Sense of Angling History?

[dezza]

Now although I would never call myself an angling historian, I do possess at the last count just under 400 angling books.

I certainly do like to read of angling's wonderful history, especially during the 19th century, the latter half of which, saw what I believe was the greatest golden age of angling.

Angling has a wonderful history and of all field sports, it has some of the greatest literary collections produced by a few of the best writers in this field. But I get the feeling that only a very few of we anglers actually read about our sport. Evidence of this is the way that many famous names get very quickly forgotten.

Such a shame it is that many anglers have never heard of Marks, Walker, Lane or Taylor.

But how do you feel about the history of our sport?

 

[Paul Boote]

Feel? Just never let newly arrived publicity-hungry, money-making rewriters and revisionists at it, or we'll very quickly have no history at all, just their highly selective, here today - gone tomorrow - job done - personal profit taken, take on it.

 

[chub_on_the_block]

19th C know very little about. As with other pastimes/sports of interest its post WW2 stuff that i know about - i have heard of Spofforth but no idea how he compared to Trueman.

Probably know more about anglers from the 50s-80s than any other period. Pity really, there must be some great new anglers and writers in the present who should be recognised - but all i see is branding and publicity. Not having the great match scene of the past makes it difficult in my opinion to see who the real top class acts are. As i have said before, its great access to great fish these days, not being a great angler.

 

[sam vimes]

I'm largely indifferent to "name" anglers, regardless of the era. I'm only vaguely interested in angling history, where I feel it can benefit my angling. I definitely couldn't care less who invented what method or when, even though I may be very grateful to use it, or at least a modern version of it.
While I have heard of Marks, Walker, Lane and Taylor, I doubt it would make much of a difference to me if I never had.

As for angling literature, I'm not the biggest fan of instructional angling books. That leaves the raconteurs. Unfortunately, good anglers with kudos (ie big fish) enough to get a book published, often aren't the best writers in the world.

 

[simon dunbar]

Don't forget that angling has changed so much in the last few years , many young Carp Anglers heroes will be anglers who were famous for catching carp in the last few decades. So they are more likely going to get books by these writers .
When I first started fishing proper on my local rivers for pike and barbel , I read books by Fickling, Rickards , Buller, Wilson etc because these anglers were famous for fishing for pike at that time and their books were in the shops.
But often when reading books by modern anglers you will read about their influences and find yourself reading older books. I have books ranging from Mahseer books from the 1920's , to River Monsters by Jeremy Wade that came out this year, with books in my collection by everyone from BB to Kevin Maddocks.

 

[cg74]

But how do you feel about the history of our sport?

I used to have a mild interest in angling history, but of late I've read so much bull dung on the subject, I can't be bothered with it all.

To many ageing tossers looking through rose tinted glasses - best recent example had to be (without mentioning names); a slight modification of a legering technique being accredited to a 'name' and labeling it as an invention.

Oh and I know plenty about your little list of names, some may even be true? Whatever happened to Kevin Ashurst and was Benny Ashurst his father?

 

[Paul Boote]

Irrespective of the era that any Fishy "stuff" was done and publicly recorded, above all it's about doing said stuff for the RIGHT reasons - for the sheer fun of it and for the quiet, private, personal satisfaction that it gives you, a satisfaction that will live long into your old age, without regret, self-doubt or any corroding self-destroying guilt. In short, it's about being an Angler and not a mere "Pfff! Gone!" Hooker.

 

[nicepix]

Now although I would never call myself an angling historian, I do possess at the last count just under 400 angling books.

I certainly do like to read of angling's wonderful history, especially during the 19th century, the latter half of which, saw what I believe was the greatest golden age of angling.

Angling has a wonderful history and of all field sports, it has some of the greatest literary collections produced by a few of the best writers in this field. But I get the feeling that only a very few of we anglers actually read about our sport. Evidence of this is the way that many famous names get very quickly forgotten.

Such a shame it is that many anglers have never heard of Marks, Walker, Lane or Taylor.

But how do you feel about the history of our sport?

Marks, Walker, Lane and Taylor were from the 20th century, not the 19th! mg:

That era belonged to the tiresome Cholmondeley-Pennell and others re-inventing the wheel as written about by Dame Juliana Berners and Isaac Walton two hundred years or more before them.

There are plenty of 21st century innovations that have affected angling greatly. It is just that you are more likely to hear about them on the web rather than in magazines or books.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

Irrespective of the era that any Fishy "stuff" was done and publicly recorded, above all it's about doing said stuff for the RIGHT reasons - for the sheer fun of it and for the quiet, private, personal satisfaction that it gives you, a satisfaction that will live long into your old age, without regret, self-doubt or any corroding self-destroying guilt. In short, it's about being an Angler and not a mere "Pfff! Gone!" Hooker.

