Each autumn, one of nature's most magnificent dramas plays out when striped bass undertake a journey, from the northeastern United States to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, in search of food and warmer seas. Writer and angler David DiBenedetto followed this great migration -- the fall run -- for three months in the autumn of 2001.

On the Run offers vivid portrayals of the zany and obsessive characters DiBenedetto met on his travels -- including the country's most daring fisherman, an underwater videographer who chucked his corporate job in favor of filming striped bass,...