It is a joy to be using TL again, after a good few years of relying on the tip. The take, felt on the finger tips, is like nothing else. As all TL-ers know, just that electricity down the line is the thrill and it becomes addictive. Given Dominic’s schedule, he had no right to be back on the river, but he was so keen to feel that bolt down the line again, he juggled things successfully and three takes made the sacrifices seem all worth it.
For me, seeing a friend try the method, learn it, and adore it is a great feeling of satisfaction, and I thank Richard Walker for telling me about it through his works sixty years ago. (Point of interest… where would I have read Walker on TL? No Need To Lie? Walker’s Pitch?)
Then, of course, moving on, The Big Fish Scene and John Everard’s chapter on the technique made it super-cool from the later Seventies. In truth, much of what Everard wrote forty five years ago is still right up there.
Complete comfort so you are on it – as the kids say. If you are fidgeting, trying to find the right position, then your patience will dwindle.
Complete contact. I’ll do anything to maintain as direct a line to the bait as I can. Casting a little upstream. Closing the bail arm quickly on impact. Feeling the bait down. Pointing the rod at where you think the bait to be lying. Keeping the tip low to the water. All these things help.
Complete concentration. There’s a photograph of Everard on page 67 of the book that shows exactly the type of focus I am talking about.
You know what, so inspired am I, I’ll read the chapter tonight before sleep. I’m on the river tomorrow, and with Everard’s words in my head, I’ll see if and where I can improve. So, watch this space!
