The friendly fisherman

There's a shop specialising in predator angling equipment that goes by the name of "The Friendly Fisherman", presumably a reference to its proprietor in the hope that describing him thus will lead to anglers wanting to patronise his store. I once knew of a tattoo artist who was known as "Gentle Graham", which again- if my experiences of being inked are anything to go by- would have been good for his business, too. I've ordered online from the aforementioned angling store, and found them to be efficient and prompt, but having never met the owner I can't comment on the veracity or otherwise of the shop's name. However, my experiences on the river bank and lakeside have led me to believe that there's some truth in Walton's ideal of the "brotherhood of the angle", and certainly friendships have enhanced my fishing days.

 

The picture above is of me fishing a few years back with my two brothers, with whom I've shared many an angling adventure. They endure as angling friends to this day, and although these days we only actually fish together rarely due to geographical proximity, our telephone conversations tend to revolve around fishing, as does the conversation whenever we meet up.

 

 

 Although some see fishing as a lonely, solo activity for quiet taciturn types who shun the company of others, my own preference is, wherever possible, to share my fishing sessions with one or two likeminded friends. In my Plymouth days Mark (above), Rob, Ben, Jonathan (then teenagers) and Joe (pictured below, and the godfather of my son) were my companions. Joe was great for comedy value, perennially tangled, breaking things or falling in, the young lads were tenacious in their pursuit of fish, permanently changing swims and tactics, and Mark was always good for a leisurely conversation, almost always accompanied by a few fish.

 

 

These days my main fishing partners are Pete (who's figured in a number of posts on this blog) and my 14 year old son, along with a supporting cast of occasional angling companions: Roger (below), Louie and Craig. All the anglers mentioned have been members of churches I've worked in, and it's great on the bank to relate to them not as "the Vicar", but just as a fellow angler and friend.

 

 

The internet has further opened the possibilities for making angling a social affair. Through Facebook groups and forums I feel as though I "know" anglers all over the country, and the internet has led to me getting to know and fish with Stewart Bloor, inveterate blogger, fellow Christian minister and well known angler, and also journeying to the States to meet and fish with friends I'd initially met on line, one result of which is a friendship with a top American rod builder who'll shortly be commencing work on a custom lure rod for me.

 

The archetype of an angler may revolve around the stereotype of an unsociable, sad, old man, but while I'm undoubtedly getting older (a recent experiment with a beard was curtailed after a few days, owing to the amount of white or grey hair that was covering my face) the way I practice my fishing means I'm anything but "sad" or "lonely".  The "brotherhood of the angle" still holding true Centuries after Walton and Cotton departed this life for a better.