The sun was hot on the lake, but Matt had paddled us into a shady cove where he’s had good luck. Sure enough, within ten minutes he brought home a good-sized bass and dropped it into the bag.

“Why don’t you snap the neck?” I asked. “It’s gonna suffer in there.”

Matt pushed the brim of his cap higher on his forehead. “Let me tell you about that fish. All its life it’s had to filter meager gasps of air through its gills. Now the oxygen is coming fast, bubbling through its little brain. That fish brain loves it! Suddenly, everything becomes clear. There’s a burst of creative passion in which that fish sees all possibilities, all eventualities. I tell you what. That fish doesn’t die of suffocation. That fish dies of AWE.”