Second blog! The first one produced lots of really kind
comments so that’s decided me, I’m going to keep it running.
It’s been quite a busy few
weeks and interesting times too with a different style of writing for the
features I now do in Trout and Salmon. Bit more planning for each one but
happily it does mean still working with photographer Peter Gathercole, and as
always it’s almost constant banter while we set about getting the job done. My
lovely wife Sue travels along on feature days and gets to see parts of the UK
that most likely wouldn’t happen otherwise and it’s good to have some company
on the long drives.
Always appreciate being
lucky enough to see so many different fisheries and I’m constantly learning new
things. For a large part of my life I have been involved with the Fishery
Managers Association trying to act on behalf of all fisheries, and the
interaction with owners, managers and fish farmers has been really rewarding.
But, gradually it became
harder and harder to get cooperation from fisheries for meetings, or indeed
membership, such that much was expected, but for no input or involvement and
yet when we go on feature days a lot of it is about talking fishery politics,
what’s available in terms of stock, weed control, problems with lice, algae and
all other fishery matters.
I will always champion the
fishery people and it’s so much harder now with the advent of social media and
the emergence of so many armchair experts.
I sometimes look at some
of the sites and see comments about fisheries that very clearly come from
people with no idea of the realities of running a day ticket water and then too
there are posts from fishery owners/managers constantly knocking fisheries in
other parts of the country. Suffice to
say that each fishery is different to another, has costs which are likely none
too easy to compare and it’s entirely up to the fishery as to how to market
itself and then it’s down to the angler as to which ones to frequent.
The fish themselves cost
much the same throughout the country – providing we compare like with like –
and if you don’t like a particular water then find another. Better still, take
on one yourself and get into the real world.
It’s sometimes quite funny
now when an angler starts to tell me how a fishery should be run, because the
conversation seems to stop real quick when I just ask which one he or she has
actually run.
I most certainly don’t
regret the 34 years of my life spent running a syndicate trout water and again
now these past two years on a day ticket fishery although I think we do all
have some regrets in life.
One of mine is that
although I am Cornish born and bred, there is so much of my home County that I
have yet to see. Indeed there are lots of places in Cornwall that I would dearly
like to fish but in late February a three day visit to the Lizard area let Sue
and I go to see some of the glorious coastal villages (if sadly empty in
winter) and some of the old tin mine structures.
While having a couple days
with an old school friend in Bude up on the north coast I was able to do a mid
day talk to his fishing club at their AGM and that was a genuine pleasure. It’s
good to meet anglers around the country and in an ideal world, magazine
editors, and indeed myself, would love to be able to get around and discuss
matters with as many fisheries as possible, but it just isn’t practicable
within the budget set by the publishers for each issue.
Actually been quite a busy
time these past weeks as I have been doing a couple of fly tying lessons at
home and then was down in deepest Sussex doing a teaching day for a lovely
club.
With a regular client we
had a crack at carp on fly in early March but in reality it was still too cold
and wet. But, perseverance pays off and we got a few fish moving under bushes
and two to the net. It will get better and there’s some more 20’s on the cards
for this year.
Finally, just this last
week, I arranged a get together here at Dever Springs for guests on previous
Alaska and Argentina trips along with some of the ones booked for this coming
July to Alaska. It worked real well and new friendships were made. Sue and I
did the mid day nosh with fried pheasant breast strips, a whole smoked Sparctic
trout and a pate’ made again from Sparctic in exactly the same way as it’s done
on the Alaska base camp. Bit of a busy day for us but very worthwhile.
The July Alaska trip is
full for this year and already I’m looking to reservations for the next two
years as well as looking to Strobel in Argentina for next March. Hosting these
trips is something I thoroughly enjoy and now with thirty plus years of
experience I’m sort of getting the hang of it.
Finally for this month’s
blog, here’s a puzzle.
Why do I so often see
facebook posts of really nicely tied flies which are then wetted and
photographed with the caption that this is how the fly will look in the water.
That’s how a wetted fly
looks when it is OUT of the water.
IN the water it looks
exactly the same as it does in the air.
