This memoir is for anglers and lay-persons alike! Daignault shows readers a peek into her life using fish-tales. Even though there is a lot of technical verbiage surrounding her fishing experiences, she gives enought context for the lay-person (like myself) to have an understanding of what's going on. This book is so well written, I want to experience some of the same things, and hope to go fishing on my next vacation!

A very intimate biography of a woman and her ambition to be the best she could be whether in the Coast Guard or in her fishing journey. Well written and and filled with images of her journey.

I could identify with staying in a camper with a large family. I was surprised she only just started fishing in the winter. Everyone I know who is serious about fishing also ice fishes. I enjoyed when she talked about her love of the wilderness and the outdoors. Great book for fishing enthusiasts. ( )

Disclaimer: I have to say this upfront for the sake of being completely honest. I am not a fishing person. The last time I "fished" for anything, it was off the side of a 7' skiff with my dad. We were dropping lines (complete with lead sinkers) for mackerel that were running in the harbor of Monhegan. I do not remember eating anything we caught, but I do remember winding up the line and the excitement I felt bringing up those beautiful speckled silver and blue fish. [As an aside, the general store used to smoke mackerel in a converted old fridge. They were delicious.]
Having admitted that I am not an avid fishing fan, it makes sense that I could not fully relate to Daignault's acute passion/obsession for reeling in the biggest big one or the agony of the one(s) that got away. With the latter, I can only equate it to the pain of a DNF in the world of running road races. [There is nothing more embarrassing for a serious runner than a "did not finish" result attached to your bib number. But again, I digress.]
More importantly, because I am not passionate about fish when Daignault went deep into the fishing terminology I felt like she was speaking a foreign language. Luckily, she translates often.
Aside from fishing, as a person, I found Daignault to be an inspiration. She enthusiastically forged her way through what was considered a man's world with fishing and her chosen career in the Coast Guard. She was the first woman assigned to the 180-foot buoy tender named Firebush in Kodiak, Alaska. Two years at sea in Alaska is no small feat!
Confessional: Beyond the fishing terminology I found A Full Net hard to read at times only because the stories are all over the place and have a chaotic timeline. One minute she is describing something from her childhood and then the story will jump to the 2020s. There is a bit of repetition I needed to battle as well (How many times could she say her family summered on Cape Cod where she had sand in her toes and salt in her hair?). It was if the chapters were written as stand-alone essays.
One last comment. The subtitle of A Full Net is Fishing Stories from Maine and Beyond. Because Daignault is so secretive about her favorite fishing spots, particularly in Maine, she could have titled her book Fishing Stories from the Southern Side of Pluto. I felt she mentioned other locals such as Costa Rica, Louisiana, Florida, the British Virgin Islands, Alaska, and Cape Cod just as often as Maine.

It took awhile for me to warm up to this book, but eventually I did. Her enthusiasm is infectious and I was just fascinated with the technical details, which are well-explained. It perhaps has too much "gee gollyisms", and cliched in some places (e.g., "New York minute"). There is only one short narrative on preparing the catch for the table, since my only encounters with fish these days is at the dining table, I would have liked more of that, but she primarily fishes for the sport.
In the end I enjoyed this book and recommend it. ( )