A fine adventure

He brought with him some German bread, including bread in a tin, which is a great idea, liquorice, rum, two bottles of dark German beer and the HT9 prototype blank (not rod, which is complicated… and very ugly if I build it!).

The plan was 3 days guiding and 4.5 fishing in two boats, which we did but mixed it up. So some days were half and half. There are no fish in the centre of the lake. I don’t know why. They haven’t been there since October. OK I’m sure they are there, but it’s not fishing well. East I hit with David and then spent another week there myself, so we mostly fished South this week and it was actually good. Some fresh babies. Bizarrely, the main bay, which usually provides most of the fishing wasn’t providing. And an area that I used to fish a lot, but haven’t for about 7-8 years, was the best. So a few changes there.

I think 7 full days of guiding would have had a different result, but Marcel is a bit like me and many of you too probably, in that we want to do it ourselves. I won’t even let someone net a fish for me. If you want to net a fish then catch your own!! And travelling and fishing the lake on your own is very special. People will choose to do that in preference to being guided, even by me (!), despite the increased challenges. Of course it may be the socks, but I don’t think so. In fact the only time I wear socks nowadays is when I’m running, and I wash those immediately afterwards.

Marcel is talking about coming for a 3 week stay on Millipede Island, with a Sungai Tiang trip thrown in, later In the year. July is a good time for this. That will be great fun and I hope he makes it happen.

It didn’t rain a drop while Marcel was here and I wouldn’t be surprised if it stays completely dry now until mid April.

I did have one spectacular moment of my own when I dropped my new iPhone into the lake. In about 70’ of water. I tried fishing for it with a magnet, but I’m not really an expert with a spinning rod. Maybe I’d have had better luck with a lead core shooting head and a Black Zonker.

Fortunately I have Apple Care + for exactly this event and for £109 they are sending me a new phone. And I’ve ordered the replacement Quadlock Magcase too, which hopefully will arrive this time before the phone, so I wont crack the rear glass by dropping it on the Battleship floor while waiting for delivery of the bloody case. Another not-so-fine moment in my ever-eventful life!

I’ve been living on a boat now for about 12 years. It’s somewhat of a miracle that this is the first phone I’ve dropped over the side. Pot lids, pans, sunglasses, headlanps, forceps and even me have all gone over the side quite regularly. But this is my first phone.

I might have some guests next month and maybe the one after. But currently the calander is free. This means it’s back to teaching flycasting (I have around 100 students now, so it’s probably a good thing to have some clear weeks!). Also we have the new website to finish developing. Andy will be building the first Sexyloops Tornadoes in Texas some time next week (same Hot Torpedo blanks). I have loads of YouTube movies to create. And I plan to visit Sungai Tiang very soon. I also have to learn the Malay language for Permanent Residency (in case we come back). That will be fun! Hell, it’s all fun!!

I’m going to book myself in for the Malaysian Ironman as soon as they request my money, which means that training has started. And I’m going to make a decision on attending the World Flycasting Championships in Italy very soon.

In hindsight I really don’t know why we didn’t organise these championships ourselves. It’s very much in danger of contracting in scale to sponsored teams only. And it’s never going to be broadcast live soon, or at all at this rate. Broadcasting and acquiring sponsorship in both cash and prizes should be the focus of the governing body. Not making silly rule changes, for example that everyone needs to use highly colourful leaders for accuracy. Any fishing spectator would immediately think “that will spook fish… I thought that this was the world championships with fly fishing tackle? Are they so crap that they need to use brightly coloured leaders to hit rings? Isn’t that cheating anyway?” And they’d be perfectly right of course.

These are decisions that should not be made by a governing body but instead collectively amongst the competitors. UK was something like 120 competitors. More recently Sweden was 65 or something like that (please don’t quote me on the exact figures because I’m making them up). Whatever it was, it was certainly never too many to discuss rule changes at the WCs over a beer or two. Even in England. And that is what we are missing now, with committees. We handed it away and are now paying the price, both literally, financially, and with respect to a compromised direction. Who cares about plug casting in the World Games? I don’t even care about plug casting to be honest. Learn to fly fish and you’ll have more fun. We can teach you. Many of us do exactly this for a living. And it is more fun. It’s sexier and it’s what you’ll grow up to eventually do.

Besides this thing only works if it is broadcast. Otherwise it’s always going to be tiddlywinks. These are discussions that the fly casting competitors need to have in Italy. How do we get funded? How do we get broadcast? These are the only two questions that matter. And any rule changes must, and can only be made, by the majority of flycasting competitors meeting at the WCs.

Have a great week!

Cheers, Paul

Incidentally I, like every other humane person, am sickened by what happened in Minnesota this weekend. That is pure thuggery and murder. Followed by outright lies from the US government. Not to be sickened by that video and to claim it is anything else other than brutal murder is quite horrific. I hope very much that the USA manages to save itself from this regime. If not, then I suspect the long-term damages being created both within and outside the US are going to be catastrophic.

Of course Farage is another git.  And the UK has this to look forward to. Not all-out thugs perhaps, but colder. We don’t learn anything from history. Democracy doesn’t seem to work for us now, and unfortunately those of us who have known what real freedom is in our lives, will have to suffer. I’m going to become a pirate and live like Robinson Crusoe.  I did tell you that Brexit would be a monumental fuckup and we would have war in Europe again. It’s not rocket science. Do people really not see the future? Are we so blinkered? Climate change, migration, war.  If we make it that far. Otherwise Western collapse, war. No one wants to experience war, apart from those initiating it. Take all the world’s politicians and fly them to Mars. And those people who hold fish out at arm’s length on Facebook. Send them there too. .Or if not Mars then Venus.

Ok that’s a bit harsh. Only the politicians to Venus and the Facebook posers to Mars.

I’ve spent 35 years of my life travelling. I’ve spent time in Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and some in Africa. And I can tell you that we are all the same. Same feelings of love, same happiness, same fears. We are all one tribe originating out of Africa. Get rid of the stupid flags, the colours, the toxic religions and the wealth hoarders, and we are just people who want to live simple and happy lives, and some of us want to leave the world a better place than we found it and catch a shit-load of fish while we are here.

Fuck you politicians and the prejudiced people who support the fascist gits amongst them. Have some campfires, look at the night sky, try fly fishing.  Get some perspective to your life. Because you are not really alive and we only have a short time to be here.

And now, please, go fishing and have a great week!!

POD: last known picture taken on my iPhone before it took up diving.