I don't have any specific interest in the Welsh river Taff, but still I enjoyed this book about the river system immensely
Updated or edited 1 hours ago
Do I actually have any particular interest in the river Taff in Wales?
No, I really don't.
I have been to Wales.
I've seen and enjoyed some of its beautiful rivers.
I've read enough books and magazines and seen enough videos to recognize the name Taff.
But from there to exhibiting a deep interest in the Taff ... that's a long shot.
A written and photographed trip
Still, I ordered a copy of Nick Thomas' book “Source to City”, which is a impressing coverage of the Taff, and a written and photographed trip in space and time along this river.
The author takes us from its source to where it enters the ocean in Cardiff, and he takes us from December to November, fishing and observing the river – and yes, he starts in the last month of the year. He also covers some of its history, the Taff an important part of the infrastructure in Wales, especially during the industrial revolution where mining was intense in the area, and one quoted author wrote that "The river Rhondda is a dark turgid, contaminated gutter ...".
Luckily that has since changed, and even though many rivers in the UK still suffer from being regulated, paved and run through pipes, most of the author's images of the Taff and its feeding streams show beautiful stretches of water. But there are still places - in the cities in particular - where the river seems to be in a less beautiful condition in some places.
Still, these stretches have their own charm. The final part of the book presents a gallery of B/W photographs depicting some of the buildings and structures lining and spanning the river. Although they portray man-made elements, the images remain both fascinating and beautiful.
A familiar name
The author, Nick Thomas, should be a familiar name to people who visit this site now and then. He is a very productive contributor, whose byline appears on many patterns and other articles on this site. Most of these articles feature one or more pictures of Nick fishing, and those who have looked close enough will have noticed that he often uses a Tenkara rod.
In this book, he also circles around Tenkara, and the last half or so of the book, which is his accounts of each month on the river, is called “A Year of Tenkara”.
The first section – 60 or so pages of the more than 400 in the book – is called “The Taff and Tributaries”, and is exactly that: a walk along the river and its smaller feeding rivers and streams.
It features textual descriptions and a wealth of large and beautiful images of each part of the river system. If you are into stream fishing and enjoy wild freestone streams running through forested areas, this is a dream journey along some really beautiful stretches of running water.
I'm very much an image man, and running my fingers through these pages, opening each new spread is a joy and a pleasure, presenting some pristine landscapes and some very fishy looking stretches of water.
Patterns
I rarely fish streams and I never fished Tenkara. I will most likely never fish any beat on the Taff or its tributaries, but I still find the book both fascinating, entertaining and educational.
To people who do – or might come to do – one of the three things above – stream, Tenkara, Taff – this will be even more the case.
The book is large, thorough, well written and beautifully illustrated, and apart from the river description, it contains dozens of fly patterns and a wealth of advice on stream fishing, which – in spite of being centered around the south of Wales and Tenkara – will be of good use to anybody who fishes streams anywhere in the world.
In the usual Nick Thomas style the patterrns are widely varied, quite different from many traditional patterns and mostly pretty easy to tie with commonly available materials. There are excellent pictures of the flies, and even detailed tying instructions for some of the patterns. There are also plenty tips on how to use the flies, as well as stories about fishing trips and fishing experiences in the river.
It's hardly a book that you'll read from cover to cover as a novel or a selection of short stories, but wherever you open the book and dwell on its wonderful images, you will very likely find passages of interesting text you will be tempted to read.
Knowledgeable and enthusiastic
So whether you are a stream fisher or not, whether you will come to fish a Welsh river or not, you can – like me – just enjoy reading a great book written by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic fly angler and fly tyer.
It's not an inexpensive book, priced at 50 UK£ or about 65 US$, but it's a large and really beautiful book, and as books come these days, it's not at all beyond what you can expect to pay for 400 pages weighing in at more than 1 kilo or close to 2½ pounds.
Find more on Nick's own website.
The book is sold through Amazon - US or UK or Germany - and probably Amazon in many other countries too.
- Log in to post comments
