Fishing and friendship, Kris Kent explores the two.
I am on the whole a solitary fisherman. But they say “no man is an island” and from time to time it is nice to spend time on the river with some fishing friends. Be it a few hours snatched of an evening, a day exploring a new stretch or river, a weekend trip to a favourite haunt or a proper trip away to exotic fishy destinations. Over the years I’ve got to fish with lots of different people, in lots of different places, on lots of different rivers. I am blessed. Most of these people I could best describe as acquaintances. A few I would have liked to get to know better but busy lives mean that either the time or opportunities haven’t been on my side. A few of these people I am fortunate to call friend. But what makes for a good fishing friend, pal or buddy?
Good fishing friends on the Soca in Slovenia
We tend to be drawn to, and make friends with, people we share something in common with. Common background, common habits, similar personalities, shared identity, similar motivations, shared goals, common interests or hobbies. With a fishing friend the obvious link is the love of fishing. But is that enough? A few hours together on the river bank are easily filled with tales of fish and fishing. That monster fish, the one that got away, the biblical hatch, the unexpected spate, playful otters, the blur of a kingfisher, that time you fell in, the new rod etc. etc. But a whole day out, a weekend trip or a week abroad can feel like a lifetime spent with someone with whom you only share one thing in common. Lots of fly fishermen also tie flies so that can provide an alternative form of entertainment. The latest pattern, that new tying technique, the miracle material, which hook pattern is best. But it’s still a bit fishy.
So it helps if there are other interests you share in common that can provide an alternative seam of conversation. With one good friend we often talk about work. We both have bosses who are complete wankers. This provides endless opportunities to trump each other on whose boss has been the biggest asshole that week. We also share an interest in gardening so much time can we frittered away chatting about plants, vegetables and garden pests. Another friend and I share a love of beer and Sage rods. The beer has a wonderful way of lubricating our long drawn out conversations about rod length, action, weight, configuration, handle design, which series was better and so on. And that’s before we get on to reels, to click or not to click that is the question. Our time together slips by effortlessly and before you know it it’s time to head home or get off to bed. Of course the more time you spend together and fish together the more war stories you accumulate to retell, recollect, exaggerate and decompose.
Chewing the fat after a long day on the river
Most of my fishing friends are also members of The Wild Trout Trust or The Grayling Society. This means we also share an interest in conservation, river habitats, wild fish, fish behaviour and the activities of the two organisations. The river itself is a great source of material to keep the conversation going. Rivers are such dynamic systems and never the same twice. Hours can be spent discussing the level, the colour, the flow, the weed, the gravels, sediment, the spawning grounds, the invasives. Groups like the Wild Trout Trust and Grayling Society also create opportunities to get together with exiting friends and to make new friends. Each year The Wild Trout Trust has its Annual Get Together somewhere around the country and The Grayling Society has its Symposium and Annual General Meeting. A weekend of networking, blethering, drinking and eating, presentations and of course fishing.
John Aplin and friends discuss Sundays fishing at the 2014 Grayling Society Symposium
We make friends to satisfy some of our fundamental human needs, such as affiliation or a sense of belonging. So a good fishing friend is also someone who will provide help and support when needed. It could be with specific help on the river. Choosing the right fly, spotting a fish, guiding your casts to the right spot, helping to land that big one or unhooking your fly delivered into the trees by that poorly judged back cast. Or it could be help with fishing in general. Over the years I have helped people out with advice on where or how to fish, with contacts for access to fishing or conservation, with lifts and with tackle. My fishing friends all joke about my car being a mobile tackle shop. The boot is always full of rods, reels, waders, flies and everything else under the sun needed for a fishing trip. But almost all of these friends have been glad of it and sought to borrow from it on occasions. Sometimes it could be a fly pattern or two. One friend is gradually and subtly trying to migrate all my flies into his fly box. Sometimes it could be a top up of the dry shake or the Frog's Fanny. Sometimes it could be a rod or a reel. Turning up to fish the Meon in Hampshire one fishing friend discovered he had left his wading boots at home, he was very glad to find I had my spare pair in the car. Disaster was averted. A good fishing friend might provide a bed for the night and maybe even a warm meal. The friend who borrowed my wading boots is most hospitable and often feeds me as I’m passing by his house on the way to or from work or fishing. The friend who’s poaching my fly collection has just moved to Keswick within a stone's throw of some of the best fishing in the country, I feel sure I will be making full use of his spare bed.
