View from the hut
Dani Morey considers the merits of fishing at home or abroad
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO fish abroad? It’s easy to assume the fishing is more fruitful elsewhere, but would you jump on a plane with your rod if you could? The tempting tales of enormous salmon from the Alta in Norway or endless fish landed in Iceland or British Columbia are hard to resist. That chance to experience a change of scene, a new culture, or, ultimately, the prospect of landing the fish of a lifetime can be a strong magnet, and if you have the wherewithal, it’s certainly an opportunity you may want to try.
I’ve been lucky enough to fish in many countries. I’ve followed in the footsteps of Hemingway in Cuba, I’ve taken a rod across Europe and New Zealand, and my bucket list is far from complete. Each time I travel, though, it reinforces in my mind that there’s nowhere else I’d rather plant my feet and cast a fly day after day than the UK. It’s not just because my last foray resulted in 29 hours in the departure lounge and a subsequent three-week wait to be reunited with my luggage, although, admittedly, this did take the shine off the trip. Perhaps it’s an age thing, but there seems to be something about a home river that draws me more than any other destination, rather like putting on a favourite fishing cap — it just fits. I’m obviously not alone in thinking like this. The same sentiment was echoed by returning rods after lockdown, who rather than feeling that their wings had been clipped because they couldn’t venture abroad, returned to the riverbanks with a fresh outlook and a newfound gratitude for what they had on their doorstep.
For those of us who’ve been fishing for many years, it’s easy to become jaded and live in the past, remembering the good old days and mourning their passing, but a trip abroad can serve as a reset. Younger generations coming into fishing don’t know any different; to them, the fact we’re landing in a week what we used to get in a day is normal, and while catches in Iceland, for example, seem the stuff of fantasy to many of us, locals there are saying this season has been nothing more than ordinary. It just goes to show how upbringing influ
