Angling poetry and art

[Kev D]

I do recall being given a similar Fishing game by Subbuteo. My brother had loads of their little football figures complete with green cloth pitch and scale accessories to make quite realistic match scenarios.
The Subbuteo fishing game was very dissapointing in comparison . It was just a naff board game,played with cards. We wanted plastic fish!

[Banksy]

... One of the boys is holding a basket and the other, what appears to be a box with a lid. By the way one of the anglers is holding his hand over the basket, you might think that the artist intends us to believe that it contains bread, but what is in the other container?

Worms.
As a farm lad in the 1830's, I made a little money on the side by digging worms out of the more mature muck heaps - and the worms were plentiful! -and selling them to gentlemen fishing the upper reaches of the River Hull for trout and grayling. The gentlemen, in hostelry lodgings in Driffield and Beverley, had no other means of acquiring their bait, so paid generously for those worms.

In fact, it was the 1960's, and the lower reaches of the River Hull, and the gentlemen were after flounders and eels. But the story is essentially the same.

And I recognise the posture of that little lad, with the predatory fishermen picking out the best of his offerings!

[Cane]

... One of the boys is holding a basket and the other, what appears to be a box with a lid. By the way one of the anglers is holding his hand over the basket, you might think that the artist intends us to believe that it contains bread, but what is in the other container?

Worms.
As a farm lad in the 1830's, I made a little money on the side by digging worms out of the more mature muck heaps - and the worms were plentiful! -and selling them to gentlemen fishing the upper reaches of the River Hull for trout and grayling. The gentlemen, in hostelry lodgings in Driffield and Beverley, had no other means of acquiring their bait, so paid generously for those worms.

In fact, it was the 1960's, and the lower reaches of the River Hull, and the gentlemen were after flounders and eels. But the story is essentially the same.

And I recognise the posture of that little lad, with the predatory fishermen picking out the best of his offerings!

“The more things change, the more they are the same!”

[Kev D]

This circa 1770 pen and water-colour picture was purchased by our town museum some years ago in the erroneous belief that it depicted the river Arun which flows next to the town. It was quickly pointed out by locals that it actually represents the sluice from a millpond on the other side of town.

20200124_190336.jpg

In fact it is still recognisable from these pictures that l took this very afternoon from the bridge ,which now only has a single span and carries a main road!

20200124_160652_resized.jpg

20200124_160732_resized.jpg

Fishing is not allowed in the pool but there is still a mile of free fishing in the stream below the bridge .

[Cane]

This print is from a book “ Fishing ways and wiles” by Major H.E.MORRITT.
He recounts the tale of taking the opportunity of a lull in the fighting to fly fish on the Ancre, whilst perched on a ridge between two bomb craters. He spotted a rise and cast to it, just as a howitzer, hidden under camouflage behind him, went off causing him to dive into the thick mud by the river. He noted subdued laughter coming from the gunners and chose to make a somewhat soggy, but dignified retreat to his digs to dry off.

I thought this was a nice sketch and an entertaining story, worth repeating.

[Bobthefloat]

This print is from a book “ Fishing ways and wiles” by Major H.E.MORRITT.
He recounts the tale of taking the opportunity of a lull in the fighting to fly fish on the Ancre, whilst perched on a ridge between two bomb craters. He spotted a rise and cast to it, just as a howitzer, hidden under camouflage behind him, went off causing him to dive into the thick mud by the river. He noted subdued laughter coming from the gunners and chose to make a somewhat soggy, but dignified retreat to his digs to dry off.

I thought this was a nice sketch and an entertaining story, worth repeating.

Great pic and story

[Dom Andrew]

- oh to nip into the time capsule and have a dabble there

Oh, indeed, Dave, but I would imagine that two of those gentlemen were the beaus of the the two young ladies respectively.

Dom.

[Vole]

I've recently read in Robert Gibbing's "Till I End My Song" (Not a fishing book, but definitely one for Thames fans) that George Morland was related to the brewing family of that ilk, and was the model for their "Drunken Artist" logo/emblem.
This thread has prompted me to look him up on Wikipedia, and a more intense, rollicking, talented, exploited and booze-addled biography, I've never read. Well worth a read, and a follow-up gallery-crawl. Poor chap, but the good times must have felt riotously good.

[Dave Burr]

- oh to nip into the time capsule and have a dabble there

Oh, indeed, Dave, but I would imagine that two of those gentlemen were the beaus of the the two young ladies respectively.

Dom.

[Cane]

The above are from “Spectacle de la Nature” translated into English. 1770. I thought there might be some interest in the comments on cray fishing and on carp. Elsewhere, the subject of angling is given only brief mention “.. as for angling, it does so little harm, that everybody is at liberty to take this diversion, that has the leisure and patience to follow it.”

( Note that “f” is used for “s” in, for example, the second “s” in fish. This system was thankfully dropped in 1801).

The Roach and perch look enormous. Clearly another place to pop off to in the old Tardis!