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Catch That Trout
Fishing the North Island of New Zealand

By Ron Giles

This is Ron’s latest book on NZ trout fishing and follows his two other books, Hooked on Trout and Catch That Trout – South Island. This one gives tips on tackle and techniques on fishing eleven North Island rivers and five North Island lakes. The rivers are categorized by lowland, mountain, and lake fed.

The first few chapters cover such things as equipment and information on rods, reels and lines as well as a chapter on rainbow and brown trout, the habitats they frequent and the food they eat.

Each river and lake is reviewed by separate chapter and includes maps, some very good photos, a general description of the river/lake being reviewed, a useful technique in fishing the resource, a fly that will catch fish in that environment (with tying instructions) and, then an anecdote of an experience that Ron has had on a previous fishing trip that is both instructive and often humorous.

Another very useful tool that Ron has included is a table of insects and nymphs that each category of river and lake is likely to have in it. The table includes Latin names, common names, as well as fly patterns that will imitate each of the stages of the life cycle of each insect.

I found the book to be a very useful addition to my growing collection of fishing books. It is quite different to most, as it deals with quite a wide range of information for each of the fishing rivers or lakes reviewed. As a fly fishermen of only two years the information that I gathered is of great use and I guess this was even more useful to me as some of the rivers covered were ones that I have enjoyed fishing already or have been on my hit list of places to visit .

In conclusion I would say that I feel that this book would make a very good addition to any angler’s bookshelf.

Reviewed by Ron Wilson

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