The Last Cast

I know, this 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. LC2'Hint': clicking on this 'footnote' takes you somewhere else...

"Angling is somewhat like poetry, men are to be born so: I mean, with inclinations to it, though both may be heightened by discourse and practice" IZAnyone can get better at anything with practise. It's a useful piece of advice. ~~ Izaac Walton ~~

A Short Questionnaire

Is it raining? Q1So what?

Is it too cold to fish? Q2Again, 'so what?'

Is it the middle of the night? Q3Oh come on! 'So what?'

Is it blowing a gale? Q4There 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 answers to all of the above are "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...

I like porcupine quill floats...(and back to the top of the page)

I really like porcupine quill floats...

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

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

'perca fluviatilis'...(and back to the top of the page)

Stripey

'Sarge'

A 'swagger' of perch

'Sarge'

A 'swagger' of perch

'perca fluviatilis'

Stripey

'Sarge'

"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" IZOddly, I found this quote after writing this 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. ~~ Izaac Walton ~~