The weather we are enjoying (well I am, to browse Twitter and listen to the tv, it seems as if everybody else is moaning from here to February) is putting me in mind of 1 of my favourite movies, Grumpy Old Men with Walther Matthau and Jack Lemmon. I love the scenes where they all go out onto the lake where they all have their own tiny cabins for storing their bait and tackle and hole themselves up inside and fish through the ice.
I do question how that works though. The rods they used were short things, they can't have been more than 2 feet long, and I wonder how, if the fish they are chasing are combaitive, they cope. Possibly it's just me, but if I am into a decent fish that is not very keen on the thought of being dragged into the edge and out of the water, then one of the requirements is to get about the bank to counter it sprinting for weeds or a clump of tree roots. Or maybe, ice fishing requires such heavy duty bait and tackle that as soon as they get a strike they just haul it in with no need to think about the line busting.
But then, that can't work because surely the line is clearly visible to the fish, so it would have to be either very brainless or irresponsible. The entire point of angling to my mind is to select the bait and tackle to lure the fish into thinking that all is in order and it is in for a meal using the tastiest bait and tackle set up as light as possible and meant not to be observed and when the fish bites and you strike to snag it, the authentic skill comes in, playing the line out when it runs, bringing it in when it stops and trying to make certain that it doesn't snap the line and swim off.
One of the things that I liked me in Grumpy Old Men was that the fishing tackle shop had a caf space which I thought was a brilliant idea. What better, particularly on a cold day, than being able to get a steaming drink and a snack and be able to talk, swap stories and information? The fishing tackle shop that I live nearest to is just that, although as a specialist shop it gets my interest as I can browse around them for hours, looking at the various goods.
But the finest things were the little sheds. What jollies to be able to shut yourself away, set it up with tools and fun things just as you like and just have a fantastic day. I realise that it appears anti-social to do that but, to be candid, as most fishermen tend not to fall into the category of pretty and female, in fact generally the exact opposite, you don't always want to look at them overly across the water.
Everything above is of course completely academic. I have no embarrassment in saying that I am very much a fair weather maggot drowner and it would need to be a very strong motive to drag me out in the freezing cold, but it looks lovely in the film, and that is where I'll leave it.
20101223
I do question how that works though. The rods they used were short things, they can't have been more than 2 feet long, and I wonder how, if the fish they are chasing are combaitive, they cope. Possibly it's just me, but if I am into a decent fish that is not very keen on the thought of being dragged into the edge and out of the water, then one of the requirements is to get about the bank to counter it sprinting for weeds or a clump of tree roots. Or maybe, ice fishing requires such heavy duty bait and tackle that as soon as they get a strike they just haul it in with no need to think about the line busting.
But then, that can't work because surely the line is clearly visible to the fish, so it would have to be either very brainless or irresponsible. The entire point of angling to my mind is to select the bait and tackle to lure the fish into thinking that all is in order and it is in for a meal using the tastiest bait and tackle set up as light as possible and meant not to be observed and when the fish bites and you strike to snag it, the authentic skill comes in, playing the line out when it runs, bringing it in when it stops and trying to make certain that it doesn't snap the line and swim off.
One of the things that I liked me in Grumpy Old Men was that the fishing tackle shop had a caf space which I thought was a brilliant idea. What better, particularly on a cold day, than being able to get a steaming drink and a snack and be able to talk, swap stories and information? The fishing tackle shop that I live nearest to is just that, although as a specialist shop it gets my interest as I can browse around them for hours, looking at the various goods.
But the finest things were the little sheds. What jollies to be able to shut yourself away, set it up with tools and fun things just as you like and just have a fantastic day. I realise that it appears anti-social to do that but, to be candid, as most fishermen tend not to fall into the category of pretty and female, in fact generally the exact opposite, you don't always want to look at them overly across the water.
Everything above is of course completely academic. I have no embarrassment in saying that I am very much a fair weather maggot drowner and it would need to be a very strong motive to drag me out in the freezing cold, but it looks lovely in the film, and that is where I'll leave it.
20101223
No comments:
Post a Comment