Like me and many Generation X’ers, we’re used to looking things up in books because that’s all we had until the web came along. But why would one need to in this in this day and age, you may ask? You can call me a luddite, but I find searching for fish information online quite laborious and frustrating. It’s tricky filtering through all the mildly related suggestions, adverts and, often, misinformation. It helps when you have specifics, and that’s when a book like Paul Skelton’s Freshwater Fishes of Southern Africa comes in handy.

You’re way up the Zambezi and you land a hefty “bream” species. Nembwe gets thrown around quite easily, but is that what it is? Is it a tilapia or serranochromis? A purple face or humpback? Things can get confusing. You get back to camp where there is no internet and even some of the guides are second-guessing each other. Having a copy of Freshwater Fishes of Southern Africa is really handy, not only for target species, but also for identifying bait fish that the fish are keyed in on can also help with on-water fly tying.

Paul Skelton has done a fantastic job once again with the fully revised third version of the book, which includes a number of improvements, updates, and new information. Covering over 300 freshwater species across Southern Africa this is the definitive guide and includes newly described species and the latest taxonomic changes.

The upfront ‘How to Use this Book’ section is very clear and easy to understand. The icons and abbreviations explained there make it easy to dip in and out of the book and identify what you are looking for whether it is a sportfish species or smaller fish used for subsistence fishing.

This new edition boasts exceptional new photographs and illustrations that give you a really good example of what the actual fish looks like. This, combined with the updated distribution maps, really does help with the identification of fish caught.

Freshwater Fishes of Southern Africa is a must-have for any serious fish lover.