Chalkstream Chronicle by Neil Patterson is a brilliant, memorable account of a man who gave up a sixty-hour work week in London for a life within earshot of a great trout river. Neil Patterson's decision to convert a dilapidated old stable into a true home for himself and his family, and his ability thereby to fish the river intimately, month by month, hatch by hatch, in fair weather and foul, form the heart of this remarkable memoir.
His angling idyll records the realities and the rewards of his choice: life in a damp, half built house that first winter, and the rare chance to know a great chalkstream and the characthers who fish it tiwh great intimacy. His restless, invertive mind leads him to observe the life of the river requenstly messed by occasional visitors.
Neil Patterson even develops a host of highly original fly patterns, like the Funneldun, the Caddox and the Deerstalker, now known internationally, and perfects fly fishing techniques and theories of immense value to fishermen world wide. No serious fly fisherman will want to miss this engaging, practical and penetrating memoir.