Tuesday 21 April 2009

Sea Angler cover and lure fishing bag

  • Here's my cover photo on the current issue of Sea Angler magazine that I was talking about the other day (see here) - I like what they have done with my photograph, and this cover is a tight crop of a shot I took of a decent bass over in Ireland. Anybody with any interest in photography will most likely recognise that a fisheye lens has been used to get in really tight on the fish and emphasise that predator head with a very slight degree of natural distortion that comes from using this sort of lens in a situation like this.

  • The exact lens was the Canon 15mm f2.8 fisheye, but to be perfectly honest, the reason for using a lens like this makes more sense when you look at the original photo that the Sea Angler designers cropped from to make the front cover. See my original shot of the bass below. The photo being cropped so tightly for a front cover shows how clean and flexible high resolution digital files are these days from professional SLR cameras. The current issue of Sea Angler is going to take some beating I reckon, but they have some good people working for them who keep on finding really good looking UK sea fishing material.

  • I am always trying to keep an eye out for products that I reckon will work well for our fishing, and I came across a really good looking waterproof rucksack the other day that should make for an excellent kind of mobile lure fishing bag for bass fishing. Snowbee make this waterproof rucksack, and these guys will need no introduction if you are from the fly fishing world. They also do a load of sea fishing gear as well that you should check out.
  • Here's a photograph of the bag I am on about, and you can see a bunch of details right here. I believe I am right in saying that this bit of kit retails for around £50, and for a purpose built waterproof rucksack, I reckon this is really good value for money. A lot of us bass fishermen for a start want to make sure that our stuff stays dry, whatever the weather, and wherever we are fishing, and the idea of a lightweight rucksack that you can walk with all day long really appeals to me. The simplest things in fishing are often the most useful. I would guess that a load of UK saltwater anglers would fine a bag like this to be of use, whatever you fish for.

  • There seems to be a lot more "crossover" of products these days between the different fishing disciplines. I know we tend to split our fishing up into game, sea and coarse in the UK, but in my mind that is somewhat counter-productive, and I tend to believe we are all just fishermen, however we choose to catch our fish. Word of mouth and the power of the internet I believe is making it far easier for fishermen to see lots of different kinds of products and cherry-pick the ones that they want to use for their own fishing, regardless of what the original purpose for the product was.

  • Take breathable chest waders for starters - I see more and more guys in the sea fishing world wearing these things, but of course they were originally designed for the game fishing market. But we find them useful, so we use them. How about wearing short wading jackets from the game world instead of those somewhat (generally) heavier and bulkier specialist sea fishing waterproof tops ? Being able to roll a lightweight wading jacket up and stuff it in my bag is so useful to me, and again, I see more and more mobile sea anglers doing this.

  • Times are a changing, and I would guess that the tackle companies and retail outlets who can retain the flexibility to adapt to change swiftly and efficiently will be the ones who come out on top. Making the same old stuff and marketing it in the same old way in my mind does not cut the mustard any more. You want an example ? Why are so many switched-on, internet-savvy bass anglers increasingly buying rods, reels and lures with heavy Japanese and French influences that are not designed in the UK ?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Henry well done on the mag cover looks great. Just wondered if you know anyone that teaches kids the art of fly fishing. My daughter is just ten and wants to learn but she is really petite. Not sure if she is strong enough to cast properly so trying to find a proper instructor. Somewhere near Plymouth/Ivybridge. Cheers for now. Alan

Anonymous said...

Nice cover and article Henry - just finished reading it.

Finally managed to get Wendy a pair of breathable chest waders - hard to find for short girls with big - you know - and small feet but eventually got some from Orvis.

Going to Anglesey over the coming bank holiday so look out Bass - you've no where to hide now :)

On a slightly related note - have you tried the soft plastic slug-go lures yet? Saw their website - look very good.

Stuart
Sea Fishing and Walking in the UK

Henry Gilbey said...

Alan - I work with a guy called Nick Hart all the time, he is about the best instructor/teacher of fly fishing that I have seen. Works with loads of kids, based near to Tiverton - takes me just over an hour to get to Nick from Plymouth, well worth it. Contact him here http://www.hartflyfishing.demon.co.uk/

Stu - best of luck in Anglesey, only been there once, what a truly special place. Please tell us how you get on. I have got to go to a family wedding this weekend !! The Slug-Go lures are in that Sea Angler feature....

Anonymous said...

Thanks Henry.
Will give him a ring and get some info. Alan

Stuart said...

Doh - must have missed that bit on the slug-go - must... red... more... carefully :)

Henry Gilbey said...

Stuart - nice one !! Didn't want to say anything about you having missed rather a large part of the feature !! It happens to us all........

Anonymous said...

He he, read it last night - how the hell i missed the slugs i've no idea :)

Stu
Sea Fishing and Walking in the UK

Henry Gilbey said...

Stuart - I think my writing in that article was so exciting that perhaps your eyes started wandering over the text ??!! Who, me, never !! Skim reading a genuine Henry Gilbey feature ? You have been found out !! Quite understandable.......

Colin said...

Henry

I very much have enjoyed your books , photos, and blog. I think that your experiance and knowledge of fishing are second to none. My Friends and family have also enjoyed your works. I have small manufacturing plant in Canada that produces handmade wooden plugs,the company has been around since 1947, we have had alot of success with Salmon and trout, i would very much like to know if you would like to try on other species that you fish for , i would like to send you some lures, i expect nothing in return only your opinion on how they worked, my name is Colin my company is www.lymanlures.com, thanks for all your great info, i look forward to more interesting stories and journeys about fishing from you.

Thanks

stevewckrt said...

Nice one !! Didn't want to say anything about you having missed rather a large part of the feature.
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Fundamental and Technical aspects of Fishing.Everybody knows and well acknowledged about fishing that it is a technique and an activity to catch fish, deploying different methods like netting, angling, fly fishing, fish trapping and many more ways to fish for water types and locations.