Fish stories are like opinions. Everybody’s got one. The difference is, people actually enjoy a good fish story. In his first book, Mark Usyk sets out to prove that he not only has a couple, but that he knows how to tell them as well. But are they really all fish stories? Or is he trying to unlock the mysteries of the universe as only an angler can? From his time as a cell tower climber with a bunch of fly rods packed alongside his climbing gear, to his days spent at a grungy and thankless production factory job indoors and all but cut off from the great outdoors, to memories of simpler days and the ones that got away, here are 61 short stories told by a self-proclaimed marginal fly fisherman. Whether they’re about fishing or something more is up to you to decide.