cover image HOOKED! America's Passion for Bass Fishing

HOOKED! America's Passion for Bass Fishing

Paul A. Canada, , foreword by Roland Martin. . S&S Source, $30 (192pp) ISBN 978-0-7432-2779-7

Given the demongraphies of angling, the bass book market should be even more crowded than the effusive trout market—bass fishermen are more numerous, distributed almost evenly across the country and have a fanatic media and star system—but the bass book shelf is usually spare. Even bass how-tos and celebrity books (like Jimmy Houston's I Done Caught Me a Big'un) seem to carry less sales weight than similar trout-fishing manuals. This package of well-integrated text, graphic bass-fishing lessons and over 200 splash-in-your-face fishing photographs could change that. Bass fishing pro and personality Martin, Doug Hannon and a few other pro bass stars lend the book an insider bassin' authority; the small coffee-table format gives Bill Lindner's photographs (and those of a dozen other contributing photographers) the room for beautiful outdoor shots. The six short chapters—really photo essays—hit all the essential aspects of the sport (lures, gear, lunar influences, strategies, etc.) including a nod to fly-fishing for bass. There's just enough basic how-to for younger readers, and the 30-odd pages of text are not without practicality, if not real news, for veteran bassers. Many mystified relatives and bass-fishing widows will be relieved to see it in stores for the holidays. (Nov.)

Forecast:While it's more illustration than text, this is a finely rigged presentation for the market of 30 million grown-up Americans who spend thousands of dollars a year to catch little green fish. The publisher would do well to advertise in the South for this title, which fills the bass-fishing void.