I know what you mean Paul, it was all a bit salmon related this month, but I quite enjoyed the gillie stories.
The one about the late Joe Taylor of Armathwaite was particularly poignant for me, as I met the man on several occasions, he was some fella, and the picture of him with his 41lb er, was taken outside the front door of the then Red Lion hotel in Armathwaite, which my parents had from 1971 onwards.
It's now called the Fox and Pheasant, god knows why.
It was a fabulous hotel back then, all the bedrooms were named after salmon pools on the river, a large stretch of which was owned by the hotel.
Joe would turn up at breakfast time, and greet his clients, then take them off for the day, many of whom came year after year, the fishing back then was a bit special.
He once took an American couple out, and the guy managed to catch his first ever salmon with Joe's help, a 16lb fish if memory serves me right.
He was ecstatic to say the least, and after a few whiskies in the stable bar to celebrate, Joe returned to his boat, and rowed back across the river.
He decided to wash the fish in the river, and before he knew it, it slipped from his hands, and drifted off down stream.
Poor old Joe was so worried, he spent two hours looking for the fish with a flashlight, and thankfully recovered it around midnight, much to his relief.
The American was none the wiser, and Joe got his tip!!
I tried to buy his cottage off the landowner, Mr Eckroyd, after his death, as it was in a gorgeous setting close to the Eden, but it was kept for his son.
Great memories, and a truly great man.
But back on course, yes it was a bit salmon related this month.
S.
Trout and Salmon Mag
SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.
) so I'll have to do with T&S and Chasing Silver (Finnish and worth looking at). What puzzles me is why T&S doesn't make two magazines? Being primarily interested in salmon lately, I find it a bit annoying to page through the trout related articles. I suppose this is the same for people only interested in trout fishing. Is making two magazines much more expensive? I don't think so, given the fact everything has been said and written about fly fishing they would become thinner and thus less expensive with the distinct possibility of more anglers buying or subscribing to them, advertisers would be targeting their prime customers and be inclined to advertise more (for less money), all species-related products could be reviewed (instead of those few sent in by the biggest advertisers 
), fishing reports could be split up between trout/seatrout and salmon (more rivers, more reports) and foreign readers would find the way to a magazine completely dedicated to their quarry and written in a universal language. The same editorial office could publish the two magazines without loss of jobs or spending more money. In fact specialised mags will attract more professional input from top anglers/journalist, which in turn...yes I guess you get the picture. Only drawback? What to do with the salmon angler interested in trout too, or vice versa? Offer them the two magazines in a package at a reduced price
)
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