I have met hundreds of people fishing the Kelvin over the years.
All different types of people and all from different backgrounds. I have met guys who are super intelligent and people I am surprised that they managed to negotiate their way on to a bus to get to the river. I have met arrogant guys who try and tell me that they know it all and try and belittle others even though their lack of knowledge is evident and I have met humble guys who will tell me how good a fisher I am compared to them before totally out-fishing me yet still being a nice guy about it.
This season I was standing next to a great pool on the Kelvin and a couple of guys who were trying to…….I don’t know, impress me with their fishing knowledge and skill told me the trout rising out in front of us was “just a tiddler“. I watched that trout break the surface a dozen times as they tried to justify set lining and I would swear it was not an ounce under a pound.
Some of the guys I met years ago now do not appear to fish the river – I used to meet this guy all the time..
He used to trot for trout with a float outfit and was a great fisher, total catch and release all the way. He was English and would always stop for a chat. I met a lot of guys back then , I see none of them now. Some guys I meet now tell me they have been fishing the Kelvin “for years” however I never used to meet them. Some of them it is because they fished further upstream than me and sometimes it is just bullshit.
I hear a lot of bullshit!
Over the last few years I have witnessed an increase in guys who feel they need to be aggressive when approached. Correction, they feel the need to be aggressive when simply having a chat about fish never mind being asked about permits. Gladly I think these guys are in the minority.
Speaking of humble guys I met someone a couple of seasons ago at a popular part of the river. I met him at the same place and roughly the same time every evening – dusk.
You see, this guy was fishing my banker spot. The place where I knew I would see some action at dusk. I cannot remember his name however I can remember that he wore a pair of sandshoes, jeans and got to the river on a bike. He used a fly rod and fly and spoke to me about the amount of trout he had caught since he had started fishing their at dusk. He loved it, he marvelled at the size of trout he had caught after I had described using a dry and dropper and I gave him some flies – anyone with that much enthusiasm should be encouraged. What made this guy interesting was when I pointed out a rising trout just upstream of me and he told me he could not cast for it. Why? I asked. It was because he was standing on two rocks and he could only cast accurately from just that spot. You see, their was a long bank of trees behind us apart from just immediately behind us where their was a break – he had worked out that his back cast could slip just between these two trees while perched on that rock. He could place the fly maybe in roughly a line about a yard wide and the river wide.
He caught lots of trout, and loved it.
My solitude is safe…(Note huge dragonfly on hat)
In other news I received a voice mail message from the Glasgow Angling Centre – my broken Sage SLT is ready to be picked up. That my friends is what I call fast efficient and great service, not just from Sage but from the Glasgow Angling Centre. I would get a photo of me picking it up if I did not look so shady with a camera in a fishing shop. Greys/Hardy should take note about that warranty experience – maybe they would not be going bust if they tried to keep their customers happy eh?
At some point I need to officially launch the Urban Fly Fisher River Kelvin Forum , although I may just let it sit their until next year for the ten year anniversary of this blog.
Let me know what you think!
All in all I would say that meeting people on the Kelvin has been a positive experience. There are always the really crazy incidents you can’t forget for all the wrong reasons. However, when I think back over all the good people (you don’t count!) then it has been a fantastic way of connecting with people that may only share one common interest. Our backgrounds etc. may be so different that we may never have spoken, but in many cases I now have a regular dialogue with people that teach me a lot about various different things. Some of it is actually relegated to angling, some of it science, then there’s politics, law, sociology, criminology etc!! Some of these meetings are chance encounters, often a brief but interesting conversation. Other result in a much longer relationship. I do wonder if some of these chance encounters regret bumping into me? Often it results in them becoming volunteers, dealing with poachers or slugging trolleys up muddy banks. If they hadn’t engaged me in conversation their lives might be easier. . . . Although surely less fulfilling?! Thanks to all that have taken the time to talk to me, regardless of the outcome.
Paul
Many thanks Paul for that very interesting comment.
I suppose I was really just talking about the anglers that I run into on a general basis rather than the folk I meet due to doing a spot of volunteering for the association. The folk I meet due to the volunteering are pretty much always good guys – the amount I have learned from Willie Yeoman’s is phenomenal (especially about how to get folk off the the phone)
You make an interesting point actually, do you ever meet anyone that does not know anything about the work that the RKAA is doing?
Firstly I’d like to take a stab at the guess the location of the photograph – I think it’s the big wide deep corner just upstream of the golf course. I’ve only been there once before so I’m probably way out. I love this blog entry about people. Apart from the quality of the fishing (trout and salmon), the unique urban backdrop and the lenient approach to tactics the best thing about fishing the kelvin is the people watching/meeting element. Including the joggers and dog walkers – in fact having recently begun reading the salmon fishing forum I had a notion to start a thread entitled ” The River Kelvin – Europe’s top salmon river for Fanny” to try and provoke a response and maybe photos from the scandinavians.
Alistair, I think you should re- start the forum asap. I didn’t realise it was out of order, I posted a river report accidentally in the germany section the other week , I’ve got a seasons worth of photos and tales that I’d love to share especially now the seasons over.
Paul – I’d like to apologise for not making any of the work party days.And I made it to only 2 fork clean ups the whole year . It’s not laziness or apathy , I just work a lot of weekends. The work carried out down our way has not gone unnoticed or un appreciated. A lot of work done on the left bank above QM bridge. Young darren took his second fish of the day from there one afternoon shortly after that was done. Right bank upstream of belmont bridge opened up. Right bank opposite the planks and beech trees cleared perfectly – even better now for fishing the double hander all the way down with a bit of water but hasn’t interfered with the spring dry fly trouting cos the best of the trout lie downstream of the sycamore at the neck and hard in under the left bank. Nicely done chaps. The tree pool – a bizarre mystery – now you see it now you don’t. I’m going to spend the winter getting to the bottom of this. Alistair, please reopen your forum if only so we can spin conspiracy theories about who dun it. I remember the days when it used to be wild on your forum it brightened up the close season! And just a final word about the white house – brilliant . To celebrate I’m gonna take the first fish off the kelvin next season and I’m gonna take it from the white house in March. And before someone pipes up, I know there was fish taken in march before but that was below the falls so it aint the same. xx
I am afraid you are kind of far off Alasdair however as a consolation prize you get to show me where some of those big browns are at the start of the season.
I never even thought of writing about the non anglers that I meet on a regular basis – the vicar and the dog walkers amongst others, maybe a “People Part 2” is coming along.
If you think Kelvingrove Park is good for the attractive ladies you should try the Vet School during the summer, they have lots of trainee female vets from around the world out walking the dogs. Obviously they have to hold themselves back from talking to the incredibly sexy fishers in waders and waistcoat.
So Darren took a fish where all the work was done – interesting, tell him that I am looking forward to talking to him about it at the AGM.
Right I will prepare a post and formally launch the forum next week – get yourself joined up and post some pictures to get things moving along 🙂
What is the tree pool like now?