Testament of a Trout Fisher

Laurence Catlow is considered one of the finest classical flyfishing writers of our times and here he explores the themes close to an angler's heart:





* why catching two trout each time matters so much to him



* the experience of fishing in contrast to a day's shooting



* the melancholy appeal of autumn fishing



* the difference between holiday fishing and home fishing



* the secrets of a flytyer



* starting the season on the river



* big trout or little trout: why he prefers the latter



* why fishing is a lifelong joy



* fishing the mayfly

'The best flyfishing book to cross my desk this year, without a doubt. Catlow's writing is easily accessible, simple English fused into passages that flow like a chalkstream glide, littered with lines that sit in the memory long after their page has turned.' Trout Fisherman, Jeffrey Prest, 4 January



Fishing at Seventy  7 

Start of the Season  18 

On the Mayfly  33 

High Summer 5 2 

Separation and Reunion  75 

September  91 

Holiday Fishing  117 

Wales and the Spirit of Place  133 

Biggest Trout  146 

Tying Flies  161 

A Fisher Who Shoots  194 

The Beck   205 

Fishing in the Time of Covid  223 

What's in a Trout?  236



This man has been captivated and beguiled by a lifelong love. I found his passion for the river and its trout totally endearing. This is a book I enjoyed reading for its own sake, not necessary to learn anything new but to be entertained and stimulated to think about the how and why of my own fishing, and to be grateful that within the hobby that we love peace and contentment are two of its profound rewards.



….the apparent effortlessness of the technique is that of a writer at the height of his powers. There's also a marvellous chapter about fly-tying in which Catlow examines the practical and imaginative meanings his favourite flies have for him. Testament would be worth buying for this chapter alone; few people have written as arrestingly about fly-tying.



He is splendid company, whether we are sharing his lunchtime claret on the river bank, eating flaccid Co-op sandwiches in the old Land Rover as rain hammers on the roof, or listening with him to Mozart piano sonatas as he ties flies and tells us that Mozart would be a far better fly fisher than Brahms, for Brahms would be a clumsy caster 'prone to play his fish too hard'. He says this is his last book. I hope he's wrong.