Skinning Catfish in Mary's Kitchen (Tales of Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, and Life in the Woods)

Skinning Catfish in Mary’s Kitchen is a compilation of modern hunting and fishing tales told in the classic, no-apologies style of Will Brantley, long-time columnist for Field & Stream and one of the nation’s best-known outdoor writers. The book chronicles Brantley’s earliest days in the woods, hunting squirrels with his dad, to working as a greenskeeper on a golf course (where he snuck in a few casts in the water hazards), to experiencing big-game adventures abroad, to teaching his young son the ways of the woods and water. Brantley has written all about outdoor skills, like noodling for catfish and calling turkeys, but his favorite assignments are about characters, such as the little old lady who helped him haul a Canadian moose out of the North Woods and the Argentine guide who took him hunting for capybara with hand-rolled buckshot. Some of Brantley’s favorite characters aren’t people; Lil, a Lewellyn setter, was his beloved bird dog of early adulthood, and a giant largemouth bass named “Lockjaw” haunted Brantley for two summers in the late ’90s, when he was a teenager. All of these stories and many more can be found in this collection, which will leave you laughing, on the edge of your seat, and perhaps shedding a tear, too.