This is not a guide to fish etiquette: “The well behaved fish will of course only dine on the well tied fly” is sadly not true.

Where the fish are is a soft-cover American publication, hence the US English spelling of ‘behaviour.’ This is pretty much what it says on the tin, aimed at opening up and explaining how fish interact with and behave in their environment. Technically, this is a ‘secondary text’, meaning it draws extensively on primary texts, published scientific books, papers and articles. The job of the author is to draw that material together and gather the information his angler readers need? That is posed as a question because the job of the author in this type of secondary text is far more than that – he must decide which questions you or I might ask, then find relevant articles and, if there are conflicting studies, decide which to present.

Clearly written, with some monochrome illustrations, Where the fish are starts with physiology, although brief this section is far more informative (and well informed) than any angling book I know. Bagur likes technical, scientific terms, he introduces them without fuss and they become understood (so I don’t feel like a complete dunce as I read.) Having laid out how the structures work, he then links the biology to fishing. For example, explain the function of red and white muscle, then discuss what happens to white muscle as an angler plays a fish. Actually, I found the discussion of what happens in fish muscles lacked a little detail. The author seemed slightly too concerned to call on my experience as an angler and then suggest I should “be ready for a white-muscle burst at all time …”

Leaving aside the obvious point that anglers have been told to look out for a fish lunging or making a last second run from the moment they picked up a rod – without the need to mention white muscle. I might have been more interested if he had explained what happens as fish (different species of fish?) tire and weaken and then how they recover – I honestly would like to know more about how to play fish so they have the best possible chance of surviving release. It also seems to me that there is something too general about the information in these sections where things may not be the same for all species or in all situations.

The sections dealing with fish behaviour, why they are where they are and how and why that changes, are really quite fascinating. Much of the information presented I have read in fishing books, far more I have not found there. Topics like the effect of weather on fish, which has puzzled anglers and led to some wild and wonderful speculation for generations, is tackled well. No hard conclusions as far as I can see, but the factors which could contribute are explored, giving a far more informed base for discussion.

I still find myself wondering if there is a risk of generalising from studies carried out on specific species. For example, do salmon or pike behave the same way as minnows? In general, Bagur deals with that by mentioning the fish studied, however it did seem to me that even if he was aware of that danger I could quite merrily draw unfounded conclusions. That said, this is one of the most stimulating ‘fishing books’ I’ve read in some time.