CHRIS YATES AND CHRIS WILD TALK -            'A PASSION FOR ANGLING'

 

It seems that even after twenty eight years, our BBC 2 series “A Passion for Angling” lives on in many folk’s memories, so Sue and I had a dinner party with friends Chris Yates and Chris Wild recently to reminisce and reflect on some of our favourite moments. It proved to be a really enjoyable evening as we re-lived our favourite moments, so maybe you’ll find their choices interesting too. 

The legendary Chris Yates needs no introduction of course, being one of the stars of the show and my fishing pal Chris Wild was also involved in editing some of the clips for YouTube and offering assistance in many ways since. He’s a luthierist and a creator of the most magnificent classical guitars. They are true works of art and better still, sound beautiful. He’s also a dab hand with a rod but I’ve been fishing a lot longer and been able to help him catch several ‘firsts’ and PB’s which is far more rewarding than catching them myself. Being a quick learner, he often seems to out fish me now, though to be fair, that isn’t difficult! 

During our dinner together, and being a lot younger than Yates and I, he gave us a very interesting perspective on ‘Passion’, so I’ll quote his thoughts verbatim because they seem to echo those of so many other enthusiasts. 

“Thinking back to when I was 13 and the autumn of 1993 when A Passion For Angling first aired on BBC2, it was the barbel sequence at the end of Childhood Dreams that captured my imagination and frequented my dreams the most. 

It is so well etched into my memory that I can play the whole sequence back in my minds eye. I so badly wanted to walk in the footsteps of Pete and Chris, to peer into the depths of my local river and watch a shadow emerge from under the weeds and for it to materialise into the solid form of a barbel. I must have gazed into every river and stream I came across, longing for that miraculous moment when I would see one. I saw many other species but never a barbel. 

A Passion For Angling introduced me to Chris Yates, and he became a bit of a hero of mine, Bob too, but Chris also wrote books, and they became my bedtime reading, the first books I enjoyed so much that I would read them again and again. There was also that magical ‘something’ about Chris and his old tackle that also infected my early teenage mind. I knew without a split cane rod and a centrepin I had no chance of catching a barbel and so I wrote to Edward Barder, the legendary builder of classic cane rods. 

I suspect he might have twigged I was just a boy, but I did get a lovely letter back saying that I would need to acquire certain tools and glue to build a rod, and to get back in contact when I was ready. I got as far as getting the right glue, which I still have, and a certain type of knife for splitting the cane. Although the rod never happened my parents wonderfully took pity on me and one Christmas we went to a tackle shop in Christchurch where I got a centrepin. It wasn’t until I got home that I discovered it was the very same reel Bob had used in the series and that was all the confirmation I needed to know I’d made the right choice. 

It was naturally imperative that I rewatch ‘Autumn Glory’ to see him catch that fabulous barbel from under the tree, and ‘Winter Madness’ when he trotted his float down the Kennet only to have Chris poach a chub from the bottom of his swim, all the while trying to work out how he was able to get his tackle into the water without creating a birds nest of line! 

One summer maybe a couple of years after ‘A Passion for Angling’ was broadcast, a friend and I were dropped off to fish the Hampshire Avon, ‘The’ river where these wonderful barbel were known to reside, and best of all, it was where some of the magic was filmed. It was a beautiful day, and we crept along the bank peering into every likely looking swim, and then we saw them, not just one, but a number of barbel and chub, it was just as we had seen it on TV, they were effortlessly shifting in and out of the weed, not too far out from the bank and obviously very catchable. We quietly retreated, the excitement was almost uncontainable, but we knew what to do, we’d watched Chris and Bob do it enough times, and so threw in handfuls of hemp seed and lumps of luncheon meat. With that done we set up our rods and landing net, for once we might actually need it, and then went to see how enthusiastically the barbel were devouring our free offerings, but there was nothing to be seen, they’d obviously seen this ploy before and knew to make a quick exit. 

I did eventually catch my first barbel, many years later, and it was perhaps even more magical for me than watching the series for the first time as I was fishing with the filmmaker who captured all that wonderful footage and put it on our TV screens.” 

I fish with Chris a few times each month and chat to Mr Yates every week and it’s no surprise that we all consider the sequence where young Peter catches his first barbel one of the most magical, especially when the kingfisher lands on the rod in his hands. 

How he didn’t quiver with excitement and shake it off we’ll never know but we stayed silent until it flew away downriver, then whispered our incredulity that such a moment could happen while the camera was running. We were so very lucky. 

Another delightful moment was one of the first sequences we filmed, Chris’s son Alex being required to catch a fish from the little village pond. He was only three years old but is obviously a chip off the old Yates block, catching a carp to order and having the awareness to celebrate with a shout into the camera “I’ve caught a fish!” 

Alex is now a very successful personal trainer, is married and has two children, though he makes time to be a keen birder and has remarkable skill when hunting out elusive goshawks in dense forests. 

It’s perhaps surprising that not many of our favourite moments include the catching of big fish, preferring the moody and evocative moments of seasonal change. But perhaps that is why the series was such a success, enjoyed not just by anglers but the great British public too who were blown away by the beauty of the watery landscapes at their most magical times of day and the wildlife that decorates these moments. 

