With its click-baity title, Fishing Through the Apocalypse: An Angler’s Adventures in the 21^st Century piqued my interest as both an angler and a human being living in the modern era.

The back cover of the book suggests that this book “will be the most important fishing book you read this year!” I understand this is exactly the type of headline that is meant to draw readers in, but it actually turned out to be true.

About the Author: Matthew L. Miller

Matthew L. Miller is a writer known for his work related to nature, conservation, and outdoor activities, particularly fishing. He is director of science communications of the Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest conservation organization, where he focuses on communicating scientific concepts and conservation efforts to the public. . He is also editor and lead writer of the popular Cool Green Science blog, dedicated to news and stories about nature conservancy.

His thoughtful, passionate writing resonated throughout the book. He presents a balanced view of environmental issues, acknowledging challenges and complexities while offering thoughtful solutions and positive perspective. This approach helps create a sense of hope and possibility among readers, an attribute I really appreciated while reading his book.

What is Fishing Through the Apocalypse About?

Fishing Through the Apocalypse is a book of essays and stories, each dedicated to different subjects revolving around fishing and conservation. While each chapter describes a unique scenario, they are all connected through fishing and the larger subject of nature conservancy.

Throughout the book, Miller essentially takes the reader on a different fishing excursion, each for a different species. His fishing targets range from uniquely located stocked fish to truly native species. He fishes for stocked fish that technically “shouldn’t” be there (like Amazonian cichlids in Miami or stocked sturgeon farms in Minnesota) while also targeting unappreciated native fish that have fallen to the wayside either through degradation of habitat or competition of stocked species.

Through this range of native and non-native targets, Miller evokes a unique perspective on the current state of modern fishing. More importantly, he’s able to comment on nature conservancy, fish and wildlife management, and how the public is both helping and hurting those efforts.

Fishing Through the Apocalypse is an educational, entertaining prose that sheds light on the history of fish stocking, wildlife management, and an appreciation of the outdoor world.

Takeaways

When I first heard of Fishing Through the Apocalypse, my instant reaction was a negative one. I assumed the book would portray the decay of fish populations with a doom-and-gloom writing style meant to chastise our environmental actions as a society.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong about that assumption.

While Fishing Through the Apocalypse is undoubtedly an effective click-baity title, the book is ultimately hopeful. Instead of a pessimistic critique of the current state of nature conservancy, Miller instead offers a positive outlook on how to fish and rehabilitate wildlife in the 21^st century.

Through his adventures, Miller conjures an appreciation for fishing in the modern era. He breaks down a history of fish stocking efforts in the US, which to my surprise is the majority of popular targets we enjoy today. He also fosters a respect and admiration of native species less commonly targeted by anglers. By doing these, he not only avoids a defeatist narrative but also creates an atmosphere of appreciation of the opportunities we anglers have today.

That’s not to say he’s not critical of some of the environmental issues affecting wildlife, as he does so consistently through the book. Rather, by keeping things positive he’s able to present not only how anglers can continue to pursue the fish they love, but also offers a perspective on how to help keep things from getting worse. Complex issues like climate change and political policies surrounding the environment are certainly mentioned, but are not the main subjects of the book.

Miller does encourage taking an active role in conservation efforts but also acknowledges the challenges that come along with that. Protecting and restoring our environment is vital for multiple reasons (the more important ones certainly are outside the scope of fishing) and Miller is able to convey that message without standing on a soap-box. Personally, this book has changed my perspective and has sparked the inner conservationist in me.

As a whole, Fishing Through the Apocalypse offers a unique perspective on what it’s like fishing in the 21^st century through a realistic lens. Miller reveals the challenges facing fish and anglers in the modern area with realistic optimism. Without realizing it, many of our favorite targets today (brown trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth, etc.) are the product of fish stockings that have not only benefitted those populations, but the anglers as well.

As a product of those stockings, some native fish species have suffered and Miller notes that we often lose sight of the natural world. Is fishing for a stocked fish all that different from shooting (in this case fishing) fish in barrel? If those fish weren’t originally in an area, are they considered natural? Miller’s book certainly makes you question those assumptions and ultimately sheds light on the realities of fishing in the modern era.

Other Thoughts

Miller describes throughout the book is the idea of “shifting baseline syndrome” where essentially people get accustomed to what they are familiar with. In a fishing sense, this means that the river or lake you grew up with as a child teeming with happy fish unfortunately may not last forever due to a variety of reasons and those changes are amplified because they are unfamiliar to the individual. Whereas someone who has not fished that same body of water would not notice a difference.

I found this idea of shifting perspective applicable to the general subject of the book. It certainly does not alleviate the responsibility of efforts to conserve the environment, but does acknowledge an appreciation for what we have in front of us.

One example of this is the “Life Listers” Miller describes toward the end of the book. This is a group of people who have dedicated their fishing excursions to catching as many species of fish they possibly can, regardless of size. While some anglers choose to “trophy hunt”, these anglers seek numbers. Micro-sized baitfish are often targeted and the total species count (which can be found here) are in the hundreds.

In some cases, this style of fishing is a product of a declining fishery, either due to stocked species overtaking native ones, or environmental reasons. These anglers are conservationists along with fishermen and they certainly have shifted their perspective of what it’s like fishing in the modern era.

Conclusion

Fishing Through the Apocalypse is an important read for anyone interested in fishing. It’s an educational, entertaining book that sheds light on the history of fish stocking, wildlife management, and an appreciation of the outdoor world.

Miller’s book can and probably will change your perspective on the past, current, and future of fishing and in a larger sense, the environment as a whole. I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in unique view of fishing that will open your mind to what is in front of you and what lies ahead.

Pick up your copy here!