Listen free for 30 days
-
A Summer on the Test
- A Classic of Modern Fly-Fishing Literature
- Narrated by: William Boyde
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Sports & Outdoors
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £9.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Habit of Rivers
- Reflections on Trout Streams and Fly Fishing
- By: Ted Leeson, John Gierach - foreword
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Originally published in 1994, this book was a fly-fishing phenomenon in the way Howell Raines' Fly Fishing Through the Mid-Life Crisis was. Taking his fishing hobby to near metaphysical levels, Ted Leeson tells about his passions: rivers, trout, and fly fishing. With wry humor and rare insight, he explores questions that engage most fishermen: What is it about rivers that draws us so irresistibly, and why does fly fishing seem such an aptly suited response?
-
-
Not for me
- By Dylan OFlynn on 28-07-20
-
The Compleat Angler
- By: Izaak Walton, Charles Cotton
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi, David Timson, Sean Barrett, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, long considered the bible of fishing, is a joyful celebration of the English countryside and the relaxed and reflective lifestyle of the devoted fisherman. Through dialogue between teacher and student, the book sheds a unique light on fishing, baiting, and cooking, including an original recipe for trout. Its music, rhymes, poetry, and humor are all brought to life by a full cast.
-
-
What wonderful archaic prose
- By Mark H on 18-12-17
-
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
- By: Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse
- Narrated by: Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have been friends for 30 years, but when life intervened, what was once a joyous and spontaneous friendship dwindled to the odd phone call or occasional catch up. Then, Glory Be! They were both diagnosed with heart disease and realised that time is short. They'd better spend it fishing...So they dusted off their kits, chucked on their waders and ventured into the achingly beautiful British countryside to fish, rediscover the joys of their friendship and ruminate on some of life's most profound questions....
-
-
If you buy one book, buy this! It's perfect x
- By Mell on 24-06-19
-
Dances with Trout
- By: John Gierach
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers. With the wry humor and wit that have become his trademark, John Gierach writes about his travels in search of good fishing and even better fish stories. In this new collection of essays on fishing - and hunting - Gierach discusses fishing for trout in Alaska, for salmon in Scotland, and for almost anything in Texas.
-
The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing
- Little Red Books
- By: Kirk Deeter, Charlie Meyers
- Narrated by: Scott R. Pollak
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two highly respected outdoor journalists, Kirk Deeter of Field and Stream and Charlie Meyers of the Denver Post, have cracked open their notebooks and shared straight-shot advice on the sport of fly fishing, based on a range of new and old experiences - from interviews with the late Lee Wulff to travels with maverick guides in Tierra del Fuego.
-
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories
- By: Norman Maclean
- Narrated by: David Manis
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean claims that “in my family, there is no clear line between religion and fly-fishing.” Nor is there a clear line between family and fly-fishing. It is the one activity where brother can connect with brother and father with son, bridging troubled relationships at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana. In Maclean’s autobiographical novella, it is the river that makes them realize that life continues and all things are related.
-
-
Haunted by waters
- By Anonymous User on 11-05-19
-
The Habit of Rivers
- Reflections on Trout Streams and Fly Fishing
- By: Ted Leeson, John Gierach - foreword
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Originally published in 1994, this book was a fly-fishing phenomenon in the way Howell Raines' Fly Fishing Through the Mid-Life Crisis was. Taking his fishing hobby to near metaphysical levels, Ted Leeson tells about his passions: rivers, trout, and fly fishing. With wry humor and rare insight, he explores questions that engage most fishermen: What is it about rivers that draws us so irresistibly, and why does fly fishing seem such an aptly suited response?
-
-
Not for me
- By Dylan OFlynn on 28-07-20
-
The Compleat Angler
- By: Izaak Walton, Charles Cotton
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi, David Timson, Sean Barrett, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, long considered the bible of fishing, is a joyful celebration of the English countryside and the relaxed and reflective lifestyle of the devoted fisherman. Through dialogue between teacher and student, the book sheds a unique light on fishing, baiting, and cooking, including an original recipe for trout. Its music, rhymes, poetry, and humor are all brought to life by a full cast.
-
-
What wonderful archaic prose
- By Mark H on 18-12-17
-
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
- By: Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse
- Narrated by: Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have been friends for 30 years, but when life intervened, what was once a joyous and spontaneous friendship dwindled to the odd phone call or occasional catch up. Then, Glory Be! They were both diagnosed with heart disease and realised that time is short. They'd better spend it fishing...So they dusted off their kits, chucked on their waders and ventured into the achingly beautiful British countryside to fish, rediscover the joys of their friendship and ruminate on some of life's most profound questions....
