'A Beggars Book Outworths a Noble's Blood' Trout fishing

Press, 4 December 1981, Page 4 (Supplement)

'A Beggars Book Outworths a Noble's Blood' Trout fishing

For many fishermen the next best thing to fishing is reading about it. “A Taupo Fishing Diary," by Alex Gillett, goes beyond describing technique and the best fishing spots. Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest lake, provides a variety of trout fishing. And now, Alex Gillett has provided a poetic record of the day-to-day observations of a Taupo trout fisherman, together with practical advice, recipes, fishing secrets, and comments on Taupo’s history, folk-lore, old identities and natural life. Alex Gillett was born in England in 1926, and came to New Zealand in 1953. He has worked as a fishing guide at Lake Taupo and has previously written several articles on trout fishing. The book is illustrated by Jane Perry, who grew up in Wellington but spent most of her summer holidays at Taupo. She is a trained physiotherapist and while overseas also attended art school in London where she trained as an art therapist. She now lives in Thorndon and works as a physiotherapist and illustrator. Sir John Marshall, in his foreword to the book refers to the author as “a man for all seasons." Sir John adds: "There is not much that he does not

know about trout and their ways, and in this diary he imparts his angler’s lore in the humorous, vivid and

lively way that true fishermen do when they relax in the evening after a strenuous day on the river."