tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-302525482009-02-21T11:27:17.044ZThoughts from an angler whose meagre skills are happily compensated by a combination of enthusiasm, ceaseless optimism and occasional good fortune.windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-23009944483395461222007-08-11T17:38:00.000Z2007-08-11T18:09:32.534Z

A short stay in Hampshire, and an opportunity to make a pilgrimage to the sacred water. A bridge over the Test - a rare opportunity to gaze in wonder at the fabled river. As I walked out of the grounds of Mottisfont Abbey and on to the main road, the late afternoon sunshine reluctantly relaxed its hold on the day. Highland cattle lazed in the shade, paying me no attention. They must have

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-77545545386004464462007-07-15T14:00:00.000Z2007-07-15T14:48:09.634Z

The first thing that strikes you about So Many Fish, So Little Time by Mark D. Williams is its size. It is large. If it were actually to strike you you’d be advised to take the full force of the blow on your non-casting arm, as these 860 pages of the ‘World’s Greatest Backcountry Honeyholes, Trout Rivers, Blue Ribbon Waters, Bass Lakes, and Saltwater Hot Spots’ would leave you at best with some

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-15642689447301727662007-06-16T09:06:00.000Z2007-06-16T09:24:27.820Z

Previously I've written about the signs of obsession, and one that I should have added to the list is the ability to bring flyfishing into even the most unrelated of subjects. I managed to do this a few weeks ago while attending a course in London on ‘Gathering requirements for software applications’. An air-conditioned room full of software developers, project managers, and IT consultants; a

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-8000898640656345972007-04-12T19:26:00.000Z2007-04-12T20:36:23.549Z

Google seemingly prove successful at all they touch. Perhaps they could develop leader material that cannot become entangled in trees. By using the website statistics software Google Analytics, I can monitor the laughably meagre traffic that finds its way onto the Windknotter blog. You can always rely on Google can't you? They've created the world renowned search engine; allowed us to see

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1170100770694825772007-01-29T19:33:00.000Z2007-01-29T22:04:07.020Z

While, for some, flyfishing is just an engaging hobby, a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, for others it is an all-consuming passion, a lens through which all else is viewed. And at this time of the year, when some of us have been away from the water for four months, the signs of cabin fever start to show through. Over at Tamanawis, Mike has been cutting his equipment to the bone, and has tried

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1165774279275680072006-12-10T17:52:00.000Z2007-01-02T19:42:56.596Z

It's not often that I get excited during trips to Tescos. A visit a couple of months ago started like any other, until I found myself standing next to the magazine rack. While Mrs Windknotter busied herself in the ladies clothing aisle, I took a look at the month's magazine offerings. FHM's cover had a girl who used to be in Hollyoaks pouting and holding her breasts, while an East Anglia focussed

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1162481178959624392006-11-02T15:26:00.000Z2006-11-02T15:32:40.310Z

Once the season is over, you'll need to work harder to think of reasons why your fly rod needs to be removed from its case. You can tell your other half that fishing equipment needs to be cleaned regularly, but if you've used that excuse to admire rods already that week, you might need to think of something else. An alternative is to stress the importance of regular casting practice. If you state

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1159691435495014582006-10-01T08:30:00.000Z2006-10-01T08:38:11.150Z

Earlier this year I had a day in London, and with an hour to spare before an engagement decided to pay a quick visit to Farlow's of Pall Mall. Not to buy anything, you understand. Just to kill a bit of time. Just to look. Leaving the store soon after, having purchased several packets of hooks, some leader material, and the EZE-LAP diamond hook sharpener, I felt as though I'd been played and

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1158942053467545672006-09-22T15:47:00.000Z2006-09-22T16:31:42.340Z

As I walked along the river the other week, something under the water caught my eye. It lay in about six inches of water and had been partly obscured by weed. As I clambered into the current for a closer inspection it became obvious that this was man-made, and was in fact an empty DVD box. On the cover naked women writhed around on top of other naked women. Yep, I found myself holding "two hours

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1158698092919985282006-09-19T20:04:00.001Z2006-09-22T11:41:11.720Z

Imagine the scene. You carefully approach the bottom of a pool, and are about to make your first cast, when you hear an almighty commotion from deep inside the bankside vegetation. It gets louder, and you wonder what is about to happen. Is this a covert operation by an employee of the Environment Agency? Or are you about to come face to face with some crazed lunatic, who also happens to be a

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1154159731510693512006-07-29T07:42:00.000Z2006-07-29T08:23:20.816Z

Despite making three trips to the river over the course of the weekend, I failed to show my net to a single trout. And on Friday night I managed to lose my polaroids in the river... On the whole I practise catch and release, so I don't mind leaving empty handed, but to come away with less tackle than I started with is hardly worthy of congratulation. The weren't exactly expensive glasses (OK, I

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1152648792779674752006-07-11T20:11:00.000Z2006-07-18T17:41:48.716Z

Here are the steps that I go through when flyfishing for trout. They are born out of long experience, so you might want to take notes. 1. Arrive full of confidence and expectation, the disappointment of the last trip now long forgotten. Set up your rod, thread the flyline through the rod rings and then attach the leader. Notice how you’ve missed at least one of the rod rings and rebuke yourself

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1152636137121455982006-07-11T16:41:00.000Z2006-07-11T20:13:47.623Z

I do most of my flyfishing on the upper reaches of the river Cam. But this isn’t the stretch of the Cam where Cambridge undergraduates punt past the historic colleges. This is Essex, where the punts can’t go. Here the river is narrower, shallower and usually faster flowing. And in the water there are trout, most of them stocked but some of the wild. I used to be a season ticket at Grafham, the

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252548.post-1151955376619365722006-07-03T19:35:00.000Z2006-10-20T12:28:03.090Z

Mid-summer, half the season gone, and it’s too hot to fish. I went down to the river yesterday at 11am, and fished through the hottest part of the day before going home at the point when it probably started to become worthwhile. But then I can’t just sling a fly line out of my bedroom window like some lucky anglers. I live in Ely, north of Cambridge, and have to travel over half an hour, and over

windknotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08197837158713742439noreply@blogger.com1