Well put Paul

 

[jasonbean1]

being a leicester lad in my youth my main inspiration through my fishing as been ivan marks...still is today, the way he bream fished and portrayed himself on the match scene was and still is the way i like to try to do it...notice i only say try!

roy marlow...big influence on me when i was young the same as all the staff in marks and marlow many years ago, a golden era to me. i used to love going into the shop and tell them what i was catching... hence i was a legend in my own lunch box according to graham barry.

not your usual angling history, but to me the history of angling is something i have fealt from being involved with or people i have met..not reading books(leicester mercury every week though, a paper) or from what those who to profess they know it all. that's not knocking anyone

now i live in oxford and the history of my local small club...kidlington angling society is always something i enjoy listerning to...and to hear it you have to be involved in the club. little things about the history of the swims and there names, anglers who fished them in the past, what they caught and "why is that swim called the oak tree"....."well the oak tree fell down 25 years ago"...still the oak tree though. roach straight is still the roach stright where 11 roach over 1lb where weighed-in in one match many moons ago although you could spend the rest of your life there now and not catch a pounder. polishing the trophies and looking back through the years at the engravings....why are these small clubs slowly dieing, surely this is what fishing is all about?

thats the history i love...stoney's bush, just round the corner from where i work on the thames..long gone and all the locals try to tell me where it was and they all say i'm in the right spot albeit i've been in different place each time?

so for me, it's as i say history is now and living go out and speak to the old boys before it's too late...not a book from bygone days as i have no connection with it.....history it's tactile and real...that's why a love to fish with the old boys week in week out and listern to there stories, sunday just gone i was in the university parks fishing a north oxford match with some wonderfull old chaps in amazing suroundings............cracking stuff!


cheers
Jason

 

[Paul Boote]

Paul, I've deleted your post; whilst understanding why you posted. You will notice I have also deleted the comment which you replied to,

 

[Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC)]

Ok. This topic has only recently been covered. It got unpleasant.

It has already become unpleasant again and I have edited the comment and the resultant reply,

Any further such comment and the thread will be deleted by the mods.

 

[Philip]

I like reading about angling history first because I find it interesting and second because you can actually still learn many things from it that can be applied today.

The problem I have with angling historians however is that in general they think "History" started 100 years ago and anything else more recent just cannot compare.

Think about it ...some of the "modern" Carp methods must be 50+ years old now but you rarely see people waxing lyrical about the history there. In addition some of the "modern" anglers such as Terry Hearn have been around for yonks...these guys have rewritten the angling history books in many ways but again ...try convincing an angling historian that someone who appears in today's mags could possibly compare with say a Benny Ashurst or a Trent otter and you may as well talk to a brick wall.

So yes angling history is important as long as you remember “history” does not just mean the time of black and white pictures and crow quill floats.

 

[terry m]

I also am more focussed on the here and now, rather than the dim and distant past.

Whilst 19th century angling history is mildly interesting, it does not really twist my lemon. Characters of the 70's and 80's who pioneered contemporary methods are of more relevance IMHO.

 

[Paul Boote]

Ok. This topic has only recently been covered. It got unpleasant.

So far, with one exception (which I edited rather than deleted as the main post was valid), the tone has been very good.

If it gets personally abusive the thread will be deleted by the mods.

Quite. The very reason why I stopped posting here several weeks ago. Address the problem and you might yet occasionally see wonders.

 

[chav professor]

Much prefer to see mutual respect on forums.... but as one of my friends puts it, we are all brothers of the angle, but not all families get on...... sad really.

 

[jasonbean1]

here's me just editing my last post so you can read it!...then i log back in and your all pulling each others tits off !

cheers
jason

 

[no-one in particular]

Maybe the history of the future will be in angling TV, you tube etc. Recently a thread on the old Jack Hargreaves programs provoked a lot of interest and in a 100 years time anglers will still enjoy watching them and more recent angling programs. I think these will appeal more in the future than some old books do today.

I think reading books is a dying thing anyway. My old man used to get 5 books from the library every 2 weeks and read them all and when he was working he used to get 3 newspapers and read them front to cover every day. How many people would do that nowadays? The amount people I meet who say to me, "I never read books" is astonishing really. I often hear that from all ages.

My old man grew up in age without TV so, reading was one of his greatest pleasures as it was for many others but, it is all different now. Times change.

 

[Philip]

Maybe the history of the future will be in angling TV, you tube etc. Recently a thread on the old Jack Hargreaves programs provoked a lot of interest and in a 100 years time anglers will still enjoy watching them and more recent angling programs. I think these will appeal more in the future than some old books do today.

I think reading books is a dying thing anyway. My old man used to get 5 books from the library every 2 weeks and read them all and when he was working he used to get 3 newspapers and read them front to cover every day. How many people would do that nowadays? The amount people I meet who say to me, "I never read books" is astonishing really. I often hear that from all ages.

My old man grew up in age without TV so, reading was one of his greatest pleasures as it was for many others but, it is all different now. Times change.

I know what you mean Mark and people generally will be reading allot less than the pre-TV era, however its something i was thinking qbout recently and if we look at say a 10 year timeframe I recon kids nowadays are actually reading more than before.....everywhere i look they have their noses stuck
in smart phones sending texts or emails. The internet as well probably has more people reading the written word of late.

Agreed it may not always be the best English they are using what with all the acronyms and jargon and so on but at least its got them reading.

 

[chav professor]

in a word....Facebook......

I love angling history, but more than that just enjoy reading about angling. It used to be you had to buy 'classics' to avoid all the cold instructional twaddle written in the 80's and 90's... fortunately, once again Angling literature aims to inspire once more.