Reviewed by Paul Sharman with help from James McClusky (age 10)
"A Children's Illustrated Guide to Fly Fishing for Trout" is the subtitle of this first book from the founder of the Tweedstart Program and World Team Champion Speycaster Eoin Fairgrieve. Presented in a large type and with plenty of colourful illustrations, the chapters cover everything to do with the world of fly fishing and trout in a simple and engaging format. Starting with safety around the watery environment and then moving onto what it means to be a trout, the second half of the book then introduces the young reader to the various components of fly fishing such as how to tie a fly, cast and handle a trout once captured.
With each chapter only having one or two pages of text the detail never gets too onerous and is always engaging. In fact I suspect the style of the book is designed to both awaken interest and also to encourage more questions thereby starting a fire inside the budding angler that will result in a lifetimes enjoyment of the sport of fly fishing.
A fishing log page and wordsearch at the end help to also re-enforce the lessons learned by both quizzing the reader on what they have learned and then giving them the space to record those all important first catches that remain with us all for as long as we stroll down to the waters edge.
James' thoughts were that "I enjoyed reading "My First Trout". The pictures were good and I particularly liked the ones of the bugs and other wildlife you can see. I have only coarse fished so far but fly fishing looks fun so perhaps I will give it a go."
What more can we ask!
This book is definitely a great gift for any young angler you know or one that you perhaps want to start introducing to the idea of potentially being a future fishing buddy!
Watch out for Eoin's next book - "My First Salmon" which is next in the pipeline. We will of course be reviewing that too as soon as it is available.
"I’m delighted to announce the launch of my new illustrated children’s book ‘My First Trout’ at the 2008 Trout and salmon Tweed Angling Fair was a great success.
This unique publication is an educational and interactive book about all aspect of learning to fish for trout. The book includes chapters on Water Safety, The Trout Family, The Trout’s Lifecycle, Basic Fly Casting, How to Handle a Trout and Our Environment. The book was inspired by the thousands of children I have taught to fly fish through our Tweedstart Angling Program based on the River Tweed. I wanted to publish a reference for children which covered all the educational and fun aspects of learning to fish in a safe environment – the result was My First Trout.
The book has been beautifully illustrated by well-known local artists Ronnie Glass and Anna Craigen and the artwork is a real credit to the individual artists and to the finished book.
The cost of ‘My First Trout’ is £9.99 plus £1.50 postage, with 10% of the profit donated to Tweedstart. This donation will help Tweedstart continue the valuable work we do with over 30 different schools to inspire and educate the next generation of anglers how to sustain and enhance our sport for the future.
The book is an ideal birthday gift and we are already receiving orders for Christmas!
If you’d like to order a copy for your child, grandchild, nephew, niece, god child or young family friend, please send a cheque for £9.99 plus £1.50 postage payable to Eoin Fairgrieve Consultancy and Education and post to:
Eoin Fairgrieve Consultancy and Education
85 Wallaceneuk
Kelso
Roxburghshire
TD5 8BF
Alternatively, e-mail or call me on 01573 226700 or 0771 5977060 to discuss in greater detail.
I will gladly sign individual copies with personalised messages for the recipient."
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"A Children's Illustrated Guide to Fly Fishing for Trout" is the subtitle of this first book from the founder of the Tweedstart Program and World Team Champion Speycaster Eoin Fairgrieve. Presented in a large type and with plenty of colourful illustrations, the chapters cover everything to do with the world of fly fishing and trout in a simple and engaging format. Starting with safety around the watery environment and then moving onto what it means to be a trout, the second half of the book then introduces the young reader to the various components of fly fishing such as how to tie a fly, cast and handle a trout once captured.
