To me angling is the greatest of all hobbies and if the Good Lord made a better one then he must have kept it for himself.
I can vouch that it is a hobby for life as I am currently enjoying my seventy-sixth fishing season, having started fishing when I was nine years old. Fishing has always been a compulsive activity for me as it so enhanced my outlook on life and even today it is the activity that makes my life worth living.
It is sad therefore that I have to accept that angling, in line with most outdoor sports, is experiencing a drop in the number of youngsters taking it up as a pastime, which is such a pity.
We do not always appreciate how fortunate we are here in Wales that our angling forefathers set up angling clubs the length and breadth of the Principality. This has meant all anglers in Wales are able to fish their local river, or indeed any other river in Wales, by purchasing a fishing permit, which is always reasonably priced.
In other countries it is often an absentee landlord who owns the river meaning local anglers do not have easy access to the river if at all. Having local clubs managing the angling rights has meant Wales has a higher percentage of the population enjoying angling than any other country.
In order to discover the reason for the decline in the number of youngsters taking up outdoor sports a survey was recently organised by the sports’ governing bodies. When it came to angling the reasons given were a little hard to fathom, especially here in Wales. They included having nowhere to fish as they could not get to a fishery and the cost being prohibitive. These reasons could be applicable to the rest of the UK but hardly so in Wales. There are angling clubs all over Wales offering river-fishing, small-pool fishing and reservoir fishing and the costs are in no way prohibitive.
Angling is a great sport for youngsters. Not only does it get them out of doors but it also teaches them so much. Over the years I have coached several groups of youngsters and the utter enjoyment of being on the bank-side with rod in hand is apparent from the start. What is more they learn from helping one another. I have seen this happen so often, especially when one hooks a fish and another runs forward to net it for him. That is a great asset for any sport as it breeds the principle of helping others in whatever walk of life.
Many angling clubs in Wales have a youth section and all clubs are more than willing to help any youngster who wishes to take up the sport. They give concessions to the youth and offer them permits at greatly reduced prices. This also applies to the licencing body Natural Resources Wales as the Juvenile Licence is very reasonable.
Many angling clubs in Wales have a youth section and all clubs are more than willing to help any youngster.
Isaac Walton, who is often referred to as the patron saint of angling, wrote one of the best books ever on angling back in 1653. Its title is The Complete Angler and in it he gives a comprehensive picture of the angler and tells us why angling is such a unique hobby. He wrote:
And for you that have heard many grave and serious men pity anglers; let me tell you, sir, there are many men that are by others taken to be serious and grave men whom we condemn and pity. Men that are taken to be grave because nature has made them of sour complexion; money-getting men, men who spend all their time, first in getting and next in anxious care to keep it; – we Anglers pity them perfectly.
It seems that life in those money-making days was similar to what we are experiencing today. Let us therefore hope that our young people will somehow find a love for the great outdoors and the tranquil and peaceful contentment of a hobby like angling.
Words & Picture: the late Moc Morgan
First published in Welsh Country Magazine Jul-Aug 2014
