Came across this picture of my father with a fine brace from the River Ure near Ripon, Yorkshire.
Approx. 1939 I still have the rod and used it for many years before I decided to retire it, in fact it was the first fly rod I ever held.
The Hardy brass spear I still use instead of a fighting butt on my current rod.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

What a great picture to have mrtrout. As they say in Ireland, "you didn't lick it off a stone".
I'm referring of course to your inherited angling prowess
Hope you have that framed.

Yes Mies it's a picture close to my heart, but unfortunately I don't think I inherited the angling prowess.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

You do yourself an injustice sir. Your generous advice and obvious sentiment for the sport lead me to think otherwise

Hi,

Thats a lovely picture. Good to hear that you also used that rod. If only it could speak.. I bet there would be a few great stories in there.

p.s.. will you be attending the fly fair in Stoke? Would be good to say Hi to fellow forum members..

Debbie..

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"Fly-fishing is the most fun you can have standing up."
~by Arnold Gingrich, 1969~

Hi Debs, unfortunately not, I will explain when I PM you.
I need to pick your brains about Slovenia for next year.
Speak soon. Cheers Steven.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

Mrtrout,
I did so enjoy that picture..what memories it must evoke in you..thank you for posting it!

Despite all the cynicism in todays' world, I firmly believe that there are yet 'Days of silk lines and Gentlemen'.
Every new season, more and more anglers are discovering for the first time, the joy of a well-made bamboo fly-rod and also the pure fishing pleasure of casting a silk line..worth every bit the care necessary to preserve it..

I still have my very first fly-rod; a split-bamboo 2-piece, A.E.Rudge, which was bought for me in 1949, along with a "No.2 Kingfisher" double-tapered oil-dressed silk line (about #4-5), which I also still have in its' original box!
Both are still in use and early this year, I caught my first ever grayling on it!

There are also gentlemen still to be found on the riverbanks; it gladdens the heart to see that we have finally woken up to the fact that there is not an inexhaustible supply of fish, and that today-in most cases-anglers are treating their quarry with far greater respect than ever before-and teaching novice fishermen to do likewise! So much so that, it is now the norm. to use soft-mesh nets and to return ones' catch as gently as possible after capture...something almost unheard of only a generation ago..

...Long may this continue...!

Chough

Thanks Chough, I must dust the old rod down and see if I can still catch a fish on it. I don't own a silk line, but the feeling of a fish on a bamboo rod is a special thing it seems to travel right down to the wrist. And yes I met several members from this forum for the first time last week and each and everyone of them was a gentleman.( no ties or pipes mind you )
Cheers Steven.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

Thats a cracking photo.. I take my dads Millwards featherlight and Rapidex out every winter for a spot of grayling trotting.. Feeling a fish fight on cane is great...

I have a Hardy Perfection which I was given for my 21st and I take it out at least once a season just to get that feel of a fish on cane.

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“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary