You bugger Mr Clay! I've just spent ten minutes drafting a post on this subject and you've already started the thread. I'll post it anyway... ;-)
A Case Of Mistaken Identity?
The other week I had a call, ?Bob, have you seen those dace in today?s paper. Them?s not dace, them?s roach ? they?ve got red fins!? Well I rarely get the paper these days but I had a look and the angle wasn?t good so who am I to suggest they were anything but dace?
This week I had another call, ?That?s not a roach, the dorsal fin doesn?t look right to me!? Again, who am I to say? This is where DNA does have a role to play.
Yesterday I picked up a copy of the Angling Star (Salmon Special Edition). On page 17 the caption beneath as obvious a zander as you?ll ever see runs: ?SO EFFECTIVE: Fine sport with a decent pike,? Oops!
But back to salmon. King of the river.
There?s a letter describing the capture of one from the Don and Lee Swords eulogises over the future when he can pick and choose whether he fishes for Trent barbel one day and Trent salmon the next. There?s even a cracking, if grainy, picture of a leaping salmon. You can tell it?s a salmon because the tail is approximately twice the breadth of the wrist. It is concave and the decorative spots are all above the lateral line.
So to Dave Pilgrim?s column on page 16. I like his style as a writer and there?s always a smile or two to be had in his work, but I do suspect his column was hijacked this month. There?s a PS announcing Steve Newns has landed a lovely prime-condition salmon from the River Ure ? it?s on the front cover.
Elsewhere on the page there?s a thumbnail of the cover picture. ?Steve Newns plays THAT salmon (see page 1)?
Well, I have to say that the front cover is a cracker. Pin sharp, high definition and perfectly exposed which is a welcome change. GAME ON: Steve Serves Up a Salmon - runs the banner headline. What a pity this ?prime-condition salmon from the River Ure? has no pectoral fin. And what a shame it has such a narrow, CONVEX, tail. Nice spots, too, extending well down the fish.
Hang on, this isn?t a salmon! Maybe it?s a roach, or a dace, or perhaps a pike even?
Should coarse anglers stick to what they know best?