TROUT FISHING

by Dan Holland '36.Crow ell, 1949. 420 pages. $5.00.

Here is a book well worth the time of all who are interested in fishing, trout or otherwise. Both the neophyte and the sophisticated "purist" will find it enjoyable and illuminating. Dan Holland, former fishing editor of Field and Stream, has admirably achieved his goal of describing "fishing for every kind of trout in all parts of the United States."

This book is much more than a mere recounting of the experiences of a skilled fisherman. The author has included discussions of all varieties of the trout family: the chars, grayling, brown, rainbow, cutthroat, steelhead, and golden. He describes the life history of the trout, his feeding habits, and even his sensory capacities. Fly tackle, fly-tying, casting, and various fishing techniques are described. Chapters are included on fishing in the rain, the metropolitan angler, and taking big trout (to be read and re-read).

The author has concentrated on informing us as to the various phases of trout angling. He spices all chapters with occasional anecdotes, some humorous, some tragic. A dry fly fisherman by inclination, the author is not an austere "purist". He has fished all ways and willingly imparts his experiences and knowledge. He even admits to once having taken and kept the legal limit.

The book contains some excellent photographs by the author; the colored frontispiece is guaranteed to make any fisherman restless. Furthermore, W. J. Schaldach's excellent pen and ink sketches are scattered throughout the book.

Two sports writers put it very well in their foreword when they say, "the rest of us can put away our typewriters now and set up our rods and head out for the nearest stream. There won't have to be any more books on trout fishing—Dan Holland has had the last word."