens 359Chapter 22: Ten Fishing Lessons You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way 361Chapter 23: Ten Fun Ways to Get Kids Fishing 365Index 371
Greg Schwipps, a creative writing professor and novelist, has been fishing for more than 40 years. His fishing articles have appeared in publications such as In-Fisherman, and his recent work focuses on introducing kids to the outdoors.