In 1932, a farmer named George Washington Perry decided it was too rainy to plow and went fishing. That day, George landed the largest largemouth ever recorded-twenty-two pounds four ounces. The fish has inspired and frustrated hundreds of anglers for decades. They've dedicated their lives to the pursuit of "Sowbelly"-a nearly mythical fish, whose swinelike girth holds the key to their dreams.From an L.A. cop who came within ounces of besting the record to an Alabaman who has lost his marriage and his daughter to this pursuit, Burke takes readers along for the ride in this legendary race.

Celebrating 75 years of conservation, the Atlantic Salmon Treasury works as a "best of" for the influential Atlantic Salmon Journal. This fascinating volume includes a curated selection of articles and essays by some of North America's best writers on the art and lore of the wild Atlantic salmon. Beginning in 1948, the Atlantic Salmon Journal began publishing information and conservation material about the "king of fish". In 1975, it released a Treasury from its first 25 years. This new edition takes up where the earlier volume ended, tracing the rise of salmon angling as a sport and into the era of conservation and the catch-and-release movement. The result is a journey through time with acclaimed writers such as Harry Bruce, Joan Wulff, Wilfred Carter, Thomas McGuane.