Fish tales and a kids guide to the Big Apple

“Let’s Go Fishing! Fish Tales From the North Woods” University of Minnesota Press, $39.95

Fish fries on Fridays. Ice-fishing huts on frozen lakes. The running of smelt that heralds the start of spring. All of these are rituals deeply associated with fishing in Minnesota’s North Woods. Eric Dregni, also the author of the wonderful “Vikings in the Attic: In Search of Nordic America,” offers this entertaining compendium to all things fishing.

As Dregni points out, the phrase “gone fishin’ ” means getting away from it all, or as he puts it, taking a break from the rat race. But fishing is also associated with tall tales — make that fish tales — that Dregni maintains date back to “Mark Antony trying to impress his beloved Cleopatra.” And then there are the classic novels about fishing, such as Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea.” “Let’s Go Fishing!” addresses all of these angles (pun intended) and more. It’s an utter delight, from Dregni’s entertaining prose to the evocative illustrations. He discusses proper fishing gear, from serious items (fillet knife, reel) to silly stuff, like the funniest fishing hat and the most irreverent bumper sticker. He dives into fishinspired art, such as Frank Gehry’s 22-foot-tall Standing Glass Fish in Minneapolis and the Big Fish Supper Club in Bena, Minn., that’s shaped like a 65-foot-long muskie. Other chapters focus on ice fishing, fish boils and fish festivals. Speaking of the latter, the town of Madison, Minn., the selfproclaimed Lutefisk Capital of the U.S., boasts a big fiberglass cod statue named Lou T. Fisk and hosts the annual Norsefest, which culminates in a lutefisk-eating contest.

Richly illustrated with postcards, ads, vintage prints and photographs as well as the occasional recipe, this is an entertaining and informative guide to fishing in the North Woods. A must for anglers — and just about anyone who appreciates a good fish story.