Writer, fly-fisher, river restorationist
I’ve spent most of the last few weeks taking a break from writing books and advertising copy to work on another kind of big writing job: pulling together the final draft of the Wandle Catchment Plan. It’s involved a lot of thinking about water, and how to meet the challenges of balancing too much against […]
Following the very sad and sudden passing of the great fly-fishing and environmental writer Peter Lapsley in July last year, I’ve been honoured to be asked to assume the Editorship of the Flyfishers’ Journal – the biannual magazine of the ancient and storied London-based Flyfishers’ Club. Truth to tell, I’d already been nominated as Peter’s […]
As I’ve recently noted over on my Urbantrout blog, this is the time of year which can show even the best angler exactly what he’s been failing to catch all season… and early winter on the Wandle is no exception to this universal law. It’s a curious fact that since we saw that first pair […]
Thanks to Paul Sharman there’s an excellent feature about the Wandle river restoration story in the latest issue of The Angler, the Angling Trust’s new-look membership magazine, which has started dropping through letter boxes over the weekend. To conclude the feature, Paul asked me for a testimonial about the Angling Trust’s role in the Wandle’s […]
In September I took a trip down to Dover and discovered another little urban chalkstream that’s spookily similar to the Wandle: Long before recorded history, the Dour was responsible for creating one of Britain’s earliest natural harbours, wearing a deep notch into the chalk cliffs and providing Neolithic boatmen with a safe landing-place in a […]
Several evenings in the past two months, I’ve followed the track of one of our previous volunteer balsam-pulling days, sniping late stragglers that pop their heads above the parapet of rusting brambles and bindweed. Absent overshading and other competition from its fellows, it’s amazing how the most inconspicuous seedling will snatch its chance to shoot […]
Having been quite closely involved in bringing World Rivers Day to the Wandle for the first time in 2008, it’s going to be a real buzz to see this year’s global festival marked by the official launch of the Wandle Valley’s HLF landscape partnership projects. I’ll be spending this Sunday at the Wandle Piscators’ fishing […]
Can it really be 10 years since I wrote my first article for Flyfishing.co.uk? Well, yes, it probably can. Since 2003, Simon Lewin’s little Fish&Fly website has grown up into a truly international publishing brand that’s now known as MacNab Media. And while I’m still sometimes rocking that vintage LL Bean realtree fleece (possibly the […]
If you want to stroll the banks of a manicured chalkstream, or cast a fly across a well-appointed salmon river, there’s plenty of old-school tweed and waxed cotton to help you look the part. Alternatively, if you’re planning a week’s survival camp in Norway or Kamchatka, with nothing to keep you alive except bear-spray and […]
Anyone who’s fished with me will know that I like to take a light line approach whenever possible – fishing with ultralight rigs matched with 3-weight lines or lighter – for their uncanny ability to deliver delicate presentations, cushion vicious strikes on fine tippets, and still land hefty fish of all species with speed and […]
