A Stroll Through Brown Trout Country

by Les Hill and Graeme Marshall

A beautifully illustrated hardcover book about trout fishing by two top South Island anglers. Published 2008 by Canterbury University Press. ISBN 978-1-877257-55-1. 152pp. Excellent colour photographs. Hardcover. Highly recommended.

The South Island of New Zealand is brown trout country without peer. Amazingly varied landscapes and waterways greet the angler at every turn of the road. Spring fed creeks wind through golden tussock or meander across farmland. Mighty rivers tumble from mountains before sprawling in braided beds to the sea. Tranquil lakes and tarns nestle in spectacular surroundings.

Most of these waters hold brown trout in good numbers, but more significant is an impressive size and sheer beauty of these wild fish.

Les Hill and Graeme Marshall broke new ground with their first publication, Stalking Trout, and they have since collaborated on a number of other books.

A Stroll Through Brown Trout Country is a celebration of their joint exploration of brown trout habitat over more than three decades. The book is lavishly illustrated with superb images from the camera of Les Hill, complemented by Graeme’s vivid descriptions of people, places and fish.

Their `strolls’ have taken them to some wonderful places. This depiction of that all­powerful urge to venture around ‘just one more bend’ in the river will delight armchair and active anglers alike.

LES HILL and his camera are virtually inseparable, especially when he is anywhere near a trout stream. Anglers and nature lovers worldwide have taken pleasure in his images, which have appeared in many publications besides the books he and Graeme Marshall have co-authored. His photographs appear regularly in Fish & Game New Zealand. A retired teacher, Les now lives close to Hokitika. When he is not trout fishing, he enjoys the pursuit of salmon and red deer. He is also heavily involved in white-baiting and enjoys sea fishing and an occasional round of golf.

GRAEME MARSHALL has collaborated with Les Hill on five angling books. He has also written a number of hunting books and been a long-time contributor to New Zealand Rod & Rifle magazine. For more than 10 years he worked as a trout-fishing guide in the Nelson area but now lives with his wife Raewyn in Pleasant Point in South Canterbury , where he combines guiding anglers with teaching part time at a local secondary school.

New Zealand Trout and Salmon Fishing Books