Cliff Hatton
Well-known member
Books are coming back! Yes, apparently Kindle dwindles while books cook - especially fishing books. Thinking of something for the fisher-friends in your life this Christmas? Give them something to smile about...something that lasts...a copy of All Fluff & Waders! This full-colour exploration of 'fly-only' man's origins and development won't set you back a fortune but it'll leave its mark in the minds of your piscatorial pals.
All Fluff and Waders - A Pictorial History of Fly Fishing by Cliff Hatton Just click 'n' buy.
A Fish & Fly publication.
Review by Garrett Fallon, editor, Fallon's Angler.
I remember well the Punch cartoons of the 1970s and 80s, laden as they were with their satirical—and sometimes saucy—take on outdoor pursuits, and laughing at the sheer folly of the human condition. And so it is with Hatton’s 72 jocular pages on the origins of fly fishing from the caveman through to modern man who has somehow determined along the way that the sport we love be made much more difficult than is actually necessary, with often hilarious results.
Hatton reminds us of our propensity to ignore rational thought in pursuit of our hobby and points out—in a gently ribbing way—the irony surrounding the seriousness with which we take our sport, despite the fact we don’t eat much of what we catch anymore. It seems the further we get from our origins, the more we risk losing sight of why we fish at all. He paints a light-hearted picture of the clichéd rotund, hapless man as somebody who makes rules he is happy to break (with nobody looking), who wears vests with far too many pockets as to possibly be practical, and who would gladly risk life and limb to strip roadkill is his search for the right material with which to construct a fly when the simple worm would do. Meanwhile, our feminine muses out-fish us with ease.
A key to Hatton’s insight is his relatively recent arrival in the world of fly fishing, following his relocation to the Wye Valley in 2012. As editor of the website FishingMagic.com, he is a coarse angler of considerable skill and experience, but the freshness with which he identifies with the failure of many of us to catch anything at all is instantly warming. The stannah stair lift taking salmon into the next pool only to be caught by queuing anglers had me spitting my whiskey across the floor in laughter.
If you know a fly fisher who isn’t overly sensitive as to the often preposterous nature of the creed, and who isn’t afraid to laugh at himself, then this book is for him. I can see many such anglers finding this in their Christmas stocking, perfect as it is for cajoling us into seeing the funny side of life.
Garrett Fallon, editor, Fallon’s Angler
Review by Bob James of Passion for Angling fame.
The combination of Cliff's wonderful pictures and often wry words are a complete delight. If we fail to stand back and take a long hard look at ourselves he has done it for us, at times with poignancy, always with humour and great skill. There are times when you can almost see what the characters are thinking and hear what they are saying before you've even read the caption! I love it when someone comes at something from a completely different angle. I love it so much I'm off to find copies of his first two books.
All Fluff and Waders - A Pictorial History of Fly Fishing by Cliff Hatton Just click 'n' buy.
A Fish & Fly publication.
Review by Garrett Fallon, editor, Fallon's Angler.
I remember well the Punch cartoons of the 1970s and 80s, laden as they were with their satirical—and sometimes saucy—take on outdoor pursuits, and laughing at the sheer folly of the human condition. And so it is with Hatton’s 72 jocular pages on the origins of fly fishing from the caveman through to modern man who has somehow determined along the way that the sport we love be made much more difficult than is actually necessary, with often hilarious results.
Hatton reminds us of our propensity to ignore rational thought in pursuit of our hobby and points out—in a gently ribbing way—the irony surrounding the seriousness with which we take our sport, despite the fact we don’t eat much of what we catch anymore. It seems the further we get from our origins, the more we risk losing sight of why we fish at all. He paints a light-hearted picture of the clichéd rotund, hapless man as somebody who makes rules he is happy to break (with nobody looking), who wears vests with far too many pockets as to possibly be practical, and who would gladly risk life and limb to strip roadkill is his search for the right material with which to construct a fly when the simple worm would do. Meanwhile, our feminine muses out-fish us with ease.
A key to Hatton’s insight is his relatively recent arrival in the world of fly fishing, following his relocation to the Wye Valley in 2012. As editor of the website FishingMagic.com, he is a coarse angler of considerable skill and experience, but the freshness with which he identifies with the failure of many of us to catch anything at all is instantly warming. The stannah stair lift taking salmon into the next pool only to be caught by queuing anglers had me spitting my whiskey across the floor in laughter.
If you know a fly fisher who isn’t overly sensitive as to the often preposterous nature of the creed, and who isn’t afraid to laugh at himself, then this book is for him. I can see many such anglers finding this in their Christmas stocking, perfect as it is for cajoling us into seeing the funny side of life.
Garrett Fallon, editor, Fallon’s Angler
Review by Bob James of Passion for Angling fame.
The combination of Cliff's wonderful pictures and often wry words are a complete delight. If we fail to stand back and take a long hard look at ourselves he has done it for us, at times with poignancy, always with humour and great skill. There are times when you can almost see what the characters are thinking and hear what they are saying before you've even read the caption! I love it when someone comes at something from a completely different angle. I love it so much I'm off to find copies of his first two books.
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