BOOK REVIEWS

Casting Shadows: Fish and Fishing in Britain by Tom Fort

A fascinating interview from Daire Whelan—of podcast Ireland on the Fly—with Tom Fort about his new book, and memories of fly fishing in Ireland with Niall Fallon. (This takes you to an external site–don’t forget to come back.) Listen by clicking here:  And purchase a copy of the book here: A full review of Casting …

Casting Shadows: Fish and Fishing in Britain by Tom Fort Read More »

A Coming of Age: An angler’s search for solitude continues By Stuart Harris

(Little Egret Press, 2016) I guess one of the criteria for a successful book is whether you would buy another by the same author. In the publishing of this, his second work, Stuart Harris—aka The Sweetcorn Kid—immediately informs us that this is very much part of an angling journey. If his first book, From Carbon …

A Coming of Age: An angler’s search for solitude continues By Stuart Harris Read More »

Adventures in the Lea Valley by Polly Braden and David Campany

(Hoxton Mini Press, 2016) The river Lea only flows for 42 miles but it encounters a landscape that chops and changes from the soft Hertfordshire meadows and villages to urban sprawl, inner city wasteland, and now towards its final run; the Olympic Park. The water of the Lea has a short life but a varied …

Adventures in the Lea Valley by Polly Braden and David Campany Read More »

The Fly Fisher: The Essence and Essentials of Fly Fishing Edited by Thorsten Strüben and Jan Blumentritt

(Gestalten, 2017) The Fly Fisher is a reflection on what is happening in the magazine publishing world, with a move towards a design-based aesthetic. Its roots clearly lie in magazine design, but as 250-page hardback, this is clearly not a throwaway monthly, but a coffee table book that accommodates a digestible format, a book to …

The Fly Fisher: The Essence and Essentials of Fly Fishing Edited by Thorsten Strüben and Jan Blumentritt Read More »

Caught Between Two Worlds by Christoper Cullen

(The Little Egret Press, 2014) Even the biggest fan of the 1960s television series Prisoner may have missed Number Six’s declaration of what he is going to do once he gains his freedom from the British intelligence agency. “Fishing,” he responded in his characteristic abrupt manner as though the fact the word is interchangeable with …

Caught Between Two Worlds by Christoper Cullen Read More »

Terminal Chancer—Silver Seasons, Atlantic Salmon. By James Gilbraith

(The Guild of Reason, 2014) Nowhere in my fishing library is there a book anything like Terminal Chancer. Why exactly? Well, it’s difficult to say, but if part of the purpose of a book is to entertain, then this does it supremely well. It is a memoir that will resonate with a lot of anglers: …

Terminal Chancer—Silver Seasons, Atlantic Salmon. By James Gilbraith Read More »

Hugh Falkus: A Life on the Edge. By Chris Newton

(Medlar Press, 2007) One overcast day in April 1996, a flock of migrating greylags appeared from the Esk estuary and momentarily circled high above a congregation of people, returning back down the valley with a familiar ‘hink, honk’ cry. The group below gathered around a freshly laid sandstone slab which read ‘Hugh Falkus 30/3/96’, engraved …

Hugh Falkus: A Life on the Edge. By Chris Newton Read More »