MOVING WATER: A FLY FISHER'S GUIDE TO CURRENTS. By Jason Randall.

2012 1st edition. 8vo (158 x 234mm). Ppxii,209. B/w photographs and line drawings, extensive bibliography. Blue paper-covered boards, spine titled in gilt.

"Understanding how water works is arguably the most important key for any angler's success, yet until [this book] there has been no comprehensive book on the market that explains ...the science of the movement and distribution of water in terms that anglers can understand." "When you are fishing a dry fly on the surface of the water, the biggest impediments to success are the currents affecting your line, leader, and fly. This handicap often becomes fairly obvious in short order, as you can watch the fly skate on the surface as the slack in your leader is pulled tight by the multiple swirling currents and your fly starts to move unnaturally. When this happens, drag - the bane of all fly fishers - sets in. But that is only parts of the problem that fly fishers face, especially when presenting an emerger, nymph or streamer to fish. Below the surface, a maelstrom of currents influences how your fly drifts and prevents them from getting to the bottom, which is often where the trout feed most. To compound the problem, these currents are often invisible to the untrained eye. In this comprehensive book on how currents affect fly fishing, you'll learn about the nuances of drag, which casts and techniques to use when, and much more, including how even small movements of water can change your fly's movement, and what to do about it. With tips for fishing fast water, drop-offs, midstream obstructions, sweepers, and more, Moving Water will take your fishing to the next level. In addition to learning how currents affect your fishing, you'll learn about trout's evolutionary and day-to-day responses to currents and how mayflies, stoneflies, and midges are affected by the water in which they live. Moving Water gives the complete picture of how streams and rivers work." "In my fly-tying room is a shelf full of books devoted to trout fishing, and I've read them all. With the exception of one or two, Moving Water has more information to help make you a better trout fisherman than any of the others. You'll have to read and reread it many times to fully absorb its contents so you can use it in pursuit of trout wherever there is current, be it a tiny brook, a tumbling mountain creek, a meandering limestone stream, or a large river." (Lefty Kreh). Chapters include:- The lotic ecosystem: Lotic ecosystems; The biology of water; The water cycle; The influence of the regional climate; Influence of the watershed on water movement and characteristics; Water movement and the shaping of rivers; Adaptation to current and species specialization; Laminar flow: The movement of water; Differential velocities and drag; The three-dimensional river: Nymph fishing: Past, present, and future; Vertical stratification; The three-dimensional river; The benthic boundary layer; Vertical drag; Variations in current: The influence of river features on current; Helical current; Vortices and eddies; Standing waves and hydraulics; Reading the water; Turbulence: Turbulence and gas exchange; The mixing effect of turbulence; The organic impact of turbulence; The nature of flow; The benthic community: A warehouse of life; Erosional and depositional habitats; The food chain; Responses to current; Aquatic insects; Other benthic residents; Drift behavior of benthic organisms; The trout lifestyle: Might makes right: The alpha fish wins; The life cycle of trout; Adaptations to current; Fishing strategies: Fishing drop-offs; Fishing midstream obstructions; Fishing sweepers; The last cast.