Most importantly of all perhaps, Trev is what you might call a practicing angler, and is in touch with developments and issues on the coarse fishing scene. And of course he is always game for a chat on his rounds.
His real strength is good, old-fashioned sound common sense, a quality which is – I am bound to say it – so often conspicuous by its absence in fishing circles. Here he is telling the tale of his encounter with another, quite different breed of bailiff who has quite clearly succeeded in making a deep and lasting impression on him…
‘…so it gives me a buzz to fish for carp with a fly rod not really fly fishing as such about a number eight or nine rod with a floating line using a deer hair fly like a pellet and real pellets as loose bait round the fly gets them going and no mistake and once they get feeding properly it’s a great way to catch them better than all those heavyweight carp rods and massive big pit reels…anyway I caught quite a few the other day over at Smallacre and everyone was wondering exactly what rig I was using somebody thought the fly line must be pole elastic or something and I could hear them say blimey got some stretch hasn’t it that stuff Trev stop a shark in its tracks that would…and anyway a few of them came to watch and have a look at the set-up and thought they would definitely be up for giving it a try sometime…
…then along comes Alec the bailiff all challenging and official like and raising himself to his full height thank God it’s another club I’d go spare if he was a member of this one and him a bailiff as well not over-blessed with brain cells he isn’t and he says I’d like to have a look at your rig Trev coz I’ve heard all about it and I don’t really know where we stand on this one there is no rig Alec I says just a fly line and backing on a reel like any other reel and a leader with a hook at the end just like normal tackle and his eyes sort of went all glazed and he stood there shaking his head slowly like you could see he was having trouble taking it all in…
… then he starts quoting the rules at me and I know there’s one that says no line over eight pound test don’t know why nobody knows why one of those crazy rules that comes of having people in charge who don’t fish any more lost touch an’ lost most of their grey cells the lot of them… minimum breaking strain yes no problem that makes sense so it’s all crap if you ask me typical bloody committee they lose their sense as soon as they take the job on and dream up that sort of thing never think to explain why anyway Alec says you know our rules don’t you that fly line stuff you’ve got there must be well over eight pounds more like a hundred and eight that’s not on…so what Alec I says the leader’s seven that’s the bit on the end Alec so the whole outfit must be seven use your loaf old son whole lot’s only as strong as the weakest part a bit like you the weak bit’s between the ears innit Alec ha-ha-ha well I still don’t know where we stand on that one says Alec shaking his head slowly…
…and to cap it all someone must have told him that fly lines have braid down the middle ‘coz he pipes up all challenging and official like and raising himself to his full height you do know that braid’s banned don’t you Trev…yes but the braid ain’t in the end tackle it’s inside the fly line hidden like innit Alec bit like your grey cells old son tucked away where the sun don’t shine and the light can’t reach ‘em…and by now I’m starting to feel a bit frayed round the edges and then he says well to be honest with you I really don’t know where we stand on this one beyond me it is carry on for now Trev mate but I’ll definitely have to refer it to the committee…
…and anyway the next time I was there Alec comes marching up to me all official like and raising himself to his full height and says I told them about your rig and your braid and I told them about that fly line stuff and everything and the chairman got back to me and to be honest with you he says shaking his head slowly they’re not really sure where they stand on this one…’
Courtesy of fishipedia
It has to be said that, in fishing, as in life in general, many things appear illogical and make no real sense when analysed. Clearly, absurd rules are one thing. But there are other, slightly more subtle illogicalities. Fly fishing with a fly which imitates a pellet whilst loose feeding pellets is one of these. Why not just use a pellet on the hook and have done with it? And looked at from the fly-fishing perspective, whoever heard of anyone dry fly fishing seriously and loose feeding with insects? It does not make sense really. And certainly in imitative fly fishing circles where the stress is on replication of the quarry’s natural food, use of a fly looking like a pellet would be at the very least frowned on; at worst it would be reason enough to expel or ban the offending angler. And as for anyone who even thought of using some kind of loose feed to stimulate the trout into feeding, well…
But the real point is that my bailiff friend Trev uses a technique which, in coarse fishing terms, is novel and exciting, harms nobody and certainly does not break any rules worthy of the name. And to boot, it makes for a mobile, pleasant alternative to the standard, sedentary carp fishing methods and the associated heavyweight tackle. It gives enormous pleasure to anglers who use it. That is the important thing, and nobody should have any quarrel with that.
It has been said that as soon as the British coarse fisherman finds the most boring way to fish for a given species, he will use it and stick to it for good. Modern carp fishing, with its associated mass of accessories which enable the angler to camp on the water in total, cocooned comfort for extended periods whilst staring at a pair of motionless bobbins, is a case in point. So to say the very least, this method makes a welcome change from the usual ones.
And some of us at least will know exactly where they stand on that one…
