The Last Cast lc2Yes I know. This too is a cliché, but what the heck else would I have called it? And strictly speaking there should be at least three 'last casts' anyway.

'Hint': clicking on this footnote takes you somewhere else...

"I envy not him that eats better meat than I do, nor him that is richer, or that wears better clothes than I do. I envy nobody but him, and him only, that catches more fish than I do" Izaac Walton IZWell not strictly. I don't envy the commercial fishery match angler or "serious" carp anglers for example. But the general principle is good. I really envy those who have more time to fish than me though.

A short questionnaire:

Is it raining? 3 So what?
Is it too cold to fish? 4 Again, 'so what?'
Is it the middle of the night? 5 Oh come on! 'So what?'
Is it blowing a gale? 6 There is a school of thought that believes there is no such thing as 'too cold for fishing' or 'too wet for fishing' but there is such a thing as 'under dressed for fishing'. I lean towards the latter view.

Or, more contentiously, 'Too wussy for fishing'.
Is all your fishing tackle broken?
Are you short of "permission to fish"?

If the answer to all of the above is "no", then pleased as I am that you are reading this - take my advice and go fishing now...you can read about fishing when it is truly better inside than out, when the rain rattles the windows, the wind groans in the chimney, the rivers are clear or at the peak of flood and the lakes are cold and transparent - then there is some pleasure to be had from reading a good book about fishing and stretching your toes towards a good fire...

The fascination of a real fire is hard to pin down. But it's there. And this is ours.

...and be lucky

...and...wait for it...swivel ;-)...(and back to the top of the page)

...and...wait for it...swivel :-)

...and if none of those things appeal, then fiddle with your tackle...

...fiddling bits...the ephemera of a grasshopper mind

Single 'VB' Hook trace...(and back to the top of the page)

Single 'VB' Hook trace

"I shall stay no longer than to wish him a rainy day to read this...discourse; and that if he be an honest angler, the east wind may never blow when he goes a-fishing" Izaak Walton 7Oddly, I found this quote after I wrote my questionnaire, so either I read "The Compleat Angler" in my youth and completely forgot about it or, just possibly, some things don't change that much. Funny thing that.

...and...wait for it...swivel ;-)...(and back to the top of the page)

...and...wait for it...swivel :-)

01:03am on 2017-10-21

The Last Cast lc2Yes I know. This too is a cliché, but what the heck else would I have called it? And strictly speaking there should be at least three 'last casts' anyway.'Hint': clicking on this footnote takes you somewhere else...

A short questionnaire:

The Last Cast lc2Yes I know. This too is a cliché, but what the heck else would I have called it? And strictly speaking there should be at least three 'last casts' anyway.

'Hint': clicking on this footnote takes you somewhere else...