The Sea Trout and the Fly by James Waltham | |
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| THESE DAYS THERE are some good books around on sea trout, both scholarly and dealing with the biology as well as fishing. I don’t think James Waltham’s book falls into any of those categories but it is, above all, a very practical guide to sea trout fishing.
There are some quite superb components of enormous value to the sea trout angler. For example, chapter 3 on ‘Tackle and Tips’ has the merit of being both brief and exceedingly clear. Anyone who wanted to have a go at sea trout could read this chapter and be on their way after a visit to the tackle shop – and, what is more, without spending a fortune. The book deals primarily with night fishing, because the sea trout is a night time marauder par excellence. The first two chapters are specifically about the night, and the author’s guidance is excellent. Having done a great deal of night fishing, including for sea trout, what he has to say has the ring of practicality and truth about it. The black and white photographs are very nice, and varied, but some could have been a bit larger. Quite a number of the rivers and swims I am familiar with, but in some I couldn’t quite see the detail I was hoping to see. One of the strongest features of this book, and what makes it an excellent read, is the use of anecdotes to help make a point. Hence the whole text is liberally spattered with damn good angling stories, some serious, some emotional, some funny, but without exception containing very valuable advice. In one or two places there is some odd grammar, and I think a more careful read should have been carried out editorially. There are not so many mistakes as such, but one must have disappointed the author: the scientific name of the sea trout is given as Salmo truffa instead of Salmo trutta. This is just a careless bit of typing from someone’s handwriting I think, but it jars, especially so early in the book (p.9). And then, having given both the brown and sea trout the same scientific name at species level (i.e. trutta) he refers to them as different species! This is sloppy. All this is in the early part of the book and it has to be said that the Introduction and Preface, perhaps written last of all, are the only dubious bits of an otherwise absolutely cracking volume: they strike a wrong chord, to some extent, not only because of the above errors, but because of the liberal use of angling clich  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community.
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