The Urban Fly Fisher

It was not a wee birdie that told you it was moi!

Yea – that is correct – it was me!

Urban Fly Fisher Sponsor - Lord Kelvin

Some people just love to hear about the River Kelvin Angling Association – it is an association of anglers that is going from strength to strength. You see the thing is the association has totally turned itself around over the last couple of years – it was only a couple of years ago I was the main detractor on how the Kelvin was managed and then I decided to mosey along to the AGM as I made a telephone call to Euan Greer asking him why the hell was my name down as a committee member when nobody had contacted me in a couple of years. Any he told me some interesting things were afoot and I decided to attend the AGM.

What occurred was a total reboot of the association which comprised of: an overhaul of the rules, some changes to the constitution, better links being made with other organisations (pretty good stuff happening by the way) and the early formations of a bailiff force – if you were at the EGM you will know who the actual “proper” bailiffs are.

Sure the association still has its detractors however the thing to remember is that if you think you can do a better job you can always get yourself voted in to do it – don’t go thinking it is not a hard job though – personally I am glad all I do is hang around with the cool kids (and be forced along to countless meetings).

Anyway – that is enough of me bumming up the association – I just felt that for a couple of years all I did was complain about them and I think a job well done deserves a pat on the back that’s all. The association is now probably the largest fishing club in Scotland and is a force to be reckoned with.

If you are a member head over to the official forum to bombard the committee with questions and suggestions – if not a member you are out of luck I am afraid – as all the office bearers are totally voluntary they were getting bogged down from people who were not even members. This drastically cut down the time they can devote to members. Anyway – how many questions can someone actually have about a fishing club eh?

#Grin#

RKAA – EGM Update

Just a quick update as I know there will be some people unable to attend the EGM.

As EGM’s go it was pretty boring – no gunfights, no “dance off” between rival factions and only one heckler – and even he is a long gunmen who really should be given his own place on the agenda – he then put his name down for some association booty and did not throw himself out for a change. (if you have ever been to a Kelvin AGM you will no who I am talking about – I should write a book about this stuff it is priceless)

Everyone was happy at the changes to the constitution – every single one of the changes were unanimously voted in. The situation with the new Bailiff Clyde wide hit force was touched upon (I don’t want to steal anyone’s thunder so my lips are sealed) – oh and Atkins is the new Chairman as Euan Greer stepped down.

I will write more later – got to dash!

Kelvin Angling Association EGM

So it is only a couple of days until the crazy kids that make up the river Kelvin angling fraternity meet up once more to discuss the parentage of the committee!
I wonder what will happen this year – shock accusations, heartening confessions, threats of handbags at dawn – I think we have had them all – something tells me though that Wednesday night will be full of surprises – one of which might be just how boring the constitution of the association actually is. Every member now has an original copy with the proposed changes – the original copy had to be painstakingly translated from an ancient weegie dialect – it was written on crumbling parchment that was covered in coffee, whiskey and blood stains!

Of course nobody will actually read the changes (which are minor) but will probably focus on the original constitution which pretty much sums up the time it was written in – there was only a couple of hundred members in those days and to be honest I do not think any of them actually fished the river. On my first jaunty on to the committee (before I was not told of any meetings) I was surprised to find that none of the office bearers actually fished the river – like none of them! To be fair though even a few years ago you could not get anyone to actually step up for any of the office bearer positions – in fact trying to get people to turn up at a committee meeting was difficult.

Now the committee and office bearers of the association are made up of anglers that fish the river – I think this is great.

Sneezy Lord Kelvin

Anyway – I am loaded with a cold and feel like crap – seemingly my job is to check everyone has their permit on them as they come in the door – nice one, you can all guarantee you will be feeling particularly shitty just in time for the weekend.

See you there!

Tenuous fishing photos 45/52

I erected a bird feeder in my garden a few months ago so that my 22 month old boy could be amazed at our feathered friends – secretly I wanted to attract them as well.

Anyway – since it was erected our garden has been not even had a pigeon sniff at it – no idea why – anyway this morning it all changed – we had a couple of blue tits and this cheeky bastard…

45/52

Cant say I did not enjoy seeing the squirrel – especially its rather nice bushy tail. Although when I went to get my catapult seemingly it may be “traumatising” for the boy.

Blue Tit wings anyone?

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-11-14

end of a three day migraine! I hope anyway! #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-11-07

Clocks went back last night …you gain an hour if you don't have kids! #
Going to try and spot salmon trying to get up the fish pass on the allander ! #

Tenuous fishing photos 44/52

This picture was actually sent to me by a chap called Tommy – he photographed these weird long white worm like things sprouting from the river – like him I have absolutely no idea what they are – they were nowhere near any pipes etc.

Wiggly wiggly worm?

Anyway – after a brief email exchange Paul was dispatched to checkout weird white long things – he has not got back to me yet – when he does I will let you know his findings. If he starts acting funnier we will know he is an alien.

To see all of the tenuous fishing post selection you can click here. It started at the start of the year as an attempt to post a picture a week which had a tenuous link to fishing for 52 weeks – due to me being a bit shite I often missed a few weeks and then had to catch up somehow.

Only having a few weeks to go until 52 is kinda scary!

