In 1932, a farmer named George Washington Perry decided it was too rainy to plow and went fishing. That day, George landed the largest largemouth ever recorded—twenty-two pounds four ounces. The fish has inspired and frustrated hundreds of anglers for decades. They’ve dedicated their lives to the pursuit of “Sowbelly”—a nearly mythical fish, whose swinelike girth holds the key to their dreams. From an L.A. cop who came within ounces of besting the record to an Alabaman who has lost his marriage and his daughter to this pursuit, Burke takes readers along for the ride in this legendary race.

“An artful narrative.” —The Wall Street Journal

“In Burke’s hands, the biggest fish stories become human stories, at once optimistic and tragic, about what keeps us casting into the water of a dream.” —Forbes

“A window to a very small universe where obsession, greed, and chicanery coexist with a strange nobility . . . Sowbelly is a fascinating examination of obsession even for readers who don’t fish.” —St. Petersburg Times

“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.” —Tom Brokaw