Dear Andrew,
I am prompted to write to you because of this comment at the end of your blog:
“it has me wondering whether I should share the contents and joys of dusty old books on film? Might that make them more accessible, and allow fellow fly-fishers to get a taste of what they have to offer, and their relevance to modern fly fishing. Using film to appreciate books. Contrast draws me in. Juxtapositions. Changing seasons.”
My reaction is a resounding “Yes”.
The reason is because of an experience I had in the last few days.
I’ve spent a long time during COVID-19 lockdown re-reading ‘old’ angling books to research a piece on techniques for catching sea trout during the daytime in the small rivers running off Dartmoor in South West England. A difficult task in daylight, albeit easier once darkness falls.
Daylight fishing for sea trout is a somewhat obscure topic. But last week a short video appeared on YouTube of an angler performing this rare feat. But it wasn’t an ordinary video. When I watched it I realized that he was using the techniques that I was writing about, many of which were buried in book long out of print. I contacted the angler and it now appears within my piece of writing on the internet.
So I watched your video “A bank fishing interlude” in that frame of mind. I concentrated on your commentary. I was struck by the number of occasions where it would be interesting to refer back to the historical roots of the points you were making. For example, you were using a flashback nymph suspended below a caddis – dry fly. This combination of dry and wet flies fished together probably goes back at least as far as Dr. William Baigent (1862-1935) a GP in Northallerton (Yorkshire, UK) and was publicised by several authors in the 1930s and 40s. It seems to have been re-invented recently in various guises.
I was also taken by your crouching when then surface was rippled. I think anglers – especially the beginners I instruct – don’t appreciate trout vision, window and mirror etc. That’s a wonderfully controversial topic that has recently reared its head in UK magazines, with Marinaro’s analysis analysis of the role of the window described as a ‘fallacy’ and Clarke and Goddard’s work on the mirror dismissed.
I hope this explains, and encourages you, my enthusiasm for your plan to incorporate the wisdom contained in older fly-fishing books.
Finally, I was impressed with your agility in standing upright after kneeling. After recently catching a fish in the kneeling position, I turned to my younger (60 years old) friend and said “Now comes the hard part – getting up” !
Tight lines
Paul Kenyon
Website: http://www.flyfishingdevon.co.uk/
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your message of encouragement. You are so right about there being “nothing new under the sun”, and the re-invention of old ideas. I do suspect that I will find like-minded souls like yourself, with libraries larger than mine, who will be in a position to set the record straight or add further references. That is something I would enjoy and embrace. Sea Trout fishing, day or night in South West England is something I would love to do one day. I was on Dartmoor this time last year (On the upper East Dart at Postbridge), and was in awe of the beauty of the place.
As for getting up from the kneeling position……one can do most things for a camera, but often only once 🙂 .
Cheers for now.
3 Responses
Once again much enjoyed. Felt I was on that bank fishing myself.
Dear Andrew,
I am prompted to write to you because of this comment at the end of your blog:
“it has me wondering whether I should share the contents and joys of dusty old books on film? Might that make them more accessible, and allow fellow fly-fishers to get a taste of what they have to offer, and their relevance to modern fly fishing. Using film to appreciate books. Contrast draws me in. Juxtapositions. Changing seasons.”
My reaction is a resounding “Yes”.
The reason is because of an experience I had in the last few days.
I’ve spent a long time during COVID-19 lockdown re-reading ‘old’ angling books to research a piece on techniques for catching sea trout during the daytime in the small rivers running off Dartmoor in South West England. A difficult task in daylight, albeit easier once darkness falls.
Daylight fishing for sea trout is a somewhat obscure topic. But last week a short video appeared on YouTube of an angler performing this rare feat. But it wasn’t an ordinary video. When I watched it I realized that he was using the techniques that I was writing about, many of which were buried in book long out of print. I contacted the angler and it now appears within my piece of writing on the internet.
So I watched your video “A bank fishing interlude” in that frame of mind. I concentrated on your commentary. I was struck by the number of occasions where it would be interesting to refer back to the historical roots of the points you were making. For example, you were using a flashback nymph suspended below a caddis – dry fly. This combination of dry and wet flies fished together probably goes back at least as far as Dr. William Baigent (1862-1935) a GP in Northallerton (Yorkshire, UK) and was publicised by several authors in the 1930s and 40s. It seems to have been re-invented recently in various guises.
I was also taken by your crouching when then surface was rippled. I think anglers – especially the beginners I instruct – don’t appreciate trout vision, window and mirror etc. That’s a wonderfully controversial topic that has recently reared its head in UK magazines, with Marinaro’s analysis analysis of the role of the window described as a ‘fallacy’ and Clarke and Goddard’s work on the mirror dismissed.
I hope this explains, and encourages you, my enthusiasm for your plan to incorporate the wisdom contained in older fly-fishing books.
Finally, I was impressed with your agility in standing upright after kneeling. After recently catching a fish in the kneeling position, I turned to my younger (60 years old) friend and said “Now comes the hard part – getting up” !
Tight lines
Paul Kenyon
Website: http://www.flyfishingdevon.co.uk/
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your message of encouragement. You are so right about there being “nothing new under the sun”, and the re-invention of old ideas. I do suspect that I will find like-minded souls like yourself, with libraries larger than mine, who will be in a position to set the record straight or add further references. That is something I would enjoy and embrace. Sea Trout fishing, day or night in South West England is something I would love to do one day. I was on Dartmoor this time last year (On the upper East Dart at Postbridge), and was in awe of the beauty of the place.
As for getting up from the kneeling position……one can do most things for a camera, but often only once 🙂 .
Cheers for now.