Synopsis

At the beginning of Catching On, Ed, a Northwest native, assures his fianceé Carol that “marriage can be like fishing, the pursuit of that which is elusive but attainable.”  Carol, a born and bred Southerner, knows a whole lot about the elusive part.

In 140 pages of nineteen entertaining vignettes, some humorous, some spiritual, some probing, Catching On follows this relationship, as Ed’s fly-fishing passion and the couple’s inherent differences (he’s a brown trout and she’s a rainbow) threaten to cast a pall over it, illuminating issues familiar to anyone who’s ventured loving and being loved—insecurity, misunderstanding, jealousy, vulnerability, and joy.

In Carol’s efforts to catch on to marriage and to Ed’s “magnificent obsession,” she gets help and hindrance from well-meaning observers.  Matt, Ed’s best friend who’s single but looking, has definite opinions about how women mix with fishing.  Ed’s father, Harry, adds a colorful combination of Shakespeare and stability.  Carol’s friend, Shasta, whose husband Tommy has been bit by the fly-fishing bug himself, swears to Carol that  “Ed’s just a big old bigamist. They’re all married to something else, you know.”

But love and determination prevail.  At the end of the book when Ed tells Carol sincerely, “I’m not married to fishing.  I’m married to you,” the reader, and Carol, are convinced.  

“As long as there is passion, there is hope,” Elie Wiesel said.  Catching On is a tribute to women, to men, to fly fishing, and to celebrating our loved ones’ passions.