Think Like a Fish: The Lure and Lore of America's Legendary Bass Fisherman

Tom Mann is an American original. Growing up in Depression-era Alabama, for him fishing was more than a recreational activity–it was a way of putting dinner on the table. Following his father’s simple advice, "to catch fish, you have to find fish," six-year-old Tom came up with an innovative way of finding the drop-offs in a creek where fish seek refuge from predators. As a young teenager, he began to design and craft special lures, always with an eye toward tricking the freshwater dean of the deep–the largemouth bass.

Tom's innate talent in outsmarting the competition above and below the waterline quickly took him from local hero to three-time world bass fishing champion to living legend. He also tapped into his skill for designing lures, building a multi-million-dollar enterprise that has sold over one billion lures to date in major sporting goods and fishing retailers around the world, all with his smiling face on the packages. Yet despite the prestige and fame of a forty-year career, he still resides where it all began–deep in the heart of the South.

Filled with touching childhood stories and hilarious down-home fisherman’s lore, Think Like a Fish reveals how Mann quite literally learned to "think like a fish." He explains the technique and mindset that enable him to lure a fish from thirty yards away into a circle the size of a hula hoop; how he “trains” bass to jump right into his boat; and how he purportedly managed to lure a shark to shore with rod and reel. But in addition to the fishing techniques and words of wisdom, Mann explores the path that got him where he is today–a poignant story of determination, Southern grit, and good-ole-boy charm. Full of gentle humor and wit, this book brings to life the allure of the South and one of its favorite pastimes.