After you've landed your fish, you need to get the hook out. Most of the time it's a simply matter. Just grasp the hook or lure, push back against the direction the hook penetrated and you're done.

The following is an excerpt from the new book, To Catch a Fish, by Mark Kurlansky. I have been fishing for as long as I can remember… and writing about it almost as long. I have caught bluefish and ...