Fieldsports Journal Magazine Fieldsports AprilMay 2017 Back Issue

The link between a hunter and his quarry isn't easy to convey in words alone, and yet it enthrals so many of us for nigh on a lifetime.

Respect, awe and fascination drive us to learn more about the birds and beasts we pursue. And as our understanding of them improves, so to do the odds of that magical tightening of a fly line, red letter pigeon days over decoys, wildfowl flighting within range on the foreshore – the list goes on... Greater knowledge means closer encounters and more success, but also the improved ability to help the species we hold so dear.

Still, it's a link difficult to sum up in a mere few paragraphs... But in a magazine bulging with fieldsports bliss? More manageable. Because the truth is, those who harbour the greatest passion for, knowledge of and affinity with our game and wildlife species, are invariably those who first came across them with a rod, rifle or gun in their hands.

The Atlantic salmon is a fitting example, widely revered by fly fishermen across the globe who are now striving to understand and reverse its decline, protecting it for generations to come.

Hence why our silver tourists take centre stage in this very issue, and set the tone for another belter of a magazine. In and amongst the reams of game shooting, fly fishing, stalking, gundog, and food and drink content, we explore the special relationship between man and his quarry: the deep-seated connection which compels us to understand, protect, conserve and hunt the species which fascinate us so much...