Laurence Catlow is considered one of the finest classical flyfishing writers of our times and here he explores the themes close to an angler's heart: early and late season fishing; mayflies; lost fish; fishing in Wales; in Scotland; on home waters; what fishing really means to an angler.

Laurence Catlow writes here on many subjects close to his fisher's heart: the contrast between fishing in early spring and in autumn, the realisation that mayfly fishing is not as easy as it seems, views on flies, on fishing in an opposing wind, low or high water, holiday fishing, why a brace of trout matters so much, and why small wild trout can mean so much to an angler.

He sums up:
'Anyway, throughout this book I have been trying to come to some sort of understanding about why this whole business of catching trout means so much to me and why, after fifty years spent catching trout in fair numbers, I find an even deeper satisfaction in catching them now than I did as a young fisher when they were caught much less frequently and were therefore individually much more important. I hope that I have managed some insights but it seems to me that there is always more to be seen and more to be said.'