Extract from 101 Troutfishing Tips

Walking the dog

It has been established, by radio tagging fish, that spawning fish tend to run in schools through rivers that lead to spawning redds. Research carried out on both the Wairau River in Marlborough and the Taupo Tauranga River in Taupo has shown that the fish keep in a pod or school as they make their way up the river to spawn. Instead of just fishing one or two pools on such rivers and just hoping to encounter running fish, a better plan is to find the school of fish. This can be best done by fishing quickly down the river, through each pool until you find where the fish are. Then you can fish that pool by starting at the tail and thoroughly fishing up through the pool in the normal manner.
If you are fishing shingle-bedded rivers like the Wairau or the Taupo Tauranga, the quickest way of fishing downstream is to walk your cast down. You simply cast your nymphs across to the far bank and move downstream at the same speed as the current. It is a lot easier wading downstream rather than battling the current working your way upstream, as in conventional nymphing. If your line starts to belly and the flies begin to drag, you can mend upstream and continue on. When all this mending brings the flies away from the far bank, just stop, recast and then continue moving downstream. USA anglers call this technique, walking the dog and it is an extremely efficient way of covering the water and finding those running fish.

Review below:
Troutfishing Tips
By Ron Giles
(Reed, $19.99)

Fishing advice doesn't come any better or more concise than this. Giles, prominent author of troutfishing guide books, crams 30 years' experience into a nutshell. The bare-bones writing and tight editing make for easily found, quick references without having to wade through heavy water.

It is a slim, handy volume ideal for the beginner, veteran, car glovebox, bedside table or traveller's backpack. If you think you know it all, this will prove you wrong.