Bond, Natural Bond - Fishing Tale # 7

The best times are those when you fit in perfectly with nature. It happens once in a very long while. It has to do with how nature is feeling that day and whether you can synchronize yourself with the vibes that nature is emitting.

Yes I know it all sounds very "new age" but it wasn't supposed to. It is just that fishing allows you to be in a much deeper and profound contact with nature. Any fisherman worth his salt has to be able to read those small signs that surround him. This can be a strong wind or being aware of a gentle breeze as it fly's by. It could be, and should be, the color of the water, the types of insects that are around or the way the currents move and curve round underwater objects.

On those rare occasions when you seem to be able to second guess the natural forces that surround you, you do it in what appears to be a subconscious manner. I suspect that it is simply being in contact with yourself and being able to read all those non-verbal communication signals around.

Most anglers will have a day like this when everything they did reflected a perfect response; when they were able to exist in perfect harmony. And when these days do happen they leave something inside us, not just a memory but a sensation of "it shouldn't be otherwise".

And then what we all try to do is to replicate our mood and feeling with nature; but it is not easy to bring this up again at will because not only must we feel and intuit, but nature has to be in the right mood to cooperate. But this never stops you from trying.

Ten or twelve years ago a three of us went trout fishing to "our" streams up in the mountains somewhere in South America. The trip in an old an battered jeep played an important part in getting into the right mood.

In the early morning we managed to see many wild rabbits, which was unusual. Then sitting on a fence by the side of the road (I use the word road with exaggeration) an owl watched as we got closer. It suddenly spread its wings and slowly began to beat them as it arose flying in a straight line right in front of the windshield. Its wing span must have been about six feet - unless the thrill I felt made me lose all concept of reality.

We reached the river and started fishing. Soon each on of us went his own way. I reached a small secluded pond and in short order caught 13 trout. I had never done this before, not out of the same pool.

I spent most of the day alone, a day that holds my trout catching record but more importantly the day that nature was supremely giving. In the early afternoon I noticed the small herd of cows that were grazing across the river bank, move closer to the edge. I can see them in my mind as their enormous eyes stared at something in the water. I looked and saw a tapir, the size of a small pony swimming down the middle of the river. It just stared back at me as it passed. A tapir is a mammal the size of a pony that appears to be a cross between a pig and a cow (without the horns, etc). It is natural to the South American rain forests and surroundings.

I finally collected my stuff, put it into my fishing tackle boxes and brought back with me the memory of a day in which nature showed me how to bond.

Philip Robinson is happily married fisherman and a father of five. He has various on line projects and you can visit his latest website on fishing tackle boxes. As someone with a large family he focuses on fun, creativity, making ends meet and all in a loving environment.

Dreamers And Collectors - Fishing Tale No. 6

Fishermen are dreamers. They not only love the sport, the stories, the gear, the smell. They also love the river, the lake, the sea. They love trekking, the smell of the boat, the sound of the waves or the river. The moment of truth, the time of preparation. They also love to dream. The dream of the perfect day -and this day will be similar in many ways (not all) as that described in The Old Man and The Sea. They will dream of the gran daddy of all trout, pike or salmon. And if their dream is specially profound - they will even let the brave contender go.

And that is one of the real reason why fishermen are collectors. It is part of the dream, of having the right tool at the right time. And the amazing thing is that the dream is lived all the time. That fly, that box, that picture, are real life items that bring back the dreams. A fisherman is a dreamer and a collector.

For anyone who hasn't been bitten by the "fishing" bug - as a sport - the amount of "stuff" a fisherman collects over time is quite amazing and sometimes even baffling. Anyone who fishes, even if they miss a season or two, manages to have many different hook sizes, or plastic worms or lures or flies, swivels, weights, even lines. And what is even more peculiar to the uninitiated is that they even have repeats. Six of this and half a dozen of the other.An to top it all they will collect fishing tackle boxes to store other tackle boxes! Peculiar, isn't it?

Yet if you have the bug, this is absolutely logical. Not only for a particular fishing trip but also a future expedition. Or what happens if you run out and are unable to find the exact same one. Different days with different lighting conditions require different lures. And it is vitally important you keep them organized.