-
-
If you buy one book, buy this! It's perfect x
- By Mell on 24-06-19
-
Dances with Trout
- By: John Gierach
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers. With the wry humor and wit that have become his trademark, John Gierach writes about his travels in search of good fishing and even better fish stories. In this new collection of essays on fishing - and hunting - Gierach discusses fishing for trout in Alaska, for salmon in Scotland, and for almost anything in Texas.
-
The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing
- Little Red Books
- By: Kirk Deeter, Charlie Meyers
- Narrated by: Scott R. Pollak
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two highly respected outdoor journalists, Kirk Deeter of Field and Stream and Charlie Meyers of the Denver Post, have cracked open their notebooks and shared straight-shot advice on the sport of fly fishing, based on a range of new and old experiences - from interviews with the late Lee Wulff to travels with maverick guides in Tierra del Fuego.
-
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories
- By: Norman Maclean
- Narrated by: David Manis
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean claims that “in my family, there is no clear line between religion and fly-fishing.” Nor is there a clear line between family and fly-fishing. It is the one activity where brother can connect with brother and father with son, bridging troubled relationships at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana. In Maclean’s autobiographical novella, it is the river that makes them realize that life continues and all things are related.
-
-
Haunted by waters
- By Anonymous User on 11-05-19
-
How to Think Like a Fish
- And Other Lessons from a Lifetime in Angling
- By: Jeremy Wade
- Narrated by: Jeremy Wade
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Far from being a conventional 'how to' guide, this book is about the simple fundamental principles of fishing - a mind-set for success. In other words, how to think like a fish. After starting to fish in rural England more than 50 years ago, and going on to become a captor of large, wily carp in his teens, Jeremy Wade started combining angling with far-flung exploration in 1982 - a trip to northern India via Afghanistan in a plane that just weeks later was hit by a ground-to-air missile.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Marcin K. on 23-04-22
-
Sex, Death, and Fly-Fishing
- By: John Gierach
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the irrepressible author of Trout Bum and The View from Rat Lake comes an engaging, humorous, often profound examination of life's greatest mysteries: sex, death, and fly-fishing. John Gierach's quest takes us from his quiet home water (an ordinary, run-of-the-mill trout stream where fly-fishing can be a casual affair) to Utah's famous Green River, and to unknown creeks throughout the Western states and Canada. We're introduced to a lively group of fishing buddies, some local "experts," and even an ex-girlfriend, along the way.
-
Trout Fishing
- Memories and Morals
- By: H.T. Sheringham
- Narrated by: Rafe Beckley
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Featuring both a biography and contextual material to the rear of the volume. Hugh Tempest Sheringham was one of Britain's greatest - if not the world's greatest - fishing writers. From trout to carp and from pike to eels - yes, eels! - his love of both fish and fishing both delights and amuses as much today as it did in bygone times.
-
And Away...
- By: Bob Mortimer
- Narrated by: Bob Mortimer
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bob Mortimer’s life was trundling along happily until suddenly in 2015 he was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery and forced him to cancel an upcoming tour. The episode unnerved him but forced him to reflect on his life so far. This is the framework for his hilarious and moving memoir, And Away....
-
-
A wonderful book
- By Lauren on 17-09-21
-
Dumb Luck and the Kindness of Strangers
- By: John Gierach
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Dumb Luck and the Kindness of Strangers, Gierach looks back to the long-ago day when he bought his first resident fishing license in Colorado, where the fishing season never ends, and just knew he was in the right place. And he succinctly sums up part of the appeal of his sport when he writes that it is "[A]n acquired taste that reintroduces the chaos of uncertainty back into our well-regulated lives".
-
-
Gentle and immersive
- By fjonny on 12-07-21
-
Coarse Fishing
- By: H.T. Sheringham
- Narrated by: Rafe Beckley
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hugh Tempest Sheringham was one of Britain's greatest - if not the world's greatest - fishing writers. From trout to carp and from pike to eels - yes, eels! - his love of both fish and fishing both delights and amuses as much today as it did in bygone times. Coarse Fishing is one of his best known works, and is recommended for both the keen angler and for the lover of the most genteel of British writing. If P.G. Wodehouse had been an angler, he would no doubt have spent many pleasant and amusing hours on the bank with Sheringham, and the world would have been the richer....
