Not long ago on the Kelvin there used to be not that many guys fishing the river for trout. Sometimes I would go whole months without meeting another fly angler..
I give a wry smile to myself when I meet guys who say they have been fishing the river “for years”. I was lucky enough just 10 years ago (pre children) to be able to spend every day on the river at various times. It all depended on my wife and her shift patterns however few days of the season were not covered – I hardly met a soul.
The last time I moved home we were lucky enough to just have to shift our stuff a few hundred yards from a flat to a house. That was around 8 years ago. Now again we have our home on the market and are looking elsewhere for a new family home. There is a hint of apprehension in all this as I know exactly how long it takes me to get to various parts of the river from my home just now. I have worked out how long it takes me to get home from work and what stops I can make along the way at the river yet still get home at a reasonable time without there being any incidents. When looking at areas and houses I look for that blue line that tells me there is some kind of fishing not far from me. At least all the areas we are looking at still has the Kelvin within striking distance although at one point we were thinking of moving so far out the city that I was almost going to take up Salmon fishing. Still, the upper Kelvin and the newly acquired Luggie were in easy striking distance so I was not too fussed.
Out for a run today and it did look quite nice, met a few anglers as well.
Don’t worry because once your children get to a certain age, mine are 9 and 7 the’ll be badgering to come along. My 7 year old daughter was clumping around the house in a pair of size 2 waders I picked up heavily discounted on Internet a few years ago today in anticipation for 1st april. My wife is resigned to their unhealthy interest in flies. My advice give them a small fly box to call their own and then you’ll have a tag team to back you up when you want to go fishing. As I say better to be outdoors than on a computer, although I’ll make a exception for your entertaining blog. I just love your descriptions of the annual general meetings and the absurdity of the disputes over this great activity.
David
Its as you say Alistair the amount of years we fished the river and how long did it take before we bumped into each other on the river. The rest is history.