Baskets, bags, boxes and bamboo tubes.

Far be it from me to be dismissive of Julie Andrews- she's a Dame, a "national treasure" and an eighty four year old woman- but I've always been underwhelmed by the list of "favourite things" that she sings about in The Sound of Music- it takes more than "whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens" to put a smile on my face, but perhaps that's the point. Such lists are subjective, and aren't guaranteed to be received with the same enthusiasm as is shown by the one moved to share them.

I was reflecting in an absent minded moment recently on my own fishing "favourite things" list, and realising that it isn't just the expected things that bring me pleasure, but often the little things that might to someone else appear incidental and unimportant.

So, in the spirit of Maria, and with not a "lonely goatherd" in sight, here are a few of my (piscatorial) favourite things:

Now, if honesty is allowed momentarily to trump angling romanticism, an old style willow basket is not the most comfortable of items on which to park one's posterior but that in no way detracts from my affection for mine. (Point of clarification: I refer to my affection for my basket, not my posterior!) A present from my wife, purchased from a well known internet selling site (yeah, you know the one) it was, as they say, "pre-owned" and  required a fair degree of TLC upon first arriving- a good clean with soapy water, followed by a coating of boiled Linseed Oil, but the result is a basket that has been accompanying me on fishing adventures for the best part of 15 years, and definitely finds a place in my favourite things list.

There are, however, days when a bag is preferable to a basket, and on such days a more recent acquisition takes its place in my prized possessions list. It's a trout fishing bag (although in my case, always employed for "coarse" rather than "game" purposes), which, although inexpensive, in it's colouration and style, and with it's leather buckles, conforms exactly to the image in my mind of what a good fishing bag should look like.

Also deserving of their place are my bamboo float tubes, and boxes full of traditional handmade floats. I have float tubes in both flamed and unflamed bamboo, with minimalistic whippings in black, scarlet and blue. Each holds only a handful of floats, but there is an aesthetic appeal that transcends their functional qualities and, along with many other traditional anglers, such float tubes hold a privileged place in my angling affections.

As well as the tubes, there are the boxes, each with slotted foam to hold the floats secure, with my favourite being one that exclusively houses a part of my perch bob collection, which has been "customised" with a sticker obtained from the USA featuring a shoal of perch twisting and turning in the water with predatory intent.

A constant companion on my fishing trips is my Swiss Army knife, still in immaculate condition despite being moved from tackle box to tackle box a number of times during the course of a season for the last quarter of a century. Its presence tends to be more for its totemic value than for regular use, although it does find itself cutting luncheon meat into cubes and performing various practical tasks from time to time, but I refuse to set off for the riverside or lake without it, still holding onto the boyish notion that a tackle box that doesn't contain a knife is in some way diminished by the absence. It is pictured here in my pike box, although it is mostly to be found in my general coarse box, a yellow and clear perspex Stewart box that I have had since I became a fisherman at the tender age of 13.

The penultimate item that finds its way into my "hall of fame" is my wooden landing net. With a lovely bamboo handle elegantly whipped in burgundy, and with a mesh that although modern, knot-less, and fish-safe, manages still to convey in its appearance  the suggestion of a previous era. Having only a small frame, its use is restricted to  waters that contain fish of only modest proportions, but it is a thing of beauty and always a pleasure to slip underneath a fish.

The final item to feature in my eclectic, but highly personal, list is my Australian bush hat. Given to me twelve years ago by my parents for my 40th birthday, it has not only adorned my head while fishing, but has also accompanied me on safari in East Africa and on a fishing road trip across the Southern States of the USA. It probably only comes with me on three or four fishing trips per year but is another article of my angling related ephemera for which I have an inordinate affection.

So, there you have it. None of these items are the "hardware" of fishing (the rods and reels), none are essential in order to fish, but all form a part of the pleasure of the rich wider tapestry that makes angling such an engrossing hobby in which to immerse oneself.
So, "When the dog bites, When the bee stings, When I'm feeling sad ..." it's to these that I'll turn!