Sport Fishing

Every Sunday morning the anglers plop themselves 10 feet apart on the south bank of the Arno. They haul in nets and chum buckets and collapsible poles and tents for shade.

They take their fishing very seriously. Every other week it becomes a competition: Campo di Gara di Pesca Sportiva.

Fly-fishing for trout this isn't. They chuck the bait into the murky center of the river at the point where they cast their hook and wait....

The carp in the river don't seem particularly athletic or wily. It's like reeling in shoes, Brent says. When he asked if they eat the haul, one man grimaced.

Yeah. I didn't think so.