Saturday 30 July 2011

QRP vs Fly fishing

The following is quoted from the SARL forum.
Written by Denis ZR6DNS


Fly-fishing is using tiny little hooks decorated to look like all manner of insects instead of bait. One casts the line, which is quite heavy as this tiny little decorated hook is too light to cast, and not a sinker to pull the line out after it. Some of these decorated hooks float on the surface and look much like any of the flying insects one finds around heavens waters. Others try to look like these insects in their nymph stage and are played along under water as if alive. They are, for convenience and brevity all called flies. They are never carried in the creel but rather hooked into the fisherman's hat or sometimes on a piece of lambs fleece pinned onto the shirt or a special waistcoat.

Ones creel might hold a flask of whisky but always an item like a little hammer called the priest. The whisky is so one does not feel too cruel about performing the last rights with this priest on these noble creatures.

The object of this whole procedure is to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of nature at its best, usually early morning or evening. It is called fishing because occasionally, and perhaps quite by accident, a trout mistakes this attempt to mimic nature and gets hooked. Often the fly-fisher will then gently manoeuvre the unfortunate fish to the bank, and without even removing it from the water, disengage the hook from its leathery mouth and shoo the fish away. After all; catching a trout, performing the last rights (along with a suitable dram of the water of life) and placing it in your creel could result in the early termination of this most serene experience. That is to say; reaching your bag limit too soon.

Rather like reading a good book; you want to know what happens in the end but you don't want the story to finish.

It is a pastime not understood by many, as is the case with CW QRP RaDAR. 

 


I thought the QRP crowds were weird, but now that someone has explained the art of fly fishing so well I am starting to wonder.

Both activities require:
The lightest tackle to catch an unsuspecting victim.
Require a fair amount of patience and success is not assured.

The differences are:
With QRP it is not (normally) required to use a priest to dispense the last rights.
With QRP we certainly would not place the whiskey in a smelly fish creel and then carry our equipment on our heads or pinned to our clothing.

No comments:

Post a Comment