All these gadgets and accessories are tools of the trade. A good workman takes care of his tools and a good fisherman takes care of his tackle. It doesn't matter when you start fishing, as a child or older. The fact of the matter is you collect a lot of stuff, and this stuff has to be kept organized and available and not only stored away, but with you when you fish.

Fishing gear covers a large number of things that come in different sizes, different designs, for different uses and can be from different materials and even colors. Many times you will also collect things you don't need (but you never know, right?) - and they also make excellent gifts if there is an angler at home. The funny thing is that as this collecting craze among fishermen is well known there will always be something new.

Your boxes, tackle and even fishing clothes are an essential part of your art. You have probably heard of a professional pitcher that always wears his good luck socks, or the tennis player that carries a specific good luck token. Superstition as in a rabbits foot? Perhaps, but the fact of the matter is that it works. Perhaps it is the backpack that is packed in a specific order, or that your first cast is always with the fly you made years ago. (Or your great aunt Nelly's wedding garter).Whatever the case may be, you had better be very sure that you have it with you.

And the secret as to why it works is that it gives you confidence and this means that in a way you are inoculated against even the thought of failure.

Philip Robinson is a happily married fisherman and a father of five. He has various on line projects and you can visit his latest website on fishing tackle boxes that has a special mention on fishing tackle bag (as well as other fishing accessories). As someone with a large family he focuses on fun, creativity, making ends meet and all in a loving environment.

Nature's Disappearing Act - Fishing Tale No. 5

We have heard so often that more species are disappearing, that we have endangered nature's balance, that millions of acres are burnt each year in the rain forest, that now we are no longer shocked by it. Many times when it is in the news we no longer hear it. Something akin to ad blindness occurs. Or perhaps it is that we are now vaccinated against emotional commitment or against righteous indignation.

But then that is human nature.

We get saturated very quickly and, specially with this fast paced society that wants quick answers, before we are bored. If you see images of starving African children once, you are shocked. If you see similar images a hundred times you may actually feel annoyed. The truth is you stopped seeing them many times before.

If you ask an old fisherman if nature has changed in his lifetime, he will most probably say it has. There could be many observations about the water levels, the size of the fish, the abundance, and so on, but the answer is bound to be "yes".

The problem seems to be that the changes are now happening at a much faster pace. Fifteen years ago I went fishing in the Andes mountains. I recently returned and not only had the fishing worsened, but also the forest was less, the shacks were more and the grazing land was larger. This year at least, the talk was about the delayed rainy season, so the rivers were dryer, and in one particular place trucks were wading in the river removing many, many tons of river rock to be used for construction. The trout, all but disappeared. The noise pollution very high.

Even my elder children notice the difference when we go out fishing. They tell my younger ones of the changes, but they, the youngsters, are missing something that they will never experience. They understand what they hear - they understand both emotionally and intellectually, but they will never be able to experience it.

In the long run, in a geological time frame, this always happens, but now I fear that it is happening within the span of one generation.

This, I believe, has two very strong implications.

The first, to take an active part in saving nature; starting by being aware of what is happening nearby. Not in the next continent, or country, or even county. But right next door. This also means water ways and grazing rights, and water sucking cities.

The other, and this is much more enjoyable, is to go fishing. And preferably take your children. Make sure they have a real nature's experience, not the Disney one, the real one.

Philip Robinson is a happily married fisherman and a father of five. He has various on line projects and you can visit his latest website on fishing tackle boxes that has a special mention on fishing tackle bag (as well as other fishing accessories). As someone with a large family he focuses on fun, creativity, making ends meet and all in a loving environment.

In Touch With Nature - Fishing Tale No. 4

In this modern world it is difficult to find a time to interact with nature - but fishing is one of those activities that provide the best excuse to do so.

Our more developed nations, mainly from the western democracies, have an increasing urban population. The poorer countries of the world are more rural in nature, although this is slowly changing. This means that contact with nature is slowly being lost. It is difficult to believe but I have met children, 8 or 9, who have never seen a live cow or sheep. Milking a cow is unheard of; in fact milk is something you get out of a bottle or a container, and find in a supermarket (even the age old milkman is something nearly out of the past).

