01:19
comehere
The weather we're enjoying (well I am, to look at Facebook and listen to the radio, it looks as if everyone else is whinging like Aussies) is putting me in mind of 1 of my favourite movies, Grumpy Old Men with Walther Matthau and Jack Lemmon. I adore the parts where they all go out onto the lake where they all have their own small shacks for storing their bait and tackle and hole themselves up inside and fish through the ice.
I do wonder how that works though. The rods they used were stumpy things, they cannot have been more than eighteen inches in length, and I wonder how, if the fish they are chasing are fighters, they cope. Perhaps it's just me, but if I'm into a big fish that is less than cooperative on the idea of being dragged into the side and out of the water, then one of the requirements is to get about the bank to stop it sprinting for weeds or a clump of tree roots. Or possibly, ice fishing needs such heavy duty bait and tackle that as soon as they get a bite they just drag it in with no need to think about the line snapping.
But then, that can't work because surely the line is clearly visible to the fish, so it would have to be either very thick or inattentive. The entire point of fishing to my mind is to set up the bait and tackle to fool the fish into reckoning that all is in order and it's in for a free feed with the tastiest bait and tackle set up as light as possible and supposed not to be observed and when the fish bites and you strike to snare it, the authentic skill comes in, playing the line out when it runs, bringing it in when it gets tired and trying to make sure that it doesn't break the line and escape.
One of the things that I liked in Grumpy Old Men was that the fishing tackle shop had a caf part which I thought was a magnificent thing. What better, mainly on a chilly day, than being able to get a hot drink and a snack and be able to gossip, swap fibs and information? The fishing tackle shop that I live near is just that, although as a specialist shop it gets my interest as I can walk around them for hours, looking at the various products.
But my favourite things were the tiny cabins. What larks to be able to holing yourself away, set it up with tools and fun things just as you like and just have a marvellous day. I do acknowledge that it appears anti-social to do that but, to be honest, as most fishermen tend not to fall into the category of pretty and female, in fact generally the exact opposite, you don't always want to look at them overly across the water.
Everything above is naturally wholly academic. I have no disgrace in pointing out that I am very much a fine weather tackle dangler and it would need to be a very strong reason to drag me out in the freezing cold, but it looks nice in the film, and that is where I'll leave it.
20101223
I do wonder how that works though. The rods they used were stumpy things, they cannot have been more than eighteen inches in length, and I wonder how, if the fish they are chasing are fighters, they cope. Perhaps it's just me, but if I'm into a big fish that is less than cooperative on the idea of being dragged into the side and out of the water, then one of the requirements is to get about the bank to stop it sprinting for weeds or a clump of tree roots. Or possibly, ice fishing needs such heavy duty bait and tackle that as soon as they get a bite they just drag it in with no need to think about the line snapping.
But then, that can't work because surely the line is clearly visible to the fish, so it would have to be either very thick or inattentive. The entire point of fishing to my mind is to set up the bait and tackle to fool the fish into reckoning that all is in order and it's in for a free feed with the tastiest bait and tackle set up as light as possible and supposed not to be observed and when the fish bites and you strike to snare it, the authentic skill comes in, playing the line out when it runs, bringing it in when it gets tired and trying to make sure that it doesn't break the line and escape.
One of the things that I liked in Grumpy Old Men was that the fishing tackle shop had a caf part which I thought was a magnificent thing. What better, mainly on a chilly day, than being able to get a hot drink and a snack and be able to gossip, swap fibs and information? The fishing tackle shop that I live near is just that, although as a specialist shop it gets my interest as I can walk around them for hours, looking at the various products.
But my favourite things were the tiny cabins. What larks to be able to holing yourself away, set it up with tools and fun things just as you like and just have a marvellous day. I do acknowledge that it appears anti-social to do that but, to be honest, as most fishermen tend not to fall into the category of pretty and female, in fact generally the exact opposite, you don't always want to look at them overly across the water.
Everything above is naturally wholly academic. I have no disgrace in pointing out that I am very much a fine weather tackle dangler and it would need to be a very strong reason to drag me out in the freezing cold, but it looks nice in the film, and that is where I'll leave it.
20101223
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