| KEVIN PERKINS | |
Never mind smelling the flowers, don’t forget to take time out to see the satirical side of fishing life and grab a laugh along the way as well. So here’s a regular column from Kevin Perkins to remind us that life is for laughing at, or taking the p*** out of, whenever we can. |
GOLDEN DAZE Thanks to my brother moving house a couple of weeks ago, I was transported back to those halcyon days of fishing – the 1960s. The reason for this nostalgia-fest was that he had unearthed some old angling books of mine in his loft. Flicking through the yellowing pages (remind me not to let my brother store things I don’t even know he’s got in his loft ever again!) brought the memories flooding back. No pictures of Graham in short trousers, I fear, but here were pictures of men sitting on the banks wearing flat caps, shirts, jackets, and even ties. Not even a Wellington boot in sight, let alone an umbrella to ward off the elements. There are pictures of pipe smoking chaps standing around in tweed jackets. Being so visible it’s no wonder any fish were caught at all. Given that these books were largely written not long after the war, it seems strange now that none of these anglers saw the opportunity of pressing into service that huge amount of army surplus camouflage gear that must have been lying around at the time. Perhaps they were content not to catch fish as big as the ones we are after now, or, far more likely, the fish we seek these days are so much more educated and therefore harder to catch…… The required tackle for the day made mention of the new-fangled fixed spool reels, but mostly they were prescribed for spinning duties. Centre-pin was the order of the day, and lengthy instructions were issued as to the correct way to cast, in order to obtain any distance. Black and white photos showing a maestro of the cast in action, would have the path of the line picked out in what looks like Tippex, so as to clearly illustrate what is happening. I won’t comment on the baits being championed at this time, except to say the authors seem to go into reams of instructions on the ‘correct’ preparation of bread crust and flake, and paste could be flavoured with additives such as cheese and custard powder, or the really exotic aniseed, and that was about it. Obviously the fish of those far off days had yet to develop the demanding and cosmopolitan tastes they have now. (something to do with a lot of them being brought in from the continent, perhaps?). One bait all these books mentioned, and indeed illustrate, is a piece of macaroni on a treble hook, whatever happened to that? Is it due for a comeback, or did it never really go away, and is secretly being used by anglers ‘in the know’. In fact, given the diversity of sauces now available, could pasta be the new boilie? Is high-carb the new high-protein? Rods were described as ‘bottom’ or perhaps ‘Avon’ style and offerings from various manufacturers were heartily endorsed. Otherwise, you were recommended differing actions by the judicious mixing of whole cane butt and middle section with built cane tops, or perhaps whole cane butt with built cane middle and top. Right up the scale was the ‘Ferrari’ of its day, Spanish reed, fast but oh so fragile. On a cautionary note, all these writers advised us to steer clear of the abominations that were ‘combination’ rods; you know the thing, around seven pieces of split cane and a reversible handle. This could be made into a fly rod, float rod, pier/pike rod, leger rod, spinning rod etc, etc. If it had scales and fins, you had the very tool for the job. In addition, the same sage writers countenanced against the upstart fibreglass rods, solid glass being too heavy for anything other than boat rods, and the hollow stuff far too soft, not having the ‘steel’ of built cane. A new fad which would never catch on according to most of them…… I well remember having read all these words of wisdom at the time, and as a novice angler I went straight out and bought a one piece solid fibreglass rod with my pocket money, as seventeen shillings and sixpence was within my budget, nine pounds nineteen shillings and eleven pence for a built cane rod was not! When a paper round greatly increased my disposable income, I saved up hard and bought……… a seven-piece combination rod, just like the ones I was warned against. It’s no wonder I am such a crap angler, I never listen to advice or instructions! Back to the books and tales of matches such as the ‘All England’ which were staged with up to a 1000 competitors, and entry was open to all, as long as you had the necessary six-foot knotted keep net. Some of these matches required you to heave in so much groundbait that you were allowed a young boy or ‘batman’ to carry all your gear, somewhat in the manner of a golf caddy. What happened to all those poor souls with the advent of tackle barrows? Did they find other work, were there mass redundancies, Is there a home for retired batmen somewhere? According to the books, these lads used to lug up to sixty pounds of ready-made groundbait to the match anglers’ swim, along with all the other gear. Such child labour would be frowned upon today, of course. Societies and Action Groups outlawing such activities would be formed. The possible long-term effects of ‘Tacklecarriers Shoulder’ would be reported in the Lancet, and of course, such flagrant breaches of Human Rights would be vigorously pursued through courts. Perhaps they weren’t such golden days after all…….
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