The C.Yates Thread

I started this thread Chris Yates for two reasons.

First:
I thought it was a really interesting subject, that somewhat distorted my earliest recollections of Chris Yates. Hopefully I would have found the answers from you the members. Yes there were some excellent replys, and hopefully there would be more to come.
In no way was I knocking the man, he has not commited a hanging offence for goodness sake. It was just that some of his comments did not quite fit in with the observations that I had made of him in times past.

Secondly:
And very consciously I was trying to play my part in bringing more subjects piscatorial back into the F.M. website.
I am not the first to feel this way, and I won?t be the last (hopefully). Having a bit of a laugh isn?t a problem, but wrongfully badmouthing people does this site no favours. All it achieves is to drive the more serious member away from posting as we have seen in the past.
I am trying to do my bit. Are you doing yours?

I agree with you Baz. A lot of young and not so young anglers have access to the internet, and one of the best ways to for picking up tips or getting help is via the internet and the FM forum is one of the best for this, not just for members but also the occasional visitor.

Constructive criticism is an important part of any forum as long as it does'nt start to get personel and we start going down the road of theatening and abusing each other.

My dads bigger than yours!!!

Well put Baz, I believe you 100% when you say that you weren't knocking Chris, but it is interesting to see what other people make of it mate.......

Hi guys,been a member for a few weeks now,browsing around on the home page untill I saw forums & I have to admit the tips & information I've recieved have been extremely helpful so thank you all!
Where would we be without the net & FISHINGMAGIC!!

Hi Baz. I enjoyed the thread and found the variety of opinions expressed about CY fascinating. I think a number people were expressing their personal feelings about Yates, via observations about whether he "sets the right example", "uses inadequate tackle", etc.

Personally, I like to read him (especially when I'm sitting indoors on a miserable winter evening with a glass of wine), but I know his take on things can be a big over-romanticised and rose-tinted. I'm sure many others are capable of making the same judgment for themselves.

While I love to use a cane rod, I know it isn't the right tool for all jobs. There again, Yates, if his writing is to be believed, doesn't try to use vintage rods to cast 4 oz. leads or tackle the Lower Trent, so his choice of tackle may be perfectly adequate for the type of fishing he does. Horses for courses, etc.

Quite right Laurie.
It was only by answers posted by people like yourself that I was able to get a better understanding of what had possibly happened i.e. the cane rod and braid.

Personally speaking.
Rose tinted or not, I couldn't think of anything more enjoyable or relaxing, than to cast a line out. Then take notes of observation of the days proceedings.

I think this is how he comes across to many of us. He doesn't seem to be interested in how many or how big. Just live for the moment.

Borowed from Blankety Blank:

If Yates didn't exist, then someone would have to invent him.

I don't think you would ever see the likes of Chris on the Tidal Trent.

Even though you might mention to Chris that the Trent is The classic barbel river and this is where The Trent Otter used to fish, he would throw his arms up in despair and head back south.

The whole idea of chucking out a 6 oz lead to hold bottom in a big tide is not going to appeal to a Southern barbel angler, even if you tell them that in some of the rivers they are fishing, the barbel are not indigenous and were introduced by man.

I know that good anglers like chris yates,john wilson aren`t to everyones liking....the old antique tackle,the eccentricity,quirky ways,the girlish humour and giggles etc...
At the end of the day they are getting enjoyment and pleasure from what they are doing.They are showing folk that you don`t have to conform,you don`t have to sit there all stony faced and worrying about your rigs,your tackle and when your next bite is coming.
I gave up match fishing simply because of that....i just wasn`t enjoying fishing anymore and wasn`t long from giving fishing up altogether!!!
It isn`t all about fishing,is it and at the end of the day as long as they and us are enjoying ourselves and folk enjoy watching and listening to them,then who are we to knock them.

I might take issue with Ron labelling Chris a 'southern barbel angler' - though two out of three ain't bad!
Chris was telling me just after Christmas that he's hardly fished for barbel for a while, and has (as you'll know if you get his lovely little book How to Fish) been fishing for perch.
But Chris fishes for everything, albeit mostly in his home parish. Chris is wildly eccentric, of course, but immensely intelligent and really 'at one' with the places he fishes.

He's a private person, but a truly wonderful one. A lot of anglers could learn much from him, especially in his appreciation of the countryside and his loathing of fishing reduced to numbers and technology when, as he rightly says, it's basically a simple pastime in which patient observation and quiet reflection is far more productive than cash spent down the tackle shop.

Thank you for that Mark. There is nothing that I could add to that.
That is exactly how I imagined him to be.