Maiden Voyage
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 23 August 2011 10:01
- Written by Brian Morrison
I must admit to feeling right out of my comfort zone this past month trading my usual 9 foot 5 weight fly rod for the heavy 12ft spinning rod, my chest waders for jeans and a T –shirt and my wading boots for a pair of trainers. I'm not making a fashion statement, I've just been learning something new.
It started, as I said, nearly one month ago when my daughter Melissa started to take a real interest in fishing. The tackle has always fascinated her, the various bits of fishing paraphernalia which have been around the house all of her life- the rods which cover the garage wall from floor to ceiling, the books and magazines which occupy every shelf and wardrobe and then there's the flies; boxes and boxes of flies of every shape, size and colour known to man. In our house we have a room dedicated to their construction, the “fly tying” room. A room full of boxes and drawers- each containing feathers and furs, hooks and beads, wires and tinsels- all of which seem irresistible to her six year old eyes.
No surprise then that the day would finally come when she should wish to give it a go for herself. There had been times before when she had enquired, but this had always met with the response of “wait until your a little older” and that had been the end of it. This time round however, she would not give up so easily. She had a look in her eye which I found to be all too familiar. It was her mother or more specifically, her mother when I want to go fishing and a room in the house requires decorating or a flat car tyre requires changing. I never win against that look and therefore habitually I surrendered!
I was introduced to fishing by my uncle at the same age. I am aware (as he was) that it is extremely important to keep a child's interest during these first years and that the way to keep a child's interest is to ensure a certain degree of success.
My uncle’s solution all those years ago was to take me to a stocked fishery. I was keen to avoid this- not least due to the fact that I no longer fish in these places but also because I feel modern-day socking policies instil an unrealistic expectation in a newcomer- both in the size of fish and the number one should expect to catch in a session. This created a bit of a dilemma for me. My local loch is not for the beginner and the river was a raging torrent due to the recent rainfall. In the end it was my daughter who suggested that we try the sea.
I'd never fished in salt water before and wasn't even sure if any of my gear would be up to the job, but half an hours searching on the internet had me reaching for the old spinning rod and heading for the coast in pursuit of mackerel. At first we tried a local harbour wall but found this to be little crowded for our liking so instead moved a little further along the coast to a large breakwater. At nearly a mile in length it was not difficult to find a private space of our own in which to start learning our new hobby.
The set up we use could not be more simple. At the "business end" we use a toby lure on a 25lb breaking strain nylon trace. As well as being a very good fish catcher in its own right it also provides the necessary weight for casting long distances. We then attach five tinsel "flies" (so called because I make them in the "fly tying" room) to droppers. A large swivel attaches the whole rig to the main line and that's it. At first I struggled with the weight of the whole set up, but watching others I soon found the rhythm of "levering" the rod to the side at waist height and then returning the rod to the forward position whilst reeling in the slack line.
The fish themselves are quite stunning indeed- "torpedo" like in appearance with not one ounce of fat in sight, they go like trains when hooked. We've caught them up to two pounds and a specimen of this size will fight as well as anything I have ever caught in freshwater, irrespective of size or weight.
We've managed to catch something roughly 50% of the time which I feel has made for a good balance between keeping her interest as well as teaching the important lesson of "you can't catch all of the time" and I must say she has accepted both with good grace.
She has been involved with every stage from the capture of this wild creature-through the killing and cleaning- to the cooking and eating and has embraced every moment with her infectious enthusiasm.
Fishing has given me a lifetime of pleasure and I hope this marks the beginning of the same for Melissa. Next month we are heading for the highlands in a bid to catch her first trout on the fly rod- but I might pack the mackerel gear as well.
Brian Morrison has been fishing and fly tying for nearly thirty years and is happiest whilst tripping through the heather in northern Sutherland by the side of some unpronounceable loch.