Welcome to ESF

This is Eat, Sleep, Fish

Have you been with a group of people and you want to tell them that the fish are hitting fry at Rutland but you are worried they just won't get it?

Did you book the restaurant because it was close to the river and you might get a glimpse of the spinner fall as you walk from the car?

Is your dog named after your favourite fly?

If so, this ezine might be of interest to you.

What are we about? I guess it's fly fishing really. Nothing more, nothing less. Our hope is that Eat, Sleep, Fish will become a platform for anglers, not just from the U.K., but anywhere, to share with others their love of fly fishing. We are not trying to be a professional, all singing, all dancing ezine. We can't be as we are too small. What we would like this to be is an ezine written by anglers, for anglers; pure and simple.

We are not driven by deadlines or bottom lines. We are a non-profit making venture where we hope we can help promote our love of fly fishing.

It sounds a bit grand but I was sitting on a stream in Montana. I'd just put back a nice fish, sat back and thought things couldn't get much better. The thought then struck me that it would be sort of cool to have somewhere that anglers could let each other know what they were up to when they were out fishing. Sort of between fishing forums and magazines. The one thing I did want was for it to be free.

When Tim Berners-Lee gave the World Wide Web to the world he did something pretty amazing and it allows this little dream of mine to go live to, hopefully, a few people. This might end up as just a handful of people but I'd be over the moon if just a few of those enjoyed what we were trying to do.

My hope for this is that anybody can contribute if they want to. There are so many anglers out there who are doing some great things and it would be even better if they wanted to share them. It feels like fly fishing is going through a really interesting time right now, not only with technological developments but also the methods that are being used to go after our quarry. We could argue that simple is best but I for one am really enjoying fishing with methods I have learnt from anglers from different countries, as well as going fishing with an old bamboo rod. That is the great thing about fly fishing!

I have no background in journalism or photography but I have been amazed and touched with the feedback I have received about the concept of ESF from friends and those I don't know so well who were prepared to give help and advice to me along the way. One of those described it as "Rustic, Hillbilly, Troutbum", which I feel sums up what I'm trying to do perfectly.

So here it is - Eat, Sleep, Fish. I hope you enjoy!

Pete Tyjas

Devon School of Fly Fishing