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IMPORTANT
SITE UPDATE:
Visit the relaunched
Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
Salmon, Trout & Charr Of The World - Rupert Watson
Reviewed by Terry Lawton
According to the information on the rear flap of the book jacket, Rupert Watson has been fascinated by fish since childhood. His work on natural history, ecology and conservation has been published by The Independent, New Scientist and many other publications. His first book, The Trout - A Fisherman's Natural History was published in 1993, also by Swan Hill, the publisher of the subject of this review.
I couldn't help feeling that the first chapter, The Fish - What, Where and Why?, which is a very involved discussion of the family tree of the Salmonidae family was a rather indigestible start to the book. The chapter goes into some detail on the Linnaeus system of classification and its shortcomings, for example the fact that the "silvery sea-going trout and small red-spotted fresh-water trout" share a species today.
Once this chapter has been dealt with, the book moves on to discussing the migratory instincts of salmonids. This chapters contains some fascinating insights into the migratory characteristics of these fish and reasons why some, not all, do in fact migrate. As Rupert Watson writes, "one of the most perplexing aspects of anadromy is the selection by fish of the same species, which may even be siblings, of totally different patterns of life." This would seem to mean that not every offspring of a pair of sea trout, for example, will migrate and this is also the case with some species of salmon of which there are populations of non-migratory Atlantic and sockeye. Brown trout can live all their lives in freshwater, as do the majority, yet there is some internal mechanism which, when triggered, will send them rushing off to sea. Some do and return to the rivers of their birth as sea trout.
We then move on to chapters covering each of the different fish of the book's title: Atlantic salmon; six Pacific salmon, their ecology, and Pacific salmon yesterday, today and tomorrow; brown trout, rainbow trout and their allies and cutthroat trout each have a chapter as do the various charr (Arctic, lake and brook). Although Watson claims that it is far from comprehensive, there is an impressive bibliography that covers 16 pages, with a section relevant to each of the 12 chapters of the book. For a book published recently, I am surprised there are no references to Websites for further research as I am sure that some of the most recent research papers must be available on the Internet.
As a trout fisherman I soon started to read the chapter on the brown trout. I was interested to read that although the brown trout has managed to cause considerable ecological havoc beyond its native European habitat, at least in the UK it has remained remarkably unaffected by the competition of North American imports. Rainbow trout breed in but one or two rivers in England although they have replaced our native fish in more rivers, particularly where fully grown fish have been stocked. Rupert Watson raises his concerns about the practice of stocking rivers where there are populations of breeding native trout. The ethics of rearing fish artificially for stocking rivers, particularly salmon species, is discussed in the rleevant chapters.
The book is extremely well illustrated in full colour, line drawings and well annotated maps showing the distribution of the different species. As well as first class photographs of the fish themselves, there are excellent images of mouth-watering rivers and non-human fishermen including bears and fish-eating eagles. As for the "futuristic" fish pass at McNary Dam - it looks more like an enclosed water chute at a swimming pool or part of the pipework of a factory cooling system.
This is truly an erudite work of scholarship that is well enough written to make it relatively easy to read. There is a great deal of information contained within the the 312 pages of this book. The more one knows about one's quarry the better the chances will be of catching salmonids more consistently.
Salmon, Trout & Char Of The World, A fisherman's Natural History by Rupert Watson. Published by Swan Hill at £29.95. Hardback 312 pages. BUY IT NOW!
Also received from Swan Hill was Flyfishing, Tactics on Small Streams by
Lou Stevens.
This is a new edition of Lou Stevens' book which was published originally in 1988 and, as the author says in his foreword to this paperback, there have been many important changes in both tackle and attitudes.
The book has been written as series of imaginary streamside (usually) conversations between the teacher (the author) and his pupil (the reader). In this way the book covers the waters likely to be fished, suitable tackle, the quarry, fishing tactics and flies. There are four appendices covering hooking, playing and landing fish, wading, casting, and weather and conditions.
The author has some interesting thoughts on artificial flies, suggesting that even the best imitations are such bad representations of natural flies that I was tempted to wonder why he is a fly fisherman! However, for stillwater or river anglers who are thinking of trying fishing the brooks and streams of mountain and moorland, perhaps on holiday, will find, in the main, some useful information. The book is illustrated with black and white photographs and a number of line drawings
Flyfishing, Tactics on Small Streams by Lou Stevens. Published by Swan Hill at £9.95. Paperback 128 pages.
