Summer Reading: They Lurk in the Murk

As bass fishermen we don’t have a canon of literature to call our own, no “A River Runs Through It” or  “The Old Man and the Sea.” With the possible exception of Carl Hiaasen’s riotous but now-35-year-old novel “Double Whammy” there haven’t been any massively popular novels about the tournament scene. That’s why it was a pleasure to open up “They Lurk in the Murk” by Gage Peters and find a reference to SPRO frogs on the first page. I knew I was in my comfort zone.

If you love bass fishing, this book will be in your wheelhouse, too. You’ll relate to the places, the people the gear and the struggles that we all go through on and off the water. Even if you don’t know anything about the sport, the universal themes that it explores – passion for something, the cost of losing everything, and difficulty of gaining redemption – will likely ring true.

It’s a quick and fun read. I believe it took me two plane rides to get through the story of protagonist Clay Booker and the impacts, both good and bad, that a near addiction to bass fishing had upon him. If you are into the fishing scene even slightly, you’ll recognize some of the characters – the blow-dried bigtime pro, the wannabe YouTuber, and so on – and you’ll likely relate to Clay. Some of what happens isn’t entirely believable, but it’s within the bounds of poetic license and makes for a fun story. If you’re a hard-core tournament angler, you’ll recognize in Clay’s life the fact that every relationship he has, both the strongest and the most broken, are defined and influenced by their interaction to his fishing obsession. If you’re looking for something to read poolside this summer, or (like me) to get you jacked up on a plane ride to your next fishing vacation, this is the type of book that many of our readers will relate to intimately.

Author Gage A. Peters