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Fish & Fly Favourites

Apart from regular reviews of newly published books, we will be continually updating this selection of our favourites.

Please do let us know your own favourites - and if you can include a short review we can include this in our list of Fish & Fly Favourites.

To get the section started, here are a few favourites of the team at Fish & Fly...

Fishing for Wild Trout in Scottish Lochs - Lesley Crawford - Swan Hill

A comprehensive guide to all matters of Scottish 'loch style' fishing. The book looks in detail at the natural history of Scotland's trout and offers down to earth practical advice. The book is fairly well illustrated, but bearing in mind the beauty of the area described, a few more colour photos would have been nice. But this is being picky. Lesley Crawford has fished throughout Scotland since childhood and is engaged in extensive research into wild trout behaviour - and it is her depth of knowledge which makes this book so useful.

Essential for anyone making a trip to the Highlands of Scotland and a very good partner to Bruce Sandison's

Trout and Salmon 220 Favourite Flies - Emap Publishing

Compiled by Sandy Leventon, editor of Trout and Salmon magazine, this is perhaps one of the clearest guides available to flies for trout, salmon, sea-trout and grayling.

Each of the 220 flies is featured in full colour, along with a brief history or fishing tip and details of the dressing. A more or less pocket size book ideal for taking on a fishing trip.

Rivers and Lochs of Scotland - Bruce Sandison - Merlin Unwin Books

The 'bible' for anyone fishing in Scotland. This book is an amazingly comprehensive guide to the rivers and lochs of Scotland.

The book's 460 pages are organised into a section for each of the 85 OS maps which cover Scotland, and is cross referenced where required. It details what might expect to catch, how to catch, and where to obtain permits. Basically, everything you might need to know is included in this book.

The first edition of this book was criticised for perhaps over estimating how many trout you might expect to catch in small hill lochs - but descriptions of possible catches seem to be a little more realistic in this new edition.

The Complete Book of Fly Fishing - edited by Malcolm Greenhalgh - Mitchell Beazley

This is surely one of the best guides to fly-fishing available. The book could be viewed as a series of articles by experts, compiled and edited by Malcolm Greenhalgh. The contributors include Lesley Crawford, John Goddard, Bob Church, Peter Gathercole, Lefty Kreh and many more.

Split into sections covering the fish you might catch, how they feed, how to catch them and where you might catch them, this is an ideal book for someone who has been fishing for a little while - but there is perhaps too much for the absolute beginner to take in.

This is a truly global book, with plenty of discussion of the slightly more exotic varieties of fish such as bonefish, tarpon and barramundi along with good profiles of fishing across the world covering the US, Europe and New Zealand.

Superb illustration and photography throughout. Perfect for the fly-fisherman's coffee table.

The Fly Tier's Manual - Mike Dawes - Collins Angling

An extremely good book for the novice fly tyer, covering nearly 400 varieties of fly patterns.

Rather than spend a fair amount of the book covering all aspects of technique, there is some basic instruction at the front of the book, but individual techniques are covered with relevant flies through the book.

Fly tying is probably harder to teach in a book that casting, and there is no substitute for live instruction, but this book makes a very good attempt.

My Way With Trout - Arthur Cove - Crowood

A valuable resource for the stillwater and reservoir angler. Arthur Cove shares years of experience and sets out some excellent practical advice.

The Pursuit of Wild Trout - Mike Weaver - Merlin Unwin Books

For Mike Weaver, fishing for wild trout in unspoilt waters is the ultimate fishing experience. The fish may not be big, but they fight hard!

Before getting into the practicalities of catching wild trout, Mike spends time talking about the quarry and how we might protect its future.

The techniques for catching wild trout are well covered, and time is spent discussing some of the essentials flies you will require.

Most fisherman spend more time dreaming of fishing than actually doing it, and the travel section of this book will be a treat for those planning a trip to catch brown trout.