The purloiner of flies on the Eden
But support can sometimes be less tangible or practical. Sometimes you just need someone to hear you out, empathise with you or provide the shoulder to cry on (metaphorically of course as we blokes wouldn’t actually cry, would we). Fishing on the Monnow this year as part of the Monnow Social I got to make a new friend. We were paired up to fish on a private beat that is very lightly fished but has a reputation for big fish. My companion offered to drive as he knew the area better than I did. We had a very pleasant morning together working upstream sometimes fishing side by side, sometimes fishing ‘tag team’, sometimes jumping ahead of each other depending how the beat developed and how we were feeling. We picked up fish all along the beat on dries and nymphs and were having a thoroughly wonderful time of it. We stopped for lunch and walked back across the fields to the car where my companion shared a beer with me as we reflected on the mornings sport. After lunch we dropped back downstream and continued to work up. My companion saw a fish rise so he slipped into a nice pool and wandered on ahead to survey the next stretch. I thought I heard something odd as I looked upstream intent on rising fish but thought nothing of it. A few minutes later my companion appears through the undergrowth looking visibly shaken. He had been casting to the rising fish he spotted when another fish rose below him. He covered it and the fish took. This fish then hurtled downstream taking most of my companion's fly line and backing off his real before smashing his leader. He had been shouting to me which must have been the odd noise I heard. It was obviously a very good fish and he wasn’t taking its loss well. It took me most of the rest of that day to calm him down and get him back fishing. He still talks about it.
Lee drowns his sorrows as he tries to forget the one that got away
When I got divorced my non-fishing friends were generally useless. They didn’t know what to do or say and generally did and said all the wrong things. My fishing friends were great, solid and stoical, real rocks. They did exactly the right thing, they took me fishing and plied me with alcohol. Sometimes you just need your fishing friends to tell you to ‘grow a pair’ and get on with things.
A good fishing friend can also help to spread the load. ach year a few of us try to head off abroad for a week’s fishing on some far away exotic rivers. This can be a logistical nightmare booking lodges, guides, hire cars, flights, transfers and the like. It makes things a whole lot easier if everyone helps out in some way. With the restrictive baggage limits imposed by lots of airlines it helps if everyone takes ownership of some aspect of the kit or provisions. Last year we went to Norway to fish the Trysil. Food and particularly drink can be expensive in Norway so we agreed what we needed to take with us and each member of the party volunteered to source and pack part of the rations. One guy brought the bacon, a lot of bacon. One guy brought the tea and coffee, you can’t get proper tea in Norway. Another guy brought the herbs, spices and other dry goods. And once you get out to the destination you can spread the workload. In Norway I did most of the driving, much to the discomfort of the others especially as I sped towards a large Mercedes on a narrow forest track without apparently being able to see it. I also did the breakfast whilst the others made coffee, cooked the evening meals, laid tables, washed up, poured beers and so on. We were a well oiled machine in the supermarket each tasked with some part of the shopping list. The only problem was with the friend who’s a brewer but who seemed doomed to always try and buy alcohol free beer, disaster.
More wine anyone?
Of course the ultimate fishing friend is the one who owns or has unlimited access to wonderful fishing. Nirvana. I often feel rather guilty as the club I belong to offers almost no opportunity to invite guests. In most cases it’s not allowed whilst on a few beats tickets can be purchased from the riparian owner. This means I can’t reciprocate the many kind offers I receive from others. So I try to make up for it in other ways. This might be providing lunch, doing the driving, sharing some flies and so on. But I am very lucky in that most of my fishing friends have access to some great fishing and are very generous with access or guest tickets. In the last twelve months alone I’ve had the opportunity to fish on the Ottery, Meon, Loddon and Lyde, Lambourn, Yorkshire Derwent, Usk, Monnow, Dove, Holme, Colne, Calder, Aire, Skirfare, Eamont and Lowther all either courtesy of friends or through friends invitation. I’m truly blessed.
Into a good fish on the Dove courtesy of a fishing friend
So a good fishing friend is many things. A fellow of the angle, a confidante, a rock, a shoulder to cry on, a source of advice and flies, a good laugh and someone to share the load. Here’s to all those great fishing friends out there, many thanks.
Biography:
Kris Kent has been fly fishing and trotting for brown trout and grayling for over 20 years in the UK, Europe and Scandinavia. He is PR Officer for the Grayling Society and helps out The Wild Trout Trust with their online communications and events.