Why the .net is good for your fishing!

I really enjoy having a fishing blog – you may have noticed this over the years!

I enjoy it so much I recommend everyone has one – because of the success of Urban Fly Fisher everyone at one point appeared to want to create a website dedicated to the Kelvin 🙂

When I look back over the last half dozen years I have gained not just a collection of words utilising grammatical errors, poor punctuation aided by dodgy photos – it is more the knowledge and friendships I have made because of them that mean the most! Of course some people say I am an evil self publicist who is a right shady bastard but one tries to pay them no heed!

#grin#

You see, there is something essential about having fishing pals – I was not blessed with any buddies that fish as I picked my rod back up after the hedonism of my youth. I have gained all my fishing buddies through writing Urban Fly Fisher- and some of the guys I met then went on to meet each other and become good friends and of course now fish together often forgetting to let me know they hauling them in somewhere altogether!

: By the grace of God my friend!

The online fishing world in Glasgow (and surrounding areas) is a small one – everyone knows everyone else and there is always someone who is willing to meet up for a fish – especially if you are a fly fishing novice – I think it is great!

Some say I only fish with people so there is a buffer between me and the cows and there may unconsciously be an element of truth to that however there is also another reason.

You see – the problem is you really cannot learn how to fly fish from a book alone – or a website or forum for that matter! Sure on a forum you can ask a question and someone can give you a long concise answer however you will still probably only get 20% of what they are saying as really you have got to see, feel and experience the answer for you to understand it – this is why having real live fishing buddies are essential – to share knowledge and experience.

: Having a live fishing buddy is usually better than a dead one – going through this guys pockets was pretty disappointing.

When I fish with a pal I always dedicate some time to watching them fish – it is nice to see how someone else will approach a situation and it is just nice to see your buddy catching a fish – there is something nice about pointing out a rising fish to a pal and watching him catch it.

Yes – the internet can be kind to you as long as you don’t act like a total tool – I see guys all the time acting like totals tanks on the internet – yea sure it is all very funny at the time however the people they are acting the arse towards are the people that they will want to try and engage as fishing buddies.

Result = a life of having no fishing buddies and consequently not learning from the experience that they can teach you. Of course you are unable to get a lift anywhere as well – obviously nobody posts on forums there favourite spots either!

Like I say writing urban fly fisher is great fun – apart from when someone told me I was fatter in real life than I looked online in front of a couple of hundred folk – thanks buddy – that has now started people commenting on my weight at every available opportunity – “you’ve lost a fair bit of weight” – thanks, that’s what happens when you are under pressure to be an online fishing sex god – I am heading towards middle age with the youngsters snapping at the heels!

: Mike from Tamanawis – does not count!

Anyhoo – get out there, be nice and ask questions – with a bit of luck you will meet some lovely folk who will improve your fishing no end – enjoy your pals company and take the time to learn something every time you head out with them.

Think about it – when was the last time you learnt something from a pal? Let me know in the comments!

Production Fly Tying – get yer’ vice on!

Time to get the old vise out for the Winter – I fully intend on visiting the Milngavie Fly Tyers again this year if I can find the time the odd Thursday night. Been flicking through my books on fly tying and always find this one a joy..

(the image is an affiliate link to Amazon which means I get a bung if you buy a copy)

I somehow managed to get my hands on a signed copy a couple of years ago – a chap in the states visited A.K.Best at his home and got him to sign a copy for me – he also gave me some flies in a rather nice box.

If you are new to tying or even not so new it gives handy practical tips on almost every aspect of fly tying technique – not patterns – pure how to tie flies! It is a great book with huge pictures which shows a lot of detail.

Enjoy!

Sunday at the Salmon Ladder…

The clocks went back on Saturday night meaning I was up even earlier on Sunday – I was instructed to leave the house with the boy so decided that a trip to the Salmon ladder in Milngavie was in order – let me stop you right there before you get all excited n’ stuff – I never seen any Salmon!

A distinct lack of the silver stuff!

I mean – you would have thought I would have, the burn was high and had a good amount of water coming over the falls – it was only when I walked down the burn did I notice that even though it was at a good height it was not in spate or anything – more “just a good height”

No expense spared - thanks East Dunbartonshire Council...

It was weird – I mean there was a fair amount of water coming down but when I walked down the burn (I was actually headed to a play park) I reckoned it was up a foot..

Up a foot - what is that white stuff?

The extra water created some lovely deep looking pools and long dry fly ripples – the water was gin clear as well. It reminded me of when I first fished the Allander when I was about 12 or 13 – my Mother and Father had took me down to fish it – I was using a worm and the river was in full spate – I got talking to another boy who got a take and it took him under the bank – I was amazed – I think at this point I had till never actually caught anything – it was probably one of my fist times out fishing with an outfit that had been bought from a catalogue – it came with a swim feeder!

Anyway – after the park I headed back to the fish pass to not see any fish again..

They could have been sly Ninja fish...

The boy dropped his balloon in the river and I pretended to try and catch it in case anyone was watching – secretly I wanted to see it go down the falls but the damn thing bobbed about at the top – we threw stones at it however it refused to burst – we cruised off to a local DIY store and I spent the afternoon putting a new roof on my shed.

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