The Old South is slow to give up its secrets. Though satellite dishes outnumber banjo players a thousand to one, most traditions haven't died; they've just gone into hiding. Cockfighting is illegal in forty-eight states, yet there are three national cockfighting magazines and cockpits in even the most tranquil communities. Homemade liquor has been outlawed for more than a century, yet moonshiners in Virginia still ship nearly one million gallons a year. Some of these pastimes are ancient, others ultramodern; some are illegal, others merely obscure. But the people who practice them share an undeniable kinship. Instead of wealth, promotion, or a few seconds of prime time, they follow dreams that lead them ever deeper underground. They are reminders, ultimately, that American culture isn't as predictable as it seems-that the weeds growing between its cracks are its most vital signs of life. In these masterfully crafted essays, Burkhard Bilger explores the history and practice of eight such clandestine worlds. Like John McPhee and Ian Frazier, he introduces us to people whose spirit of individualism keeps traditions alive, from a fifty-something female coon hunter who spends 340 nights a year in the woods to a visionary frog farmer and a man whose arms are scarred by the eighty-pound catfish he catches by hand. A fluid combination of adventure, history, and humor, Noodling for Flatheads is evocative, intelligent, and wonder-fully weird-a splendid antidote to the sameness of today's popular culture.

Burkhard Bilger's beautifully written, wonderfully funny and movingly nostalgic book explores the surviving (and often dying) folk traditions of the American South, from the eating of squirrel brains in Kentucky, cock-fighting in Oklahoma, frog-ranching in Georgia and coon-hunting all over, to the noodling for flatheads (fishing for catfish, using your fingers as bait and your arm as a hook) of the title. Caught between the possibility of survival through commercialisation or gradual decline (or in the case of squirrel-brain-eating, threatened by fears of Mad Squirrel Disease), many of these activities will be lucky to survive far into the new century. Burkhard Bilger's book is a wonderful elegy, hilarious, fascinating and touching, to a threatened tradition of American eccentricity and independence, but it is also a celebration of the survival of local folk culture in the era of the global triumph of Nike, Barbie and Coca-Cola, a survival that persists in America's own back yard. Narrative non-fiction at its best.

For years, catfish have taken a backseat to more glamorous species like largemouth bass and walleyes. But times have changed. Today, nearly 10 million anglers wet a line hoping to do battle with a monster cat. Learn how to catch bigger catfish than ever before. This book is a comprehensive look at the world of catfish. Beginning with the biology of catfish, Author Keith Sutton then follows with the where-to and how-to information that will lead to successful fishing. Beyond locating fish and rig & tackle techniques, there's even a section on cleaning and cooking your catfish.

In the past 20 years, pursuit of catfish, particularly the larger flathead and blue species, has become a technical endeavor. Keith Sutton, one of the most experienced catfishers in America, shows how to locate, target, attract, and catch big, big catfish—and numerous color photos throughout prove this is within every angler’s ability. He distills years of catfishing know-how, his own and that of his sources, into a fun and visually enjoyable instructional volume that offers plenty of ideas on how to improve or customize current tactics, and how to catch some seriously big fish. In addition, he offers instruction for the farm-pond and local-river angler looking to nab some bullheads and channel catfish for the grill.

• Perfect gift book for anglers • Entertaining to veterans and newcomers who fish saltwater and fresh Many who catch fish and fish in a variety of foreign and problematic habitats have developed a panoply of interesting, innovative, and oftentimes weird ways of outwitting them. These 90 essays mix fact, lore, and anecdotes in a humorous compilation describing the great lengths to which fishermen are willing to go to extract these relatively dimwitted yet challenging creatures from lakes, rivers, and the sea. On the cover, a retired school bus driver in Washington rigged a giant slingshot to the side of an ancient Volkswagen Beetle. By rearing back about twenty feet on the rubber sling, he could fire his railroad spike sinker and bait well out into the Columbia River to catch sturgeon.

A Sportsman’s Library: The 100 Books that Every Hunter and Fisherman Should Own will consist of 100 short “reviews” (for lack of a better word), each one from 300 to 1500 words, and illustrated with either the cover of the book or a photo of the book’s author. The list will include all the beloved classics, but will add plenty of lesser-known titles as well. It will range in time from Izaak Walton’s 17th century to 21st century tiger poachers in eastern Siberia, and geographically from the Catskills to the Keys, from England’s chalk streams to Jim Corbett’s India. It will take pleasure in those books that explain the intricate beauty of the classic salmon fly as well the astonishing craftsmanship of a Best London double, the science of the hunt as well as the hunt’s depiction in art.

Most fishermen have longed to catch a big catfish. Some have, and some have only talked of how the big one got away. Through years of experience with fishing, I have learned how to catch the big ones and decided to share some of my secrets with you. If youre fishing with a rod and reel, it is very important to know how to bait your hook and when to set it, to know when to fish and how to use limb lines, and to know the size of hook to use and the depth to fish. I discuss all of these things in this book, and if you follow my instructions, you will be successful. Good fishing.

What southerners do, where they go, and what they expect to accomplish in their spare time, their "leisure," reveals much about their cultural values, class and racial similarities and differences, and historical perspectives. This volume of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture offers an authoritative and readable reference to the culture of sports and recreation in the American South, surveying the various activities in which southerners engage in their nonwork hours, as well as attitudes surrounding those activities. Seventy-four thematic essays explore activities from the familiar (porch sitting and fairs) to the essential (football and stock car racing) to the unusual (pool checkers and a sport called "fireballing"). In seventy-seven topical entries, contributors profile major sites associated with recreational activities (such as Dollywood, drive-ins, and the Appalachian Trail) and prominent sports figures (including Althea Gibson, Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, and Hank Aaron). Taken together, the entries provide an engaging look at the ways southerners relax, pass time, celebrate, let loose, and have fun.

“Pollan shines a light on our own nature as well as on our implication in the natural world.” —The New York Times “A wry, informed pastoral.” —The New Yorker The book that helped make Michael Pollan, the New York Times bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, Cooked and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, one of the most trusted food experts in America Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?

"Catfish are among the largest and hardest fighting game fish found in North America. Master angler Keith "Catfish" Sutton shares his in-depth knowledge and reveals both time-tested and advanced catfishing techniques to make Catfishing: Beyond the Basics the ultimate handbook for catching these remarkable fish. Learn catfishing techniques for channel cats, blues, flatheads and bullheads using innovative and alternative tactics. Find out about advanced baits and the use of a wide range of equipment and tackle. Catfishing: Beyond the Basics is your step-by-step guide to the lore, techniques, and secrets of catching catfish."--Page 4 of cover.