Viking Lars | Saturday, 15 October 2016
Last weekend trip to Denmark Fishing and Outdoor Lodge was great - it's a fantastic place, and I'll write more thouroughly about it and the fishing opportunities they offer later on. The fishing was slow - I only managed a few houtrs on Saturday, and Sunday was fine, plenty of time, but only a few fish. I did miss a few shots I had on a big trout foraging on low water, but I missed it.
So - today's a lazy day. Relatively strong, easterly winds means I don't go fishing :-).
I have a couple of books I look forward to reading, and I'll start on one today, and I have a little "project" on my pontoon boat I want to get done as well.
Have you seen Dr. Andrew Herd's book, "The History of Flyfishing"? It's a beautifully illustrated solid piece of historical research. It's been followed up by two books on historical trout and salmon fly patterns. They're available from Medlar Press at a very reasonalbe price and if you're interested in the subject(s), they're well worth reading.
Another book I want to mention is Robert Smith's fantastic publication, "The North Country Fly". A full and as-near-as-possible complete account of the history and people behind the famed flies of Northern England. For some reason, I took a liking to these flies very early on (possibly a combination of effectiveness, their deep history and beautiful simplicity) and this is the best fly fishing book I've read in many years!
But - the pontoon boat: Anderson Pontoon makes a very nice and effective line tray. Simple one, really. Shallow, semi-stiff sides, mesh bottom through which you thread silicone "spikes" that prevents the line from tangling and from blowing off the tray. It works really well and attaches to one of the pontoons (well, actually to the frame, but over the pontoon). And here's the "problem": It attaches via straps that you thread between the pontoon and and the frame, through a buckle. It's fiddly and and I want to see if I can attach 3 or 4 snap buckles in the right places so I can simply snap it in to place, rather than feeding the straps between the frame and pontoon (where there's very little room for good reasons). It's also fiddly to pass the strap through the small buckles and get everything tightened up, so snaps are the way to go.
I just requires that I pull myself together, lay aside the books, and get out into the garden and setup the boat. And those easterly, cold winds are still there...
Have a nice weenend!
Lars