Trout in Dirty Places

Here is a guide to the most revolutionary development in British angling for many years: fly-fishing for trout and grayling in the very centre of towns and cities throughout the United Kingdom. From Sheffield to South London, from Merthyr Tydfil to Edinburgh, this is the cutting edge of 21st century fishing. Nothing is more surreal yet exhilarating than casting a fly for iconic clean-water species in the historic surroundings of our most damaged riverscapes - centres of post-industrial decay, but now also of rediscovery and regeneration. * fishing-focused profiles of 50 selected streams * interviews with local conservationists dedicated to restoring the urban rivers * local flies and emerging traditions, and * details of how to get involved and support this restoration work. This book guides readers towards relaxing, good-value fishing on their own doorsteps as a viable alternative to more costly (and carbon-intensive) destination angling: a positive lifestyle choice in challenging moral and economic times. No one author or publisher has yet attempted to bring this emerging trend of urban flyfishing into a single, epoch-making volume. **A donation from all sales goes to the Wild Trout Trust and the Grayling Society **

Theo Pike is an environmental, angling and marketing writer. As Chair of Trustees of the Wandle Trust he has been instrumental in restoring this south London river to its historic status as a world-famous chalkstream - a partnership project involving invasive non-native species management on a full river catchment scale. As a result of his experience in urban river restoration, Theo has advised many groups on mobilising local support, motivating volunteers, best practice for river restoration and invasive species management, and promoting positive links between angling and conservation. He was awarded the Wild Trout Trust's Bernard Venables Award for services to wild trout conservation in 2008, and internationally honoured as a Sage Conservation Hero in 2009. Theo's highly-acclaimed first book, Trout in Dirty Places, was published by Merlin Unwin Books in 2012. He lives in Devon with his wife Sally.