The Vintage Fishing Company Guides

The Vintage Fishing Company Guides

No. 1 - Vintage Angling

Introduction

So you are thinking of giving vintage angling, or “vangling” a go? Perhaps you are bored of the arms race type approach to tackle that seems to prevail in the modern sport, with each year (because seasons no longer exist) bringing a fresh swathe of must have rods, reels, cucumber and beetroot flavoured boilies dipped in a humus and red wine glug or somesuch. Or perhaps you have a fond memory of fishing with an older relative and want to recapture some of the simple pleasure of angling? Here are some suggestions (and they are only that) from the VFC to help!

Embrace the Philosophy

Shake out your arms and breath in through your nose and out through your mouth… (or:)

1)Try not to worry about whether or not you catch fish. Go fishing to go fishing – if you happen to catch a fish or two then all the better. Spend time looking around you, enjoying being part of nature and able to breathe.

2)Read one or two of the great angling writers to try and connect with them: try J. W. Martin, Norman Hill, Arthur Ransome or Chris Yates perhaps. These writers write about the joy of fishing and being by the river or lake without trying to convince you that a particular technique is going to bring instant results.

3)Fish the same spots repeatedly, particularly on a river – get to know them like favourite friends, learn how the river/ pond changes and tune into it. Avoid hopping from one place to the next because you happen to blank one day – or because somewhere is supposedly “fishing well”.

4)Follow the old close season. No – seriously – follow it. Even fish deserve a rest and a chance to breed (I know all the excuses about them not actually breeding in the closed season etc.). But even a fisherman can benefit from a rest – a little time away from the water to get brownie points at home and heighten anticipation. End it all with an Opening Day party and get together – a tradition that I much miss. The close season was only abolished so that commercial carp fisheries could carry on fleecing day ticket fishermen.

Where to fish (or where not!)

Ok – its true: you are more likely to catch fish in an over stocked commercial pond than in a river or natural lake, and not all of us are lucky enough to live near plentiful free natural fishing.

If you have a choice, though, go natural every time: you will often save the cost of a day ticket and will have the joy of the unexpected: what will take your bait next? In an hour spell on an open stretch of a Norfolk river John Wilson managed to catch a mirror carp of 10.5lb, a barbel of 12.7 lbs, a roach of 2.7lbs and a chub over 4lbs! And all on breadflake, one of the cheapest baits there is.

Tackle

1)Decide how far you want to go and stick to it: are you going to fish vintage from hook point to rod butt or mix modern and vintage equipment? Some improvements really are that – modern lines for example are far easier to cast with and use than vintage lines (and easier to get hold of too!) Are you going to use tackle from a particular period perhaps? Or do you just want to try a cane rod with your modern reel? All will bring satisfaction – but set yourself your parameters early on.

2)Keep it simple – fish haven’t got any smarter, but techniques seem to have got more complicated. Much of this is simply to give tackle shops something to sell to you! As Arthur Ransome once said:

“The pleasures of fishing are chiefly to be found in rivers, lakes and tackle-shops and, of the three, the last are the least….”

The simpler your tackle the less to go wrong, and the lighter you can travel. The lighter your kit, the more likely you are to move about – thereby not only increasing your chance of a fish but also getting to see more of your chosen venue.

3)When fly fishing bear in mind the different action of cane rods, particularly older ones, and practise with your chosen line and reel before you get waterside: you’ll be surprised at how different it feels and reacts.

4)If you are going the whole hog remember that you must use modern leads and weights and that vintage landing nets (with knotted mesh) should not be used (if you want to use your vintage net then get a modern mesh net to replace the original). In addition gaffs, tailers, pike gags and various other bits of old tackle such as crocodile harnesses are now frowned upon by the authorities in freshwater fishing (apparently nobody cares if sea fish carry on suffering!).

5)Look after your tackle, but don’t be afraid to use it – if it breaks, it breaks: a rod or reel is made for fishing, not sticking behind glass. OK – if you have a rare first pattern Hardy brass perfect then you might want to consider leaving it at home, but you know what I mean.

6)Don’t use a keepnet – your memory is the only place to keep a fish, the sooner it is swimming free again the less damage is likely to be caused.

Optional Extras

1)If you haven’t made your own tea bankside on an open fire or Kelly kettle then you haven’t lived. Check out Chris Yates’ guide to tea making on You Tube

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2)If you smoke then I can highly recommend a pipeful of your favourite (sorry – I assume that you knew I meant smoke a pipe!) leaf. If you smoke cigarettes then give a pipe a try on the bankside – much more efficacious at keeping away the midges and (slightly) better for you too!

3)Do without a brolly – no matter what the weather! Trust in an oilskin coat, trusty fishing hat and scarf (to stop drips) and enjoy being in the rain – but make sure you have a hot crumpet and cup of tea on order when you get home. If its too awful to fish in just your coat then stay home, read a good fishing book and look wistfully out of the window….. the fish will still be there tomorrow (unfortunately, in Britain, so very likely will the rain be!).

4)Support other anglers, even those less enlightened than you. When they mock you tackle and approach (and they will, shortly before driving their god forsaken bait boat over your carefully floated line) return a smile and a nod: for you have seen the light. More often than not ridicule will quickly give way to interested questions and trips down memory lane.

5)Fish the seasons – tench in July, carp and bream in summer, perch, dace and barbel in autumn and pike and roach in winter perhaps (other combinations exist of course!). Get in tune with nature rather than fight against it by fishing for one species all year round (unless you’re a chubaholic, in which case good luck to you).

6)Keep a fishing log/ diary – but make it more than about the fish you catch. Sure its good to be able to reference techniques and so on that have worked previously in a spot (though fish, being fish, will refuse to play ball and swallow the same bait presented in the same way in the same conditions!) but why not note wildlife seen, people met or things seen? If you can bear it you could even expose your feelings!

Jim Hudson

The Vintage Fishing Company