How To Fish by Chris Yates

Published by Penguin, in May 2007.
Paperback: 256 pages.

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I can't help but think that a lot of time was spent in agreeing the title for this work. The reader should know that it is most certainly not a standard “How to” book. Mr Yates hardly discusses tackle or technique at all. Rather, he extends his own angling philosophy and describes his experiences with, and relation to Mother Nature.

Perhaps a better title might have been “How to Enjoy Fishing”?

Chris Yates doesn't so much go fishing as hold a communion with Nature. His manner of angling is one of forgotten time, childhood memories, a complete submersion into his environment, and, occasionally, a fish. That he is probably the finest angler writing today helps enormously.

The simple premise behind this work is a day or two spent with Chris on a river looking for Perch. But the work is swollen into a beautiful commentary on how he stands relative to his surroundings, how he sees angling as a balm that soothes and enriches the spirit, and how the old cliché of just “being there” is as true today as ever it was.

Put simply – it is a beautifully written exploration of a beautiful attitude to life, crafted within the crucible of the beautiful past time that is angling.

All I can say is that if you fish by numbers, you will probably not enjoy this book. If, however, you are sensitive to the wonderful rivers and lakes that abound in our land, and if you understand that you are part of this landscape rather than master of it – you may find yourself unable to put the book down..

No more words from me. Buy the book; read the book; enjoy the book, and be gently reminded of why we go fishing.


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