ESF contributor Graham Nicol takes a light hearted look at fishing head gear
Many of us fellow anglers exhibit odd mannerisms and behaviours when pursuing the gentle art. One in particular is our attire and general appearance on the river bank. Some of us focus entirely on the blending in with our surroundings and thus take the camouflage route, sometimes very seriously indeed, whereas for others it is entirely ensuring we own the latest kit irrespective of how garish some of it can be. One part that falls into this arena is headgear and it can become very emotive at times. I want to dwell on this for it raises so many discussion points as to why we can see such extremes on the river bank.
For the traditionalists the approach tends to come via what a lot of our ghillies wear and that is the deerstalker. A very practical piece of headgear that is multi-functional in that experiencing adverse conditions the flaps can be brought down to cover the ears and being tweed can absorb a lot of rain before giving up the ghost. Very useful also for festooning with flies to provide a seasoned appearance. However, it needs to be worn with confidence for otherwise the owner can look somewhat of a twerp. There are other variations that in effect are modern versions such as hunter, trapper and extreme often with fur lining or some state of the art synthetic but again the owner has to realise it does not suit all. The owner needs to carry it off with a high degree of self-esteem.
A slightly more refined hat that is not quite so dramatic in appearance is the flat cap. Once again these tend to come in tweed patterns and are often worn by the ghillie fraternity, or those follicly challenged. It is difficult to argue the practicalities of this hat for it does not protect much from either rain or sunshine but for some it is better than nothing and makes them believe they look somewhat dapper. Useful for Frisbee throwing if the fishing is rubbish.
The modern day hat that is becoming “de rigeur” appears to be the baseball cap. Commonly designed to promote the sponsor across the front it is a marketing dream as we pay to have the pleasure of this on it. Often a total disregard to blending in it is orientated more towards being a fashion statement. Practically it partially satisfies in that the large brim acts as both a very good shelter from rain and helps shade sunlight thus achieving better fish spotting capabilities. Likewise in extremely windy conditions they tend to stay put and a hood can be used if needed. However, the lack of protection at the rear lets it down. There are special hats for saltwater fishing that do provide rear protection but these are not generally seen on the riverbank.
Another hat to be seen more now is the beanie which is very useful when conditions are cold as it can be pulled over the ears retaining a lot of potential heat loss. Some go a step further and utilise the balaclava but for me the angler then resembles an armed robber.
The last hat that I want to comment on is the ranger or bushman type which tend to be broad rimmed have a chinstrap with sides can often be folded up and held by a dome. These tend to come in subdued colours and are quite practical in that they provide good protection against all the elements. Often on the chalkstreams one occasionally sees an angler wearing a fedora type hat which is fine if conditions are fair but otherwise the hat is somewhat pointless. Furthermore it does make some look gangster like
What is my preference? Ah that would be revealing too much of my personality but suffice to say it is one of those mentioned above albeit in a rather tatty condition!
I raise my hat to all you fellow anglers