Angling is the most popular sport in the UK based on participation numbers. It is televised at least once a year as a legit sport.
However, The Compleat Angler is a different kind of fishing, and what the author of the linked piece is alluding to is a little harder to come by these days.
I live < 5 minutes from the Thames. I'm about 30 minutes walk from Teddington Lock where the Thames stops/starts becoming tidal. This area was once inhabited by Alexander Pope and he referred to it as "Arcadia". There is a corner in the river near me, the view of which from a hill on the opposite bank is protected by an act of Parliament to this day.
I have never seen somebody fishing down there. What's more, it's way too busy to be able to catch fish or enjoy the solitary lifestyle an angler might be hoping for.
I'd love to know why anglers avoid it. I'd love to know where they go instead. As a man about to turn 40, perhaps I would like to learn to fish myself, and spend the odd weekend or even mid-week day (yay for flexible working), sat next to the water, quietly awaiting a fish.
However, The Compleat Angler is a different kind of fishing, and what the author of the linked piece is alluding to is a little harder to come by these days.
I live < 5 minutes from the Thames. I'm about 30 minutes walk from Teddington Lock where the Thames stops/starts becoming tidal. This area was once inhabited by Alexander Pope and he referred to it as "Arcadia". There is a corner in the river near me, the view of which from a hill on the opposite bank is protected by an act of Parliament to this day.
I have never seen somebody fishing down there. What's more, it's way too busy to be able to catch fish or enjoy the solitary lifestyle an angler might be hoping for.
I'd love to know why anglers avoid it. I'd love to know where they go instead. As a man about to turn 40, perhaps I would like to learn to fish myself, and spend the odd weekend or even mid-week day (yay for flexible working), sat next to the water, quietly awaiting a fish.