I was sent a complimentary copy of this book and will soon review fully it in Country Life magazine. Let me just say that it is is a compilation of some of the best angling articles that appeared in The Fishing & Hunting Journal founded by Bruce Truter in 1998, who is one of South Africa’s best outdoor writers. I found it an excellent read and strongly recommend it, not only for its eclectic mix of interesting anecdotes, or for the frequent thread of humour, but for the excellence of the prose. This is a cornucopia of angling literature and a must-have book.

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300 pages, 40 chapters, with illustrations by Craig Bertram-Smith, Robin Barkes and Cathy Milard.

For details on getting your copy contact Martin Rudman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or at 082 330 3093. Soft cover R250, hard cover R600. Also available for Kindle through Amazon.

The quality of the prose, content and humour in Fishing Stories for Africa is outstanding. Here are three quotes from the book to help illustrate what I mean:

The sunset over the town was smudged red and black and grey like the dying coals of a braai fire.

David Butler. From the chapter, Domkrag.

…and that the river is, in a sense, a metaphor for my life, perhaps all lives. We are streams flowing from the mountains, tumbling down over riffles and falls, shaded in parts by deep cuts and chasms, warmed by the sandstone, sometimes resting in dark, dour pools. Life’s seasons come and go and we flow, sometimes strongly, sometimes less so. The river will change through time as it flows to the sea because that is the nature of rivers. I understand now that I have been deeply etched by rivers.

Mick Mitchley. From the chapter, Etching the River. 

Summer in the Northern Cape is not for sissies. Being experienced in coping with the heat and the dust, my father, my uncle and I sought refuge in an air-conditioned room one afternoon. It happened to be the local bar, but was preferable to the other air-conditioned room, which was the dentist’s reception area.

Wim Els. From the chapter, Karl Gives the Angling Spot.

Tom Sutcliffe