Williamson's Weekly Nature Notes
WHEN my father Henry wrote Salar The Salmon 70 years ago he was obsessed with the sport of game fishing and bought a splendid split cane rod for use on his mile-long stretch of the River Bray in Devon.
He also had a steel fly rod, of the kind you just don't see today. This came from a visit to Canada when he fished the Lakes with help from an Indian guide. Father caught trout, especially the Loch Levens he introduced into the Bray.
Then he caught just one big salmon '“ and promptly lost interest in the species. He found it disturbing to see how quickly this king of fish changed colour from all the colours of the rainbow to a dull pewter sheen in just a few hours. He gave me the black steel rod but kept the split cane for trout in Norfolk's River Stiffkey.
Not having access to trout as a teenager I had a go at the next best thing: dace.
For full feature see West Sussex Gazette May 14