Mr. W. F. R. Reynolds' Fly and Minnow (Country Life,
105. 6d.), which bears as its sub-title " Common Problems of Trout and Salmon Fishing," is a jolly book, and, if the art of angling can be acquired from the printed word, it is a useful book. Be that as it may, it is jolly to go along with Mr. Reynolds and hear him tell with what artifice of eye and hand, or fly and tackle he extracts the- elusive trout from rough streams, for with the decorous stateliness of avowed dry-fly water he has little concern. Of killing salmon on the Gave d'Oloron and of trouting in the Cevennes, in • Normandy, in the artificially stocked waters of South Africa and elsewhere, lie chats genially and always wisely, tholigh again we hazard the doubt whether the tiro will benefit much from his rather elaborate remarks, for instance, on the upstreani spinning of a Devon. But the already practised hand may suck thereout additional advantage. And how refreshingly honest is Mr. Reynolds with his "We go out fishing to catch fish" I Of course we do. We don't go to watch birds, or write sonnets to a water-rat, or cast a fly cleverly for the mere sake of casting. But, if we are to catch fish, "on reaching the river, and during the course of our fishing, we must think," and it is the great merit of this book that it helps the angler to think on right lines—with the ultimate result of tight lines. The author's own illustrations, particularly that facing P. 46, are full of life. and colour, and the index is excellent.
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