TO CATCH A FISH with author Mark Kurlansky

About this episode

Mark Kurlansky discusses the realities of fishing and the decline of wild Atlantic salmon.

Mark Kurlansky on The Dying Art of Catching Real Fish Guest: Mark Kurlansky We had the great fortune to sit down with Mark Kurlansky, the man who wrote the definitive book on Cod , to discuss his latest release: TO CATCH A FISH (Storey Publishing, March 31, 2026). The Hollywood elite want you to believe fly fishing is a ballet of endless shadow casting. We tear that myth apart. We discuss the reality behind the movie A River Runs Through It . The beautiful, looping casts you see on screen will leave you tangled in a mess of your own line. This leads directly to O’Leary’s First Law of Fly Fishing : “Thou cannot cast thyself out of a tangle.” We also confront the grim reality of the Atlantic salmon. The corporate food complex wants you to believe the salmon at your local market is wild. It is farmed. The authentic, wild Atlantic salmon are vanishing across North America and Europe. Mark shares his rare experience of landing one in Scotland. Additionally, we briefly discuss the history of baseball in the Dominican Republic, drawing on Mark’s brilliant book Eastern Stars , and, later, the listener discovers why women may be rapidly taking over the fly fishing demographic. Key…

People in this episode

Host: Brian O'Leary

Guest: Mark Kurlansky

Topics covered

• fly fishing
• Atlantic salmon
• fishing myths
• women in fishing
• baseball history
• sustainable fishing

Keywords

• fly fishing
• Mark Kurlansky
• Cod
• A River Runs Through It
• Atlantic salmon
• sustainable fishing
• women in fishing
• Dominican Republic baseball

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Cod, A River Runs Through It, Eastern Stars

Places: Scotland, North America, Europe

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