10 great things that angling gives you the perfect excuse for!
IF the Coronavirus pandemic has given us anything, it’s afforded us time to sit and reflect. And sometimes it takes a moment without fishing to realise just how special it is.
From the birdsong soundtracked dawn starts to the Zen-like moments of quiet reflection, it’s all too easy to let the magic be drowned out.
Here are 10 reasons to fish you might have forgotten about...
Eating a huge fry-up
An army marches on its stomach and anglers sit down for hours on their gutbuster brekkies. Somehow, even normally calorie-conscious partners will encourage you to consume all your recommended daily fat and carbs intake before 9am if a day on the bank beckons. ‘You’ll need a good breakfast inside you, it’s a long day,’ they’ll helpfully say, blissfully unaware that you’ve also packed two rounds of sarnies and a fistful of snacks.
Climbing trees
Ask a normal adult when they last climbed a tree and they are likely to have to dig deep into their memory banks to answer you. For anglers, particularly speci-hunters, scaling a trunk or two is a normal part of our quest to find fish.
It’s a simple pleasure that affords a viewpoint rarely seen by others since childhood. Which might just be a metaphor for angling itself!
Taking money off good friends
An occasional flutter on the horses is all well and good, but you just can’t beat a bit of friendly fishing competition with a bounty at stake.
Nothing beats a five-hour match with a group of pals and a healthy pools pot. Add in unique rules and the threat of forfeits for even more banter and belly laughs.
Wearing waders
Rubber trousers might be the most-mocked item of clothing anglers own, but those who take the mickey have clearly never experienced the pleasures of wading.
Enclosed by the cold pressure of water and down almost at eye level with the surface, it’s a unique experience that helps you appreciate the power of nature in an intimate way.
Putting your mobile phone away
The good thing about the outside world’s limited understanding of angling is that saying: “Sorry I didn’t answer my phone, I was fishing” is a legitimate and totally watertight alibi.
Non-anglers aren’t to know that you could have taken the call and let a loosened clutch or bite alarm temporarily act as sentry. They also aren’t to know that your remote bankside location receives a perfect mobile phone signal, even if you pretend otherwise.
Wearing camo
Do the fish care? Probably not. Do you look cool? Probably not.But is it the only acceptable way to keep alive your childhood dreams of being just like Action Man? Absolutely.
It’s ridiculous when you consider the colours of waterside predators herons and kingfishers, but you feel 10 per cent more likely of success when you don some camo!
Seeing the sun rise
If angling is an affliction that tests and torments you, witnessing dawn outdoors is the soothing balm that makes it all seem worthwhile.
If you’ve fished all your life, recall those memories of dewy mornings and 4am birdsong and realise that the average person sleeps through them all.
It is a privilege worth reflecting on every now and again.
Digging for worms
If there’s a theme running through this list it’s surely that angling allows you to regress to childhood without fear of (too much) ridicule. Digging for worms – and, more precisely, using weird and wacky methods to tempt them from the soil – is a delight non-anglers leave behind long before finishing school. Patting the ground? A sprinkling of washing-up liquid? Loud music? How do you charm yours?
Doing nothing
Sitting. Watching. Alert but unhurried. It’s a beautiful state of mind to be in, but incredibly rare among non-anglers.
Hours on end can pass, you can feel the sun inch across the sky, you can hear the birds singing and you can see wildlife that few others witness regularly.
It’s easy to take it for granted…until a worldwide pandemic forces you to appreciate it just a little bit more.
Winter barbecues
A concept almost unheard of for those strange folk who don’t spend their lives beside water, but the winter barbecue is a staple of the carp and specimen fishing scenes.
Let’s be honest, it’s often the only thing to look forward to when you’re scratching around for bites in the frozen depths of January and February!