Most people would agree that city life can cause a lot of stress, while country life is more relaxed - by the way, I am not implying in any manner or form that one or the other is easier or more difficult, just presenting a simple difference. And most people would also agree that when you are in contact with nature, the stress levels go down. Again, as a matter of clarification I am not referring to a storm at sea, or being lost in the wilds of Africa, but to our more simple contacts with a more gentle nature. Here is where fishing, or what some would call, the art of fishing, comes into its own.

It is a sublime sport. One that provides precious moments for relaxation and quality interaction with nature.

No sport should be a one time affair - you don't play golf one day and repeat the experience five years later while stating you are a golfer - or even that you love the game. The same thing happens with squash, tennis, water skiing or any other sport you care to mention.

To be a fisherman means you love nature as it demands you interact with it. Yes, I suppose someone could throw a tangled line with a lure at the end and it just so happens that a trout strikes -but this is like the proverbial monkey hitting the typewriter keys and replicating the complete works of Shakespeare. It could happen but it would be a safe bet against it.

Therefore anyone who considers him or her self an angler, has to practice the sport. Anyone who states he or she loves fishing must fish regularly. And this keeps you in touch with nature. It allows you to store up experiences and memories that would otherwise belong to something out of a nature documentary.

Appreciation of nature's beauty, of the ever present interaction between flora and fauna - of realizing we are all a part of nature.

All fishermen (and just a gentle reminder - to be a fisherman one must love fishing) want to preserve nature and this preservation is not an armchair decision, but a practical one.

All fishermen collect and choose their fishing gear with care including their fishing boxes (as well as other fishing accessories).

Philip Robinson is happily married fisherman and a father of five. He has various on line projects and you can visit his latest website on fishing tackle boxes. As someone with a large family he focuses on fun, creativity, making ends meet and all in a loving environment.

For The Love Of The Sport - Another Fishing Tale No. 3

This is the third article in this series of fishing tales that arise from personal experience. They are an exercise in traveling down memory lane and thereby bringing back happy times, learning experiences and life in general.

An angler aims to make each fishing moment unique. This can mean an afternoon spent fishing locally or an early morning expedition; it could refer to a whole season, to fishing alone or with friends. The aim is that each moment should be unique - even, or perhaps especially, when fishing over the same river section and spot.

Afterward these unique times blend into memories that, like life, fall into one continuous moment. Some of the best memories, and this sounds like a contradiction (but isn't if you think about it), are those days that were spent intensely but not a single fish was caught.

If you love fishing, when you bring up the word "trout" (replace this with your choice) you conjure up with it a whole series of associations. Many times, depending on the mood and who you are with, you will remember a specific moment - but you will always relive a particular feeling.

What fisherman doesn't remember with emotion his first big bite?

Or, with a touch of sadness and perhaps the subdued feeling of adrenalin rushing through his veins, when you lost that big one? (The one that grows with the telling; both in emotion and in size).

For someone who doesn't fish it is difficult to understand the feeling that fishing brings to an angler. It is not just the moment the fish bites and starts its run. Of course this is important as it is the climax and goal of the whole exercise. But you can't take the day, the walking, the casts, the spin or nature's beauty away from it all.

Fishing is an emotional sport above all else. It demands expertise, precision, thought, knowledge, experience and strategy, to name a few; but above all it requires love of the sport. A good, or even a brilliant, fisherman applies himself because he loves the sport.

Together with the love of the sport there arises the love of his gear. His rod, his tackle, the lures, the lines and yes, even his fishing tackle box are very personal items that will rarely, if ever, be lent.

The lesson from this article is: "if it is worth doing well, it is worth doing well because you love it".

And that my friend, should be applied to everything in life.

Philip Robinson, the author, is a happily married fisherman and a father of five. He has various on line projects and you can visit his latest website on fishing tackle boxes that has a special mention on fishing tackle bag (as well as other fishing accessories). As someone with a large family he focuses on fun, creativity, making ends meet and all in a loving environment.

Informal Education? - A Fishing Tale No. 2

An important moment of growing up as fishermen was the day we graduated from our spinning rods to our first fly fishing rod. The apprenticeship we followed, that is my elder brother and I, included dominating the spinning cast, playing the fish properly, landing it, killing it and then cleaning it.

