My grandfather was a keen fisherman, and when I was young we used to go fishing together on the River Lea in Hertfordshire. This usually involved getting up early and then sitting around a lot in the cold, waiting for something to happen. I think I must have been a bit of a pest, and I remember my grandfather trying to explain to me the importance of patience as I was getting fractious by the riverside. In fishing as in life he was usually calm, patient and cheerful, and I try to follow his example. Nowadays, I’m happier to just watch rather than try to catch fish, but I think I will always view angling as an occupation worthy of respect, and I’m glad to have shared it with my grandfather.
Fishing on the Mole
Angling is very popular in England. According to a recent Angling Times Article, 20 per cent of the population having been freshwater fishing over the last 10 years. I think this is a good sign, because I suspect that fishing tends to engender calmness and patience in its practitioners, and this can only make for a happier world.
I was pleased to discover that Izaak Walton, one of the most celebrated writers on angling, agrees with me! In his Compleat Angler, first published in 1653, he promotes fishing as the contemplative man’s recreation. In the prologue he explains that there has long been a debate about whether the happiness of man in this world consists more in contemplation or action. He goes on to present both sides of the argument, but then he concludes ~
“…that both these meet together, and do most properly belong to the most honest, ingenuous, quiet and harmless art of Angling.”
Well said, Izaak!
(The quotes are from pages 15 and 16 of the Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton.)
To the Source of the River Mole! 