Fishing can mean everything to us, something that has been there for most of our lives. Steven Murgatroyd looks back at fishing and the role it has played in his life.
The fish was big. I was small. It did what only fish can do; without any obvious movement it began a slow motion fade. It took me a moment to realise. Empty headed, I was staring at empty water – could I really have seen such a beautiful thing? Or was it just a daydream, a trick of the light, a flick of the tail? Now, at fifty-something I can still see that watery jewel, teasing me, tempting me, just as it did on that '60's summer's day when, net in hand, a tadpole hunter became a fisherman.
And that, I am pretty sure, was the beginning of it all. My parents didn’t fish – although they did encourage and indulge my new interest – my grandparents didn’t fish and, being an only child, I had no siblings who fished. But it must have come from somewhere and I’m sure that it was that brief glimpse into another world, my own personal Narnia or Wonderland, which did it, and captured me for life, making me a willing prisoner of my own addiction. And it is an addiction; an obsession that at times can fill every waking moment and even spill over into sleep, fuelling ever more ambitious dreams which, more often than not, spiral out of control, firing the imagination and resulting in madcap forays in pursuit of the uncatchable, dreams destined for failure and frustration. But this isn’t the failure and frustration that grows from the daily grind, the insidious despair that life in general can cultivate within your soul, it is in fact the very opposite. Dreams are important, very important. We soon learn that there are no false promises to be had in the pursuit of our quarry. Nature offers no guarantees. But that is its attraction. There are so many variables that success is never a given. Persistence however, will eventually be rewarded. The day will dawn when the weather is perfect, the water is perfect, the fish are feeding on flies you can actually see and match and your casting ability is not tested too much. The dream will be realised. And that, I think, is why I keep returning.
It doesn’t take long to discover that life can be pretty disappointing and unpleasant at times; on a global level, war, poverty and crime prove themselves beyond the control of democracy, whilst on a personal level, the three d's - death, divorce and debt – often conspire to drive people to drink or despair. There is even anecdotal evidence to suggest that in the very worst cases certain individuals have even sought solace in golf.
One thing, of which I am certain, is that fly fishing, for all its variables, has proved to be the one constant in my life. Something to which I can return again and again, certain in the knowledge that, whatever else life may cast my way, I can rely on the rivers, lakes and streams, their inhabitants and their surroundings, to refresh and replenish my soul in a way that nothing else can. In an ever changing world fly fishing has been my guiding, constant star.
A fly fisherman for almost fifty years! I have had numerous pieces published in mainly Fly Fishing & Fly Tying magazine but also Trout & Salmon and Fly Dresser Magazine. I live on the Welsh borders with my wife Lesley, son Nick and Border Terrier Barley, next to the river Ceiriog. I am currently Secretary of Ceiriog Flyfishers. www.ceiriogflyfishers.co.uk