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September 23, 2005
Walthamstow Reservoir
From Sydney, going trout fishing requires commitment. It is either an 8 hour drive to the Snowy Mountains or a plane trip to New Zealand. From Hong Kong, it is even more difficult. In London, I found out that the reservoir at Walthamstow is accessible by tube and stocked with trout. On the day, nobody was doing any catching at all. I thought that it would be a small puddle so I brought my pea shooter. Actually it was a large lake and everyone else was using heavy artillery to cast long distances.
Fly fisherman are friendly all over the world. I didn't have the right flies but got chatting to a gentleman who seemed to have a lot of equipment but was not in a hurry to fish (I later found out that it was because he forgot to bring his rod). He was able to tell that I came from Australia from the knots I used. He showed me the British way of tying multiple flies on the leader and gave me a few of the correct flies (boobies and buzzers). I was kicking myself when I broke off a trout during a period when the fish were hard to fool. Nothing happened for a while, then suddenly, a school of about 5 fish swam past. I dropped a fly in front of it and caught a nice rainbow. Think I might go there regularly.
Walthamshow reminded me of an excellent novel, "Cloudstreet" by Tim Winton. It is about two families in Perth during and after the war. Here is an extract: "The river was broad and silvertopped and he knew its topography well enough to be out at night, though the old girl would have had a seizure at the thought. He never got bored with the landmarks, the swirls of barnacles and weed, the way the pelicans baulked and hovered like great baggy clowns. He liked to hear the skip of prawns and the way a confused school of mullet bucked and turned in a mob. From the river, you could be in the city but not on or of it."
Posted by phwl at 06:50 PM | Comments (0)
September 14, 2005
"Crags and Pines" by Nessmuk
Here is a poem by George W. Sears (Nessmuk) from the 19 century, author of the book, "Woodcraft".
CRAGS AND PINES
Who treads the dirty lanes of trade
Shall never know the wondrous things
Told by the rugged forest kings
To him who sleeps beneath their shade.
Only to him whose coat of rags
Has pressed at night their royal feet
Shall come the secrets, strange and sweet,
Of regal pines and beetling crags.
For him the Wood-nymph shall unlock
The mystic treasures which have lain
A thousand years in frost and rain,
Deep in the bosom of the rock.
For this and these he must lay down
The things that wordlings most do prize,
Holding his being in her eyes,
His fealty to her laurel crown.
No greed of gold shall come to him,
Nor strong desire of earthly praise;
But he shall love the silent ways
Of forest aisles and arches dim.
And dearer hold the open page
Of nature’s book than shrewdest plan
By which man cheats his fellow man,
Or robs the workman of his wage.
Posted by phwl at 07:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 09, 2005
Meon Springs
Fished Meon Springs yesterday. It was my first fishing trip in the UK and my first experience fishing a managed, stocked fishery. Went with Tero Rissa who got this excellent 6.5 pound hen rainbow trout. A good place to take someone flyfishing for the first time but those stocked fish behave very differently to wild ones. A bit like shooting fish in a barrel though, think I'll try Grafham Water next - at least you can see it on the map.
Here are some pictures. Ate the fish with Prof Wayne Luk and my ex-students, here are the pictures.
Posted by phwl at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)
September 05, 2005
Photos from Piemonte
Had a wonderful trip to Milan and Piemonte. Here are some pictures from the trip including the Milanese wrapping up seeing the Duomo to send to the US, visiting ST Microelectronics where I used to work, visiting Pigi's parents' farm, mushroom hunting and a bbq. The highlight of the trip was staying with my friends at their home in the beautiful wine growing region of Piemonte.
Posted by phwl at 07:37 PM | Comments (0)