'To be a moderately successful wielder of the rod may be looked upon as avery desirable accomplishment, nay, more, a laudable ambition; but, beyondmere skill in casting a fly and killing and landing a fish, a littlerudimentary knowledge of the truly scientific and, consequently, mostattractive part of the art is essential in order to attain proficiency.''Rodsters' everywhere will welcome the reappearance of David Forster'sclassic work on the art and science of fishing, with its wealth ofdetailed ..piscatorial knowledge and its exhaustive information and guidancein practical matters, from how to make one's own tackle and flies to howand when to catch which fish where. Writing in 1885, Forster tells usthat, while the 'angler's skill has advanced wondrously' since the time ofIzaak Walton, 'keenness of perception and wariness have developed among thedenizens of the liquid element in a degree quite proportionate'. However,armed with this volume, as readable and relevant today as any contemporarymanual, 'let there be clear water, clear weather and clear scope forobservation' and any enthusiast may pit his or her 'superior intelligenceagainst the animal instincts of the brute creation'.