“Monte Burke is the Homer of America's fishing world as he takes us on an epic journey filled with great drama, colorful characters and elusive largemouth bass determined to stay at the bottom of the lake - and not at the top of the scale.”
—Tom Brokaw, NBC News, author of The Greatest Generation

“Having met many of the anglers mentioned in this book, I agree with Monte Burke. The ghost of George Perry and his fish haunt every one of them, including me. He does an outstanding job of capturing the passion and personality of the men who chase the record. Right on the money!”
—Roland Martin, Nine Time Angler of the Year, 19 time BASS tournament winner,
IGFA Hall of Famer

“If you've ever felt the tug of a really big fish, you already know what's it's like to read this book: part adrenaline rush, part laughter, and part religious experience. You also know that attached to every big fish is a big fish story, and Burke's is the biggest fish story of them all, full of wild characters, weirdness, and a brand of obsession known only to America's bass fishermen.”
—Sid Evans, Editor in Chief, Field and Stream

“Monte Burke has bravely gone where no writer has gone before, into the sleep-deprived lives of terminally obsessed bass fishermen. And in a subset of the largemouth bass fisherman, he finds a special breed of fanatic, the elite world-record chaser. It's just a fish with a big mouth, you might think, but in Burke's hands it's a great story.”
—James Prosek, author of Trout: An Illustrated History and Fly-Fishing the 41st

“This is a helluva story about a quest that's a part of every fisherman's soul. I've been a part of this world record chase for many years, and even I learned a bunch from Monte Burke's book. Fishermen-and non-fisherman alike-will enjoy this well-told tale.”
—Ray Scott, founder BASS

“Any sort of passionate and obsessive activity makes for an interesting story and this one is especially brilliant. I read it in one sitting between San Francisco and London.”
—Yvon Chouinard, owner, Patagonia Inc.