One of the things that stuck in my mind forever was my father explaining that as fish, and we were then speaking of trout, were cold blooded creatures. When we caught one and held it to remove the hook, we should always have our hands wet and dripping with water from the river. The reason is that as a cold blooded animal, a dry warm hand would burn it - and the apparently small area that was affected would later gather fungi. This knowledge has always stayed with me.

In those days we released fish that were either too badly damaged or were too small. Today with catch and release, I wonder how many fishermen are aware of this?

Lesson number one: respect all creatures, big and small.

Another thing was that we were responsible of the general upkeep of all our gear - oiling the reels, taking care of the weights and sinkers and very importantly, making our own artificial lures. In short we were the keepers of our fishing tackle boxes and related paraphernalia. This was forty years ago so this meant fitting treble hooks to small wooden lures and painting them. The colors that worked for us were a green base, yellow spots and an underbelly of light blue. I have not actually seen or used these for many years but they were our trout catching secret weapon.

We used two piece bamboo rods for our spinning. In those days we hadn't heard of fiberglass rods.

Our fishing education, which we absorbed without realizing into our general formative education, was to respect and take care of our tools.

Lesson number two: respect and take care of our tools.

This meant not only the watching over but also avoiding waste and making sure that our rods, reels and all our fishing accessories lasted for all our future fishing seasons. The example was our fathers salmon fly rod. It was a beautiful rod, well kept (enormous to us compared to our spinning rods) and had belonged to his father before. Our rods had likewise been his and his brother's.

And that is quite a different point of view concerning what we see today. Quickly made, quickly discarded. Off the rack and into the waste. I sometimes think that we are living, and I am also very guilty of this, with a finger on the remote.

Philip Robinson, the author, is happily married and a father of five. He has various on line projects and you can visit his latest website on fishing tackle boxes and the wonderful world of other fishing boxes (as well as other fishing accessories). As someone with a large family he focuses on fun, creativity, making ends meet and all in a loving environment.

Fishing And Philosophy - A Fishing Tale, No. 1

Many years ago as a young boy I discovered that life and fishing went together like apple and pie, like fish and chips, or even ginger and bread. In other words they blended together. What actually happened is that I associated the best things in life with fishing.

This was because my brother, my father and I spent two weeks every Easter fishing in the south of England. It was only us men - and how proud we were to be classed with the men while 8 and 9.

As we prepared our fishing tackle boxes, the flies, the rods, the waders and our anoraks - we boys became the fishing keepers, our father's gillies (Fishing Gilly - Scot and Irish usage for fishing guide and a bit more).

Forty odd years later I can still feel my father's gentle smile as he watched us.

These time were the best of times. We, at least my brother and I, hardly caught anything but we fished all day. We carried our fishing gear, our baskets, our picnic lunch, as we followed that man that was our hero. And when he saw us tiring and offered to carry our loads we always refused as pride gave us greater strength - and at night when we finally went to bed, we slept the sleep of babes.

Going out to the river every day for two weeks, walking out in the country - be it wet and be it cold - was a time when we felt absolutely at one with the world and with ourselves. And for little boys, that feeling of complacency with life is one that rarely came about.

In the evenings we sat together by the chimney and relived in part our day's experience. The coots and moorhens, the nesting king fisher (who became the symbol of our little band), the sheep in the field and the once only seen tracks of a fox. Our casts, our father's salmon - the sound of the river, the jokes and the waiting patiently for the rise of a trout.

These times became a treasured memory and the beginning of this series of articles where I will share some fishing tales (and yes some will grow longer in the telling) that I have learned to equate with what I call Fishing and Philosophy.

Fishing representing life and Philosophy "Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline" as defined in the dictionary or as I prefer "Philosophy from the Greek philosophia, which literally translates to "love of wisdom".

Every evening we lived moments that with time I have learned were full of love and sharing and this is nothing else than wisdom.

As a grown man, with children of my own, I still feel inspired by the bonding our fishing trips created between us band of men.

Fathers, take heed and blend philosophy and life - preferably with fishing.

Philip Robinson, the author is happily married and a father of five. He has various on line projects and you can visit his latest website on fishing tackle boxes and fishing backpacks (as well as other fishing accessories). As someone with a large family he focuses on fun, creativity, making ends meet and all in a loving environment.