Book One, The Compleat Angler: Concerning Statistics, Some Biographical Statistics and Statistical Improbabilities Summary

Statistics are a tool that anglers rely heavily upon. Gus mentions the story in the Bible of Jesus and his fishermen disciples who caught exactly 153 fish during their travels together. A fish without statistical evidence, to Gus, is a non-entity, whereas a fish with its exact (or exaggerated) proportions becomes a living, breathing thing when the fisherman retells the story of the big catch.

Since Gus is a fishing prodigy, he is a solitary figure. He starts school a year later and ultimately fails the fifth grade because he fishes too much and studies too little. Gus isn't antisocial; he is just lopsided in a way common to most prodigies. At age four, he catches his first steelhead on...