My interest in fly fishing started in the North West of England when an ex miner took advantage regeneration scheme money offered by Government and local trusts to dig out a trout lake in the shadow of coal slag heaps in one of the most deprived parts of the town, it was a bit like that film Field Of Dreams where Kevin Costner builds a baseball pitch on his farm because a voice tells him ” if you build it they will come “.
I thought that’s for me and went to the local tackle shop armed with my Youth Training Scheme wages and purchased my first set of fly gear. I went every weekend armed with new tackle and no knowledge of fly fishing as I had always coarse fished in the local ponds for Roach and Perch, but the stockies where there usual suicidal selves and attacked most things I managed to splash at them. The fight from from a 1lb Rainbow was a big difference from the coarse fish and so my love of fly fishing began.
The place was never busy and often the owner, who lived in a caravan on the site, would ask me to tell any new arrivals to go ahead and fish as he was off to the pub and would be back later ( much later ). Even my youthful lack of experience in running a business could see that this was never going to last and eventually it became a coarse fishing lake. Not before a large pub with views across the lake was built, only to go bust and be burnt down by the local arsonist. I did say it was not the the most desirable part of town to live in. It is now a spectacular part of an urban regeneration programme to make use of the coal slag heaps and surrounding areas and the lake looks like its always been there.
I do think that without it I would have never got a interest in fly fishing, so I thank the the man with the dream to build a trout lake, it is just a pity that the dream didn’t last very long.
enjoyed looking around your site
Thanks, great pictures of some very nice bamboo rods on your site. Really liked the pictures on how the rods are put together. I do have a Mitre Hardy split cane/bamboo rod that needs the top section repairing, maybe one day I will get it done and fish with it.
thanks for your post. I just about managed to slip away for a couple of hours yesterday. I’m looking forward to the day when the wee fella can come with me
Nice, finally I found a fly fishing blog of Ireland. Good site, I will be checking out every week.
Regard from Argentina.
Thanks Old Smuggler, I better get my act together and write something new.
I am yet to find anyone who didnt get hooked on our sport after catching their first trout! Which NW fishery was it?
It was called Moss Nook trout fishery, on the edge of the coal slag heaps in St Helens. Catching a 6 inch roach never held the same attraction after catching my first trout.
You should throw me into the mix. I’m just starting out but you can check my progress. peace