Excellent winter filler for the serious fisherman/woman
But if you are not a stranger to fishing, you'll have a blast trying to hook (and land!) a big fish, and if you're playing in tournament mode, racing the clock to make the weigh-in.
One of the best things about this game, is that you may hook a large fish, real it in and land it, and find that you caught a northern pike or big catfish instead of your target species - just like in real life! In free-fishing mode, it's fun to actually target these fish, go go on a walleye hunt.
I have only 2 subtle complaints to register for this game: 1) large fish tend to shake off the hook right at the boat (after a 2 minute fight when they should be worn down) and 2) the Daisy Duke chick on the game box cover art is really tacky and cheapens the presentation for an excellent serious fishing simulation. I'm sure the marketing Einsteins thought this would improve sales to teens and rednecks, but the point is that the core market for this game is serious fishers. We'd be more inclined to buy this game if it didn't come across as low budget hillbilly-ware.