1. In the first story, "Hooked," Carol tells the reader that she knows "a whole lot about the elusive part" of marriage. As you read the book, did you get glimpses of how Carol's prior unsuccessful marriages affected her? What were they? To what do you attribute her healthier relationship with Ed?

2. In "Opening Day," Carol reveals her fear that good things and everlasting love are meant for someone else. Where else do you find this "not enough to go around" theme in the book? What events and insights contribute to changes in this life-view?

3. Many books have been written about women and men who fish together, with the woman equally or more skilled and enthusiastic about the sport as the man. In Catching On, Carol enacts the more traditional role of envious observer. Do you think this portrayal of women and men is accurate today, as say, ten years ago?

4. Carol relocates from Mississippi to Washington with trepidation. Which of Carol's characteristics supported or did not support your image of a Southern woman? What contributed to her successful transition from the Deep South to the Northwest?

5. Ed states, on several occasions, that he's not a "real fly fisher." How common do you think it is to see others as the "real" possessors of a skill or of a competency? Why do you think this occurs?

6. Carol quotes Libby Roderick as saying "Women need to know they're powerful and men need to know they're good." Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

7. How do Ed's friend, Matt, who's single but looking, and Carol's friend, Shasta, also married to an avid fly fisher, help and hinder Ed and Carol's relationship? What functions, positive and negative, do friends serve in a marriage?

8. Harry, Ed's father, quotes from Shakespeare and the Bible. Which of his words of wisdom appeal to you? How is Ed like his father? How does he differ from him?

9. Competition plays a much smaller part in Carol and Ed's fishing than in other aspects of their lives. What kinds of competition exist between them? Do you think competitive attitudes and behavior are common in couples? Why?

10. "Opposites attract" but "birds of a feather flock together." Do both these adages apply to Ed and Carol, and if so, in what aspects of their relationship?

11. By the book's end, Carol has "caught on to" the importance of process rather than outcome, in Ed's fishing expeditions. To what else does she "catch on?"

12. Do you think Ed's and Carol's marriage is a typical one? Why or why not?