Skinning Catfish in Mary’s Kitchen is a compilation of modern hunting and fishing tales told in the classic, no-apologies style of Will Brantley, long-time columnist for Field & Stream and one of the nation’s best-known outdoor writers. The book chronicles Brantley’s earliest days in the woods, hunting squirrels with his dad, to working as a greenskeeper on a golf course (where he snuck in a few casts in the water hazards), to experiencing big-game adventures abroad, to teaching his young son the ways of the woods and water. Brantley has written all about outdoor skills, like noodling for catfish and calling turkeys, but his favorite assignments are about characters, such as the little old lady who helped him haul a Canadian moose out of the North Woods and the Argentine guide who took him hunting for capybara with hand-rolled buckshot. Some of Brantley’s favorite characters aren’t people; Lil, a Lewellyn setter, was his beloved bird dog of early adulthood, and a giant largemouth bass named “Lockjaw” haunted Brantley for two summers in the late ’90s, when he was a teenager. All of these stories and many more can be found in this collection, which will leave you laughing, on the edge of your seat, and perhaps shedding a tear, too.
“In a time of AI everything, Will Brantley brings the capital R Real. Had Mark Twain spent more time chasing squirrels with a rifle and less time playing with his 19 cats, perhaps he could nudge Brantley off the woodsman-savant-storyteller podium. But he didn't. Brantley for the win.”
“I’ve always known Will Brantley to be a good writer who truly knows of what he writes about it, be it hunting whitetails, bushytails, or even noodling for catfish. But it was not until I read Skinning Catfish in Mary’s Kitchen that I learned what a masterful storyteller he is. Truly one of the best.”
“Will Brantley is this generation’s answer to the great outdoor writers of the past, and in Skinning Catfish in Mary’s Kitchen he shares stories from a lifetime spent in the outdoors. This book will make you smile, laugh out loud, and maybe wipe away a tear.”
“Back when I wrote for living, Brantley and I were friendly competitors, each vying for more than our share of pages in Field & Stream. Finally, I had to admit to myself it wasn’t really a competition. Will Brantley is a more experienced outdoorsman and better storyteller than I am, as he proves in these pages.”