How can you not enjoy the floating flight of a barn owl over the water meadows in the third programme or Chris paddling out into a mist shrouded pool to fish for tench among the lilies in ‘Childhood Dreams’. 

Chris particularly likes the sunrise gudgeon match at Redmire, its’ etherial light rousing the ghosts of departed carp anglers as they spiralled into the mist, the music of Jennie Muskett enhancing the atmosphere perfectly. The early start didn’t do a lot for Bob and Chris’s wellbeing but they survived to tell the tale and to pull off the scarecrow trick that Chris had wanted to try ever since he caught his record carp. 

Kevin the Scarecrow was one of Chris’s most rewarding sequences, the idea being that by putting a figure into the shallows and baiting it for three days before concealing himself in the disguise, this would allow him to choose the biggest fish as they fed at his feet.

The plan worked and as he lowered his bait onto a browsing carp’s nose, he hardly dared breath as it truffled ever closer before snaffling the sweetcorn. All hell broke loose as the carp tore off across the shallows but sadly, after a brief but violent battle, the twenty pounder escaped.
 

 

Chris and I love the moment when he is meditating on how the hours pass at Redmire, or do they? He says “time doesn’t pass here, it collects!” 

However, our ten days filming in that magical spot passed all too quickly but we did have time to catch four twenty pound plus carp and even I had an off duty moment to catch a golden common carp on a worm dangled under the bank, so our stay was a wonderfully unforgettable week. 

Our simple mission to make a half hour fishing film was complete but we had more than enough ‘moments’ to make a complete one hour film and it had been comparatively simple because the weather was perfect every day. Even better, Bob and Chris were good at catching fish! 

We got thinking that if a film could be made so easily in ten days then there should be no problem in making a series of six. The mistake Bob and Chris made was to agree to do so because it took us more than four years to complete the job! 

The series started showing on BBC 2 in September 1993 and attracted audiences of millions and received rave reviews. So in time, Chris and Bob were able to forgive me for convincing them that creating the series was a good idea. The fact that so many folk still enjoy the films even after twenty eight years is difficult to believe but we’ll take our reward from the enjoyment of sharing our adventures with so many others.

I’ll add some more of our dinner party thoughts about some favourite ‘Passion’ moments in a future blog but first, I want to celebrate the glories of autumn in our garden as this year has proved exceptionally colourful.

We still sell copies of the series and Sue sends them out every few days, so if you want to own a copy, just look on our website for ordering instuctions and she'll get the DVD to you pronto.    www.passionforangling.info

A PASSION FOR ANGLING - MONSTER MYTHS

                

There are several sequences in each story that I particularly enjoy but if I have to choose a favourite of our six films, ‘Monster Myths’ would be it, not just because the monster carp lived in such a beautiful lake but because it makes such a good story … and what's more, it’s true!

I’m told by Joe of ‘CARPology’ that this is the yarn that intrigued viewers most and on reflection, I realise it could actually have been made up! So it makes it even more extraordinary that without Donald Leney’s stocking records, the mythological carp 'longer than a 20lb salmon and wider than a Labrador’s back' could have been a figment of forester Harry’s imagination.

However, this mythical monster did exist and we actually saw it once, peering out from under a thick weedbed. There is even a brief shot of it in the film and ex. record holder Chris Yates was in no doubt that it was a true monster.

Hidden in a secluded and very private estate meant it lived a charmed life, for the landowner was a keen conservationist,  strictly protecting all his wildlife and as a result had no less than five pairs of breeding barn owls, one of which would float over our camp on most evenings, nearly taking Chris's hat off. 

I was very surprised but delighted that my reputation as a professional wildlife film-making nut meant he gave us permission to film there.

On one memorable day, I was chatting to him in the spot where Harry sometimes saw the monster carp when a hobby flashed past us really close, chasing a dragonfly. 

His Lordship was very excited because it was the first hobby he had ever seen and we enjoyed many wildlife encounters in this wooded wonderland his ancestors had created. We all enjoyed the nesting dabchicks, the ever alert herons and numerous ducks. It was a wildlife heaven.

The lake was long and narrow, about four to five acres of shallow, crystal clear water and being fed by chalk stream springs, was very rich. The springs ensured it was always cold and Chris thinks it very unlikely that the carp ever spawned successfully, so those few we saw were almost certainly from the original Leney stocking in 1935, meaning our monster was at least 57years old.

I’d built my scaffold tower on the lake edge to give us an osprey’s eye view of the monster and despite the lake being shallow, it was also solid with weed and though I spent many days up there with the film camera, we never did see it again.

Chris spent days quietly stalking likely spots, Bob trying the more modern way of baiting with boilies and waiting night and day, but to no avail. He also tried stalking and favoured a spot that was a bit less clogged with weed. 

By baiting regularly he attracted several of the few carp in the lake, maybe eight in all and this lovely painting by our countries premier wildlife artist Rodger McPhail shows how the moorhens watched the passing commons too. His illustrations for our book are beautiful but to this day I cry because the BBC and publisher decided to save money by reproducing them in black and white. In colour they are stunning, so thank you Rodger.

