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It’s been my habit from time to time to highlight unsung heroes in the fishing world and surely, no one in angling is more overlooked than Keith Elliott, long-time editor of Classic Angling. Some of you will know Keith and it will probably be CA that you will think of, but there is much, much more to this extraordinary guy. So much, in fact, I barely know where to start.
How about knowledge? Keith is Angling’s Mastermind. Modern fishing. Historical fishing. UK fishing. Foreign fishing. Fish species Asp to Zander. Anglers from Walton to Walker. I truly do not think that any of us could ask Keith a single thing about fishing, anywhere from any time since the Sumerians, without him having the answer. But the lovely thing, surely, is that he wears this encyclopaedic knowledge so lightly, with such a sense of naivety and fun. Keith has never done dull, and Classic Angling reflects this in one riotous edition after another. Just read a single copy and there’ll be enough for a month of pub discussions. He’s just written about Neville Chamberlain, PM and angler... now I taught Appeasement years ago but Keith showed me sides of the complex, agonising politician that the historians never did. One example out of thousands, moments in my life when Keith has forced me to stop, think, and sometimes even act anew.
Childlike enthusiasms? I mean this in every way as a compliment. Keith won’t see seventy again, but his lust for life and thirst for the new day are that of a seven year old. Every dealing I have had with the man has been upbeat, full of generosity, infused with imagination and inspiration. My old bones wearied of travel a decade back: Keith will be planning his next trip to Algeria or Zambia as I write. I look back to days when the rivers were full of roach. Keith looks forward to times when they will there for us all to catch once again. Optimism is the name of this man’s game. In Classic Angling this month, Keith talks about the upsurge of vintage tackle collecting amongst the young, and rubbishes the idea that it is a passion dying on the vine, infested by old-timers like me.
Top angler? I’ve watched Keith catch taimen and trout, mahseer and minnows, and bait, fly or lure, he fishes with aplomb. He’s not one for pomp or for flash, but weighs the water up, plonks down and pretty much always gets the job done with passion and with unbridled joy. Whatever Keith fishes for is his favourite fish of the moment. In Keith’s world, a bite is magic, a fish is a triumph, even if it weighs in drams rather than stones!
I could write about his years spreading the message through his Independent columns, or his founding of the Anglers Writers Association, or his work in conservation, but I’ll stop by saying that when my phone rings and his number flashes up, I just know I am in for fifteen minutes of boundless fishing fun and engagement. There’ll never be another cracker like Keith.
How about knowledge? Keith is Angling’s Mastermind. Modern fishing. Historical fishing. UK fishing. Foreign fishing. Fish species Asp to Zander. Anglers from Walton to Walker. I truly do not think that any of us could ask Keith a single thing about fishing, anywhere from any time since the Sumerians, without him having the answer. But the lovely thing, surely, is that he wears this encyclopaedic knowledge so lightly, with such a sense of naivety and fun. Keith has never done dull, and Classic Angling reflects this in one riotous edition after another. Just read a single copy and there’ll be enough for a month of pub discussions. He’s just written about Neville Chamberlain, PM and angler... now I taught Appeasement years ago but Keith showed me sides of the complex, agonising politician that the historians never did. One example out of thousands, moments in my life when Keith has forced me to stop, think, and sometimes even act anew.
Childlike enthusiasms? I mean this in every way as a compliment. Keith won’t see seventy again, but his lust for life and thirst for the new day are that of a seven year old. Every dealing I have had with the man has been upbeat, full of generosity, infused with imagination and inspiration. My old bones wearied of travel a decade back: Keith will be planning his next trip to Algeria or Zambia as I write. I look back to days when the rivers were full of roach. Keith looks forward to times when they will there for us all to catch once again. Optimism is the name of this man’s game. In Classic Angling this month, Keith talks about the upsurge of vintage tackle collecting amongst the young, and rubbishes the idea that it is a passion dying on the vine, infested by old-timers like me.
Top angler? I’ve watched Keith catch taimen and trout, mahseer and minnows, and bait, fly or lure, he fishes with aplomb. He’s not one for pomp or for flash, but weighs the water up, plonks down and pretty much always gets the job done with passion and with unbridled joy. Whatever Keith fishes for is his favourite fish of the moment. In Keith’s world, a bite is magic, a fish is a triumph, even if it weighs in drams rather than stones!
I could write about his years spreading the message through his Independent columns, or his founding of the Anglers Writers Association, or his work in conservation, but I’ll stop by saying that when my phone rings and his number flashes up, I just know I am in for fifteen minutes of boundless fishing fun and engagement. There’ll never be another cracker like Keith.