There are a number of books written by great authors that encapsulate the reasons why I go fly-fishing and this delightful book entitled- Call Of The River by Philip Weigall is definitely one of them.

Philip takes you on a journey through the Australian countryside and overseas to be amongst beautiful rivers and lakes with a fly rod in hand. You’ll experience the travel, the adventure, and the great anticipation that only fly-fishing can bring.

When reading this book I was transfixed to the pages by the way the words formed a picture not found in normal life but in places that I strive to be amongst.

Additionally when those words formed stories on waterways that are Australian based, I just couldn’t put this book down.

The chapter entitled; The Creek: is my favourite as Philip tells of a local waterway that he fished, telling of its character set amongst nature, and to its good and bad day fishing, and to how eventually he found out how special this creek was to him.

Another chapter called Gum Beetles set in the great land of Tasmania is a beauty. Like me, some readers will be able to identify to the story and through Philips words you’ll feel as if you’re fishing with him.

Throughout the book people will gain knowledge of the differences in the fishing here in Australia and from that of overseas, but what isn’t different, is the way great people in fly fishing treat each other with a warmth of friendliness and helping hand, which is conveyed throughout the book, but delightfully so in the chapter entitled: Europe.

Another delightful aspect of the book was the fly-fishing memories that came flooding back to me of past fishing days, especially when reading the stories on local waters. Many readers will identify these locations, gaining fishing knowledge and other useful information.

The illustrations set throughout the book by Trevor Hawkins are soft and beautiful encapsulating all stories with a sense of the fishing countryside that is rarely conveyed in other books.

The Cover photo of the book by Bill Bachman is a pleasure to the eye and instantly creates the desire for one to grab a rod and go fly-fishing, and if there’s a better photo that evokes this desire I want to know about it.

Fly fishermen whether experienced or just beginning will gain a lot from this book and I can highly recommend it for its wealth of fly-fishing knowledge, fly- fishing pleasures, and most of all for taking us to those beautiful places where fly-fishing exists.

Bruce Smith.

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