TRAVEL LIGHT

I guess the majority of us have spent more hours than we’d like to count yomping across the sand and shingle expanses of our local shores, often laden like a packhorse with beach gear, knees and various other joints creaking, groaning and wondering what on earth they’d done to deserve such abuse. en there’s those summer months when the opportunity arises to go fishing on the rocks. e full kit is not an option, so you scale it all back and there’s an undeniable sense of freedom at losing the aching shoulders and prickle of sweat on the walk from the car. For me, those days rock-hopping along the Dorset coast set me on a path. I started to scale down the rods and tackle too, and the upshot was that I covered more ground, found places much more lightly fished (if ever!) and achieved greater success and sport as a result. Even the fish themselves gave a better and better fight as the tackle got lighter. Frankly, it’s hard then nto go back. Bait fishing on the bottom turned to float fishing, which turned to plugs, which turned to light spinning and ultimately lead to me picking up a fly rod. I recall wafting it about at the dealers and giving it the obligatory ritual ‘wibble’ before breaking into an involuntary grin and declaring to the rest of the shop that this was what I called travelling light!

e sense of freedom that fly fishing gives is truly hard to beat. A reasonable fly rod weighs mere ounces and a fly reel also runs in at much less than your average fixed spool. Everything else you need can be reduced to literally a pocketful if you’re savvy. Of course, you can, and may need to, scale up a bit when circumstances dictate, as you may need waders and a landing net possibly, but that depends on the venue and ultimately where the fish are in relation to your access to the water’s edge. Exploring the shore armed with super-lightweight swiffing gear is a joy. Saltwater flyfishing is an active, moving experience, rarely static, but you will see more, find more, and catch more fish than you would by staying in one place. What’s more, fly rods pack down small, they love being tucked in the boot of the car, with everything you need in a small box, permanently primed and ready to go. It’s a ‘see fish, go fish’ set up, and I for one love the ability to grab opportunities to catch at a moment’s notice; fish for an hour and scoot off, without feeling like I have to be qualified to run the Royal Logistics Corps beforehand. Of course, if you’re happy with a comfy seat in your beach buddy and enjoying a nice pasty whilst waiting for that smoothhound to hoover up your peeler, then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I do happily partake of the same. But do only that and, in my opinion, you’re missing out!