Fishing and Religion
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 27 January 2007 17:14
- Written by John Gray
Now I am not a religious man. To all outward appearances, I am as sane and sensible as the next man, quite normal. Really, I am. Indeed, I am sure I am not very different from most of you. Yet I do, from time to time, get the feeling that perhaps something is amiss, that I am somehow just a little bit out of the ordinary.
The odd sideways glance, the occasional raised eyebrow, a look, even, of incomprehension on the faces of those I meet, when talking about something as simple as the weather, give me pause for thought and force me to face reality. Yes, I must confess. I am a practising sea trout fisher and, it would seem, I do display many of the symptoms of the religious devotee.
Many are the sacrifices I make for my "religion", which I put before all other things. My faith is strong, unwavering and rarely reinforced by experience. I make annual, and often arduous, pilgrimages to holy places where it is rumoured that Salmo trutta trutta once appeared, and, when asked, I am unable to produce evidence of his existence. On holy days, I perform ancient rituals, often misunderstood by the non-believer, involving walking in water in the dead of night, dressed in robes of green, comforted by rod and staff and often accompanied by a priest. I am daunted neither by drought nor famine, pestilence nor plague for I am steadfast in my faith, resolute in my mission. In the long dark days which we know as the “Close Season”, I devote much time to the reading of the scriptures and create, for Him, wondrous offerings out of fur, feather and tinsel. Wherever I can find those that will listen, I spread the word, often at the risk of ridicule, derision and social exclusion. At the time of the winter solstice, our small community of believers gathers at the appointed place for our annual ceremonial meeting to hear the word, admit new members, gather in the collection and talk of times of plenty in years past and yet to come and, at the dawning of the New Season, we pray for the Heavens to open and deliver unto us a bloody great flood.
John Gray has always been a keen angler, giving up the security of a teaching job in 1983 to open a tackle shop in Kilsyth, which he ran for twenty years.
Thoughts on game fish brown trout fishing, a pleasant recreation; salmon fishing, a bloody hard day’s work; sea trout fishing, a glorious obsession
Fondest Memory
Of a time when sea trout swam in our north western rivers and lochs.
John is now fascinated by computers and the power of the internet, and sees Fish Wild! as an example of the worldwide web at its very best. He is currently developing a new website, www.trout-salmon-fishing.com, which aims to provide information on wild brown trout, salmon and sea trout fishing opportunities in Scotland. He would be grateful for any information, which might be usefully added to the website, particularly about reasonably priced, publicly accessible fishing in Scotland. Fishing hotels, tackle shops and angling clubs are also invited to submit details for free inclusion. Readers will find contact details on the website.