LAKE FLIES AND THEIR IMITATION: A PRACTICAL ENTOMOLOGY FOR THE STILL-WATER FLY-FISHER. By C.F. Walker. Modern Fishing Classics series.

(1960) 1983 paperback reprint. 8vo paperback (128 x 197mm). Pp190. Colour plates of flies, b/w photographs, bibliography.

"I am here concerned with [showing] the importance of a knowledge of the natural history of lakes in its practical application to the sport of fishing, and how such knowledge should be utilised ...a study of entomology [is] the only rational basis for successful fly-fishing, no less on the lake than on the river." The author. "Walker ...might have written especially for me. For one thing, his book was devoted entirely to stillwater trout flies - the first book, so far as I am aware, ever to have been so dedicated. For another thing, it is written in plain, sensible, comprehensible English, by a man solely concerned to impart relevant information on the most important creatures upon which trout are known to feed. What is more, Walker, although a man of considerable literary and other accomplishments, had no fancy ideas about himself. ...He goes to some pains, indeed, to de-bug the mystique of Latin names, explains why they are used and how they came into being; and specifically goes out of his way to condemn their use in ordinary fishing talk ...I read and re-read this book, my confidence growing with every syllable." Brian Clarke in, The Pursuit of Stillwater Trout. Chapters include: The development of lake fishing; Some expert opinions; Choosing the fly; Using the fly; The food of lake trout; The practical aspect; Nomenclature; Natural flies - Ephemeroptera; Natural flies - other insects and crustaceans; Artificial flies - the standard patterns; Artificial flies - a new series for the lake; Fortunes and misfortunes of a bug-hunter. Appendices include: Form at a glance; Ready-reckoner; A table of affinity - patterns which may be used together on the same cast.