| PROFESSOR BARRIE RICKARDS | |
He is author of several fishing books, including the classic work ‘Fishing For Big Pike’, co-authored with the late Ray Webb and only recently his first novel, ‘Fishers On The Green Roads’ was published. He has been an angling writer in newspapers and magazines for nigh on four decades. Barrie takes a keen interest in angling politics.Away from angling Barrie is a reader in Palaeobiology at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Emmanuel College and a curator of the Sedgwick Museum of Geology. |
I don’t know, perhaps I’m getting old! Although angling experience tends to make me more tolerant of the inexperienced, or beginners generally, there are times when I get a little ratty. I read the letter pages of many angling magazines because they tell you a lot about anglers. At frequent intervals you see letters beginning “I have only recently taken up angling…” or ” I have come back to angling after x years off…” And ‘x’ is usually a large number. The inexperience indicated by their opening words doesn’t stop them slagging off anglers or some technique or philosophy or other – do these guys irritate you too?
Let me give you a recent instance. This was a letter from a very young angler (and personally therefore, rather inexperienced). The object of his ire was Matt Hayes, who is not only deservedly famous, but a thoroughly nice guy. The youth’s complaint was that Matt Hayes charged £ 400 plus for a day’s fishing with him. (I may have slightly misremembered the figure). He thought it was ‘disgusting’. Matt Hayes is one of the most successful anglers in the country, and as I say, quite famous. I can think of quite a few other anglers of similar skills, and more or less equally well known: Des Taylor, Mick Brown and John Watson (Norfolk) as examples. All these guys earn their living from angling, having spent, in each case, many years learning their skills and, incidentally, passing them on freely for decades. Now they are professionals and have to charge to earn a crust. How can anyone, young or old, take exception to this? And if they were famous footballers think how much they would then charge for a day of their time. I know quite a few of these characters and I have to say that almost without exception, they are very skilled and knowledgeable and, also, very pleasant people and excellent company.
What about the £ 400 per day then? My solicitor, who is of similar standing in the world of law, charges £ 200 AN HOUR. That is four times the daily rate of Matt Hayes. Anglers have to get real about this: good demonstrators, good lecturers, are worth their pay – if not then the same market forces will decide, not the whingers of this world. I should add, perhaps, that the youth is not on his own in his views: I know one experienced editor, himself a professional therefore, who holds the same opinion: I find it rather pathetic: the youngster is just misguided, and inexperienced, but not the older guy, who I suspect of being jealous.
There is another category of angler who gives demonstrations and lectures and charges little more than expenses, sometimes not even that. I include myself in this category. It enables me to put back a little into angling at small cost to me in time and money – mostly time. However, I do not earn my living from angling and if I did, I’m sure I’d charge the same or similar to Matt Hayes! The only area where I do charge, having given much too freely of my time over many years, is consulting about fisheries. Normally I pass on enquiries to Bruno Broughton or Neville Fickling, who are professionals; but I do fit the time in occasionally when I charge £ 200 for a day, plus sensible expenses. I can’t remember the last time I did so, however!
Barbless hooks can be barbarous
And whilst I’m on the subject of letters in the press, I came across one recently from a Mr. M. Titcombe. Could this be the M(aurice) Titcombe of pike fishing fame in the 1960s and 1970s? If so it is very nice to learn that he is still pike fishing, now in Scotland it seems. Now, Mr Titcombe is complaining about pike handling on, I think Loch Ken (or Awe), and he points out that he found several dead pike along the shores. He recommends anglers to use semi-barbless hooks. The two factors could be linked. I would guess that a majority of anglers use semi-barbless trebles these days and anglers in Scotland will be no exception, I’m sure. If a pike is hooked in the top of the throat by a barbless hook it is much more likely to die than if hooked there on a hook with a small barb. That is my opinion. I consider that a barbless hook penetrates more deeply, perhaps repeatedly during playing, and it is much more likely to penetrate the heart, which is at the top of the throat. I have come across several instances of “inexpicable” pike deaths in the last year, and they were all on waters where barbless were the rule, or where almost all the anglers were barbless. So, MT, don’t lean on people too strongly about barbless hooks – go for rapid striking instead.
Warts and all!
I had an interesting day’s trouting recently. By way of a change from heavy reservoir rods, and even heavier pike fly rods, I got myself a seven foot wand that throws a number 4/5 line, intending to use it in small rivers. The rod is a Shakespeare Aerial Travel fly which comes in five short pieces. It goes easily into a travel bag, which is exactly where I put it on my journey to north Yorkshire. For a reel I got myself one of the small Contenders, very cheap, but perfectly okay for small water fishing.
As it happened I ended up fishing a small lake, because my friend’s trout farm in Pickering had been flooded and much of the stock had been washed downstream into a lake. My job was to get them and then take them back to the farm! In two hours total fishing (on two mornings) I had thirteen fish to 3.5lbs which tested the new rod beautifully. However, that wasn’t the best bit. The best bit was when the reel fell off the rod. Well, not all the reel, just the bit that holds the line. There I was with about 20 yards of line out in the lake, and the reel in three feet of water. I lay the rod down parallel to the bank on the grass, found myself a garden rake (which just happened to be leaning against a hedge) and began fishing for reels! As I did so, and about a couple of minutes later (still trying) I saw the rod tip pull round as a trout took the fly. The lady with me grabbed the line, pulled and then proceeded to play in quite a big trout, hand over fist. As it reached the bank it got off! At that moment I caught the reel with the rake. This is the sort of thing they usually edit from videos, but shouldn’t…
Niggles about the NAA
I have heard disgruntled sounds about the National Anglers Alliance (NAA). The complaint is that they are not doing anything, although I hope this is untrue. It would be helpful if the NAA did a piece for us, telling us who their officers were, and what their programme of work is on behalf of angling. And what is the role of the Angling Governing Bodies (NFA and NFSA and T&SA) vis
