“Lunkers, Keepers, and Ones That Got Away: Fish Tales from Four Generations of Anglers” by Jerry Apps

c.2025, Wisconsin Historical Society Press, $20, 168 pages

That thing that floats on the top of the water is very aptly named.

It follows the waves, whether gentle or fierce, just bob-bob-bobbing with a rhythm that, if you keep your eyes on it, will drain every ounce of stress from your body. It’s almost hypnotic – that is, unless that thing bobs beneath the water and there ya go. As in “Lunkers, Keepers, and Ones That Got Away” by Jerry Apps, you’re in for some reel fun.

For as long as he can remember, Jerry Apps has loved to drown a few worms. When he was a boy in east central Wisconsin, he looked forward to the end of each summer day when, after chores were done and supper was over, his father would tell Apps to go dig some worms. Then Apps and his twin brothers would grab their cane poles and they’d all go to a nearby lake to see how the fish were biting. On a good evening, they’d come home with a few perch or a bluegill or two, or at least a good story.

That’s the thing about fishing: you never know what you’ll end the day with but it sure is fun to spend it waiting to see.

Things have changed since Apps was a boy, and that includes fishing. He used to fish with a cane pole that he got “for about a dollar,” until he learned to use fancy rods and reels and even fancier lures. He learned to fish from a canoe and how to stay upright in a cold stream wearing chest-high waders. He knows that a rusty tin can next to a rental boat means somebody will bail water at some point. He appreciates the serenity of sitting lakeside, leaning against a tree in front of a fire, watching ice-fishing tip-ups while it snows like crazy around you.

And he knows that sometimes, a guy’s gonna “get skunked” but he’s still going to learn “patience and persistence, problem-solving and resourcefulness. Lessons that have lasted a lifetime.”

So, you say you have a favorite lure. You have a lucky fishing shirt and your choice of poles out in the garage. You can say, “How’re they biting?” in three languages. And “Lunkers, Keepers, and Ones That Got Away” is absolutely your book.

Beginning with a boyhood story that evokes a simpler time, Apps reels readers in and keeps them with the kind of tales that are told on the dock, just offshore, and around the campfire. This book is Everything Fishing – including a few recipes, family tales, and glossaries that offer fishing basics for newbies, one that explains the sport’s language, and a chapter about fish that’s mostly Wisconsin-centric, but you won’t mind. You’ll be too busy imagining your next day on the water...

There’s a sure sense of warmth to this book, and a cozy homeyness you’ll appreciate if a bad day of fishing is the best day of all. Start “Lunkers, Keepers, and Ones That Got Away,” and you’ll be hooked.