I WISH that this book had been available several years ago. It might have saved me from several blank sessions on the upper Wharfe while fishing for trout preoccupied with tiny black flies, completely ignoring the size 14 and 16 flies that I was throwing at them. Like most fly-fishermen of my acquaintance, I habitually fish dries in the 14-16 size bracket and rarely anything smaller than a size 18.

According to Southall, however, tiny imitations of midges and other small invertebrates have long been used in the US but not so much in the UK. It seems that we Brits have failed to recognise that tiny invertebrates are high in calorific value and make a significant contribution to trout and grayling diets. In this book, Southall stresses their importance and comes up with techniques and patterns to fish tiny flies effectively.

The book itself is beautifully written and illustrated. In the first chapter, he looks at various species of micro-invertebrates. These include midges, aphids, dance or dag- ger flies, micro caddis, iron blue duns etc. My knowledge of entomology, I confess, is rather limited and I found some of this material difficult to absorb. However, the author intersperses this with stories of his own experience of fishing his imitative microflies. I found these very enjoyable and instructive.

In chapter two, Southall looks at those times when fish become preoccupied with tiny micro-organisms – generally when there is a glut of them. He calls for careful observation of what is floating on and in the water surface. He also recommends kick- sampling, and the use of the In Stream Insect Trap (ISIT), devised by well-known fly- fisherman and entomologist Stuart Crofts.

Instead of using the traditional marrow scoop, which invariably involves killing a fish, he prefers Crofts’ Endosampler, a gentle throat syringe, which can inform anglers what the fish are feeding on.

Although these recommendations are very informative, I am not sure how many of my fellow fly-fishermen would be prepared to go to such lengths to discover what the fish are feeding on!

Presenting tiny flies (down to size 30!) can prove difficult and in chapter three, Southall considers their presentation and reveals his tactics. This involves long leaders, light tippets and specialist knots such as the Rapala Loop, for which detailed step-by-step instructions are provided.

His favoured rod for this style of fishing is a 10ft 6in 0-weight, a weapom that is not readily available from most tackle retailers. Southall is also an advocate of Ital- ian-style casting with a much shorter rod, matched with a 2 or 3-weight line. Like many other fishermen of my acquaintance, I confess that I was not familiar with this style of casting.

After a brief chapter on stealth, which is mainly commonsense, the author moves on to discuss suitable hooks and flies. Hooks can be problematic, because a size 26, for example, can vary a great deal in length of shank and gape. Fortunately, Southall recom- mends some specific makes and pattern of hook for his dressings.

When it comes to fly size, most of us would be hard pressed to find any flies smaller than a size 16 or 18 in our local tackle shop (that is, if you are lucky enough to have one nowadays!).

As a result, the microfly fisherman has little option but to dress his own flies, and the section on the author’s patterns, complete with detailed step-by-step tying instructions will, I suspect, be found most useful by the majority of readers.

In the final chapter, Southall gives a brief but interesting, account of a typical fly- fishing year, during which he puts his microflies to good use, primarily on the rivers and streams of his native east Yorkshire.

This beautiful book is a welcome addition to the literature of fly-fishing and, after reading it, I am left in little doubt as to the value of employing microflies in the pursuit of trout and grayling. I shall certainly try out a few of Southall’s patterns on my local rivers during the forthcoming season.

Keith Harwood