I have noticed over the last few months that some of us Newbies have taken a bit of a pasting from a few of the more venerable members of this board particularly for the posts within the classified section.
The truth is that initially it is hard to post anywhere else. You cannot really give advice when you only just about know which end of the rod to hold and you have few fly fishing experiences worthy of note to pass on. It is a very steep learning curve. In our case some lessons at the Game Fair helped with the confidence, and thank goodness for the articles and comments provided by members of this forum. There is a mine of information here, and I would single out Terry Cousin in this regard.
I am however particularly indebted to Mr Trout, who in spite of some of the comments made about him on this site by his so called “friends”, is actually decent bloke who seems to know a bit about fly fishing.
With only one post to my name, I approached him about a game bag (a very risky situation bearing in mind that this is strictly a shooting item and I was an unknown
). I have to say I was welcomed like a long lost friend, and within minutes had also agreed to purchase an Orvis Reel. He clearly does not miss a trick, and a cheque went in the post which he received the following day.
It was agreed that we would pick up the items on route to Perthshire. Some days later I rang Steven to arrange this; he was out on the Eden but “The Boss” answered the phone. What a jolly lady, and unbelievably she even volunteered to pick up a few basics from John Norris for us.
Our visit should have been brief but the hospitality was magnificent. A good tea was enjoyed while Mr Trout passed on endless tips and encouragement to my son and me. He would have had us casting into the sunset if we had had more time. Mrs Trout packed us up for the remaining journey, we gave her a Lincolnshire Plumb Loaf; it was all we had. Needless to say we were late for supper.
Anyway, the reel was christened with a few wild Brown Trout but we didn’t manage a Salmon. I have caught a Salmon before when I borrowed someone’s rod for a few casts, but that is another story.
Now hooked, next targets are Farmoor for some Rainbow Trout and hopefully one or two Grayling from somewhere local to Berkshire. Any advice would be gratefully received.
Mr Trout, you are a credit to this forum.
Thank you Mr Trout ........(and Mrs Trout)
) and the Itchen, the Test and several lesser rivers all have grayling. As indeed does your own River Kennet. Why not look out for one of ACW's winter grayling days on the Kennet between Newbury and Hungerford - he publicises them on here.
Linear Mode
