The art of fly-fishing is enjoyed in southern Africa by many thousands of people, described by Robert Brandon-Kirby as ranging from the keen to the certifiable. Kirby here assumes the role of sensitive guide to the the fly-fishing waters of southern Africa. He is accompanied in his travels by Peter and Beverly Pickford, whose hauntingly beautiful photography evokes the ambience of the fly0fisher’s world in all its moods and settings. Seeking bass and trout, we mount liquid staircases in the Western Cape, explore dams and reservoirs in the Eastern Province, revel in the streams of Natal and Lesotho, and enter anglers’ private heavens in the Eastern Transvaal. Nor is the more vigorous side of fly-fishing neglected as, with author and photographer, we hunt the formidable tigerfish in the Okavango Delta and Lake Kariba, and cast flies for salt water denizens at the coast.

Imbued with the conservation ethic, fly-fishers have ever had a benign impact on the environment. It was largely through their efforts that the purity and charm of English and Scottish waters were preserved and the trout stream became a metaphor for the idyllic. The same principals and ideals, still upheld by the fishers today, says Kirby, have protected the fly-fishing waters of southern Africa for more than a hundred years. Fluently written and exquisitely photographed, Fly-Fishing in Southern Africa is a celebration of the legacy of gentlefolk. Natural and social history, conservation, philosophy, aesthetics, the sport itself and the nature of its devotees have all been deftly woven into a rich fabric that will not fail to inform and enthral. This superb book will be treasured not only by fly-fishers but also by conservationists and all who appreciate the beauty of remote and unspoilt places.