The story goes that Maui hooked the North Island out of the sea from his waka, the South Island, so it is little surprise that fishing is much loved in New Zealand. Its appeal, though, is personal and the experiences it has engendered are as various as they are fascinating. Owen Marshall has netted a catch of some of the best local writing about fishing, including prose and poetry, fact and fiction, old and new. There are accounts of sea trawling and river fly fishing; there are fishy pieces about the lasting power of both childhood memories and a single moment; there are tall tales and flashes of verse; there are eels and flatties, trout and skipjack. Not all these writers are expert in fishing, but all are skilled with words, offering an entertaining read for anyone who notices when the fish are rising.
