I have a love-hate relationship with this book, after I was given it for my birthday a couple of years ago.

The problems it causes me? Well, simply put, this book makes me long to fish all of those places I have yet to visit with a rod, and many that I have yet to even venture close to at all!

Featuring breathtaking photography, this book will make you want to book a trip away, right away, so be very careful with it!

On the other hand, in terms of the mileage one can get from a book, this one is really excellent: I always enjoy picking it up while the rain beats down outside my Edinburgh Flat, and you never have to imagine the fine sport that is available in these 50 places around the world as the descriptions – sourced from great anglers the world over – will leave you in no uncertain terms that the place you are reading about really is somewhere you need to be fishing sometime soon!

Despite my opening sentence, I could never hate this book. Every fly fishing fiend should have a copy, if only to inspire him or her through the dullest moments at work.

A really superb little book, that I, for one, will dip into more than once before I die, even if I never make it to all of the destinations within.

Buy 50 Places to Fly Fish Before you die, by Chis Santella:

• Amazon UK – Buy 50 Places to Fly Fish Before you die, by Chis Santella (£10.57 including delivery at time of writing)
• Amazon USA – Buy 50 Places to Fly Fish Before you die, by Chis Santella ($16.47 including Free Delivery at time of writing)

The Fly-Tying Bible by Peter Gathercole (image Amazon UK)

The Fly-Tying Bible by Peter Gathercole carries a weighty title, but does it live up to it? Robin Scott finds out.

I wish I had first picked up this book when I was around 12 or 13, around about the time I was given my first “starter kit” of vice, bobbin and bits of hackle to begin my first haphazard forrays into the skilful world of fly-tying: the Fly-Tying Bible by Peter Gathercole is probably one of the best gentle introductions to the world of tying for trout and salmon I have seen.

Starting from a concise “what you need to know” introduction to fly tying, the reader is taken through each of the various types of fly with a minimum of fuss, and, most importantly, a maximum of explanation where it is required.

I remember distinctly trying to get a handle on fly tying from magazines which didn’t explain how to do many of the intricate operations with anything other than a name. Infuriating. It wasn’t until I saw hands-on how a really experienced fly-tyer did things that the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together for me: the explanations provided in this book would have helped me tremendously back in those inexperienced days.

This book would surely take a novice a year or more to complete, following which he may well possess 95% of the flies he requires for a lifetime of peaceful enjoyment of fly-fishing – and that is high praise indeed.

The choice of flies is excellent, as is the range of difficulties encountered: there is everything from the simple to the masterful, though opening with tiny dry-flies does seem somewhat mean-spirited on the first-timer!

I’d recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in becoming a fly-tyer or improving novice to intermediate fly-tying. In fact, even an expert tyer will derive some pleasure from reading this book.

Its one of those that you’ll dip into again and again (at least until you have by heart all of your favourite fly recipes!).

Fully recommended, the Fly-Tying Bible is a book most of our shelves would be happy to hold.

Fly-Tying Bible by Peter Gathercole Links

• Find the Fly-Tying Bible on Amazon UK (price £10.39 at time of writing)
• Find the Fly-Tying Bible on Amazon USA (price $16.47 at time of writing)

A Fishing Library is something that every fly fisherman should have!

At this time of year, in particular, we find ourselves spending more time thinking about fishing than we do actually fishing. This includes reading up on fishing, which is a hobby that never seems to grow old.

My fishing library is not as grand as its name suggests: it isn’t a whole room crammed with interesting and old books, rather it is a couple of bookshelves which contains back issues of T&S and a small selection of trusted fishing guides and books that have been given to me over the years.

There is also one section that is one of my favourite bits to dip into, which is a wooden “magazine holder” crammed full with bits of paper collected at game fairs and on fishing days. Some of these are sheets of A4 with biro scrawled onto them at the bankside with a “fly recipe” or design hastily applied.

Most of these bits of paper rarely see the light of day, but when they do, bring with them fresh hope of days to be enjoyed in the future.

One such piece of paper, which I am yet to track down tells of my first ever day spent Czech nymphing – I know it is in there somewhere, and when I find it I will produce that article I’ve been planning for more than a year now!

In any case, before I start rattling off my favourite titles from my fishing library, feel free to leave your own comments with your favourite ‘wouldn’t-be-without’ fly fishing titles below, to help us kick-start this website’s relaunch…

Go on, tell us what’s in your fishing library?