-
All Fishermen Are Liars
- By: John Gierach
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In All Fishermen Are Liars, Gierach travels around North America seeking out quintessential fishing experiences, whether it's at a busy stream or a secluded lake hidden amid snow-capped mountains. He talks about the art of fly-tying and the quest for the perfect steelhead fly ("The Nuclear Option"), about fishing in the Presidential Pools previously fished by the elder George Bush, and the importance of traveling with like-minded companions when caught in a soaking rain.
-
-
Experience well explained
- By Anonymous User on 04-01-20
-
Casting Shadows
- Fish and Fishing in Britain
- By: Tom Fort
- Narrated by: Paul Hilliar
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From cunning Neolithic traps, intricate Roman nets and quarrellous Victorian societies to the evolution of angling and eventual gentrification of river access, this history spans thousands of years and ends with a poignant call to protect the underwater world from the horrors of industrial fishing and farming.
-
-
You don't have to be a fisherman to enjoy this!
- By Anonymous User on 14-03-21
-
Fishing: Clever Techniques, Tips, and Secrets
- By: Fred Manson
- Narrated by: Rick Paradis
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Learn about bass fishing and fly fishing in this elaborate guide.
-
-
Fun and interesting
- By Anonymous User on 07-12-18
-
Still Life with Brook Trout
- By: John Gierach
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Gierach demonstrates once again that fishing, when done right, is as much a philosophical pursuit as a sport. Gierach travels to Wyoming and Maine and points in between, searching out new fly-fishing adventures and savoring familiar waters with old friends. Along the way he meditates on the importance of good guides, the challenge of salmon fishing, and the zen of fishing alone. On a more serious note, he ponders the damaging effects of disasters both natural and man-made.
-
-
Wise words and wonderful word pictures
- By Martin Smith on 15-12-20
-
Tales of Freshwater Fishing
- By: Zane Grey
- Narrated by: William Hauput
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zane Grey, known and loved primarily for his Western novels, was an avid fisherman. When his writing started paying off, he managed to spend as many as three hundred days a year enjoying the sport. And while he is remembered for his record-breaking catches, such as the 464-pound marlin caught off the coast of Tahiti, Zane Grey also enjoyed freshwater fishing for bass, trout, steelhead, and salmon. In Tales of Freshwater Fishing, Grey recounts his expeditions on the Delaware River, off the West Coast of the United States, and in British Columbia.
-
-
Loved it
- By Edward Gould on 20-12-21
-
A Fly Rod of Your Own
- By: John Gierach
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Gierach is known for his witty, trenchant observations about fly-fishing. In A Fly Rod of Your Own, Gierach once again takes us into his world and scrutinizes the art of fly-fishing. He travels to remote fishing locations where the airport is not much bigger than a garage and a flight might be held up because a passenger is running late. He sings the praises of the skilled pilots who fly to remote fishing lodges in tricky locations and bad weather.
-
-
Great book let down by the 'nasal' narrator.
- By Anonymous User on 23-02-20
Summary
First published in 1924, A Summer on the Test remains an essential read for fly fishermen.
No author has surpassed the Right Honourable John Waller Hills' description of classic chalk stream fishing, or indeed knew more about the history of the sport. The Test is a river much affected by decline and deterioration, with the days of crystal clear waters and plentiful brown trout seemingly impossible to recover.
A Summer on the Test reflects on the golden age giving an estimation of what it was once like and what we have lost.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about A Summer on the Test
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- CTSheepdog
- 26-06-19
As relevant today as 90 years ago
I really enjoyed this, especially as an audiobook. Not sure I could’ve read through several hundred pages but the narrator does such an excellent job that it went by very quickly.
The history of the rivers involved, the techniques, and the copious notes that the author took his diaries, make for quite an interesting piece. I have fished both the Test and the Itchen and much of what he writes is as relevant today as it was when he wrote the revised version back in the 1930s.
Kudos to the narrator who brings the words to life and makes you feel like you were there.
I would recommend it for the angler interested in the words of a man with keen eye, wit and a heck of a lot time on the water.
-
Overall

- Sean G Robertson
- 25-11-16
Old and classy
Class like fly fishing is timeless.
The narrator makes this epic reflection on classic English fly fishing on the test.
Definitive volume on our sport and the river.