Yes it's one of my earlier fishing library acquisitions, in hardback with superb woodcuts by Charles Jardine.. Published by George Allen and Unwin in 1984, the book has a picture of Bill Currie fishing the Tay at Murthly and it makes me smile to read again on the dustjacket this: 'Bill Currie is a fly-fisherman of outstanding skill – and often astonishing luck ...' How I used to wish, as a 17-year-old aspiring fly-fisher, I could have something of Bill's luck and end up with a couple of fresh grilse on a fly-rod as pictured on the back cover of this book!
I wonder what I would have thought as my teenage self had I known that within 12 years I would be fishing with Bill, as I did for 2 days on the Tweed in 1998 - with a third day fishing his own upper river beat.. or indeed working as a 'fishing journalist'.
It was on that visit - when I managed one rather coloured grilse at Boleside to Bill's 5 salmon in one morning's fishing! - that he gave me a signed copy of his next book The River Within: A Life of Fly-fishing (Merlin Unwin, 1993) with the following message and signed:
'To Henry, with my compliments and with warmest wishes for all your fishing - Bill, Raperlaw Aug 22/98'
Naturally this is one of my most precious fishing treasures!