When Bob finally had a chance I was filming from the scaffold above him and the result was conclusive, as you'll see in the film. His reaction "I think it's time for tea"

I often saw what we believed was the second biggest fish that we understandably called Arnie, a magnificent common which we guessed might make as much as forty pounds, and though I often got it feeding enthusiastically on floaters, it was never hungry when the lads were there with their rods, which wasn’t often enough!

However, after four years of catching big fish and many weeks of filming, Chris and Bob were understandably running out of motivation and in spite of the remarkable success of its’ five showings on BBC 2 and the pleading of the BBC to make another series of ‘Passion’, the troops would have mutinied if I’d agreed to more episodes. 

They had given great lumps of their lives working on our creation and did so with impressive conviction and imagination, so it was time to thank them for their efforts and put the idea to bed. 

And we thank you all for your enthusiasm over these past twenty eight years and for watching them yet again during these last few weeks. Our sincere thanks go to Peter Drennan for kindly hosting the films on his website. Hopefully they proved enjoyable and helped you through these difficult times. Maybe they even made you smile.

Please support the Angling Trust in the hope that their impressive initiative to get us fishing again will be successful. Stay safe, be patient and keep smiling and our best wishes to you all from us three blanketears -
 Bob, Hugh and Chris. 

If you’d like to view the series at your leisure and in less challenging times,  then please visit our website and my wife Sue will pop a copy of the DVD of the complete series of six films in the post. http://www.passionforangling.info/order.html

A PASSION FOR ANGLING - MIDWINTER MADNESS

  

For many of us river fishers, winter is our favourite season, especially if you are a roach or pike angler. And if you have access to a prime beat of the River Kennet as we did in the good old days before the ravages of predation and water abstraction, then you were in seventh heaven.

The year was 1992 and we were trying to complete our fifth film of our series, this one being about winter fishing, with big roach, chub, pike and grayling our quarry. We also wanted some truly cold and frosty weather so the river looked the part and luckily, all our dreams came true.

However, it was so cold on many days that the line kept freezing in the rod rings and the grayling were so lethargic that we could only catch them on the ledger with a single red maggot on a twenty hook. But eventually Bob skilfully winkled out a colourful two pounder by edging a float down a deeper swim called the ‘Wine Cellar’, so we had to try a bottle in celebration.

Suitably lubricated, our banter between friends became ever more outrageous, and because big roach are notoriously difficult to catch using a float in the crystal clear waters of the Kennet, Bob threw down the bold challenge that he would catch a three pound roach on the ledger before I could catch a two pounder on the float, the winner given a bottle of port.

Ridiculous really, but I was up early the next day to be at a favourite swim as dawn broke and trotting a single maggot on a tiny stick float, amazed myself by having a two pounder in the net on almost my first cast and not satisfied, even caught another one before Bob and Chris came down the bank after a leisurely breakfast. Triumphantly, I asked Bob what vintage he was going to buy me but he was undaunted and at dusk on that same day I was able to film him catching a roach on ledgered bread of just a whisker under three pounds.  Thrilled at this success, we called it a draw and gave each other a  bottle of port for our curry night, celebrating a great days fishing and filming in style. The next mornings early rise was rather painful!

Fishing was only part of the fun because we had rented a cabin alongside the river and to keep warm in the evenings we played frisbee in the dark. Firing across the river was the challenge because if it ended up in the ice fringed water it was the thrower who had to wade in to rescue it, a very cold punishment. 

This game developed into ‘killer frisbee’, the object being to hit each other, so Chris cheated by shining his car lights in my eyes and catching me with a throw fully in the temple. The stars in the sky weren’t the only ones I saw that night. 

I think it was part of Chris's plan to stop me getting up so early in the morning because on one memorable dawn we started filming so early that I thought I had nearly killed him. He was curled up unconscious in the car seat and I only just got him upright in time to shoot the sunrise scene I had in mind.

Chris was catching lots of splendid chub but it was Bob who was on a role for this film and amazed us all when catching not one big pike but two and they were both twenties, the best going 26lbs, an awesome brace that had probably fattened up on our beloved roach and chub!

We do hope you’ll enjoy this episode, it's certainly one of my favourites and as we continue to dream of fishing again, hopefully it will be for tench or carp when we can cast again, not winter. The Angling Trust are working hard on trying to get angling allowed as soon as possible, so please support them by joining ; they are our best and only bet to allow angling to recover and move forward.

I don't know about you, but I'm finding that when you’re unable to be out there, the mere thought of being by the waterside with a rod makes it ever more desirable. So stay patient, keep safe and keep smiling and if you want to buy the whole six part series so that you can enjoy going down memory lane, please visit our website and my wife Sue will pop it in the post pronto. http://www.passionforangling.info/order.html  

A PASSION FOR ANGLING - AUTUMN GLORY

A fishing series showing at a peak viewing time on BBC2 has to appeal to the widest possible audience. It also has to appeal to what we hoped would be our main audience - anglers, so catching sizeable fish was the challenge for our star anglers, Bob James and Chris Yates and this had to include a two pound roach.

I have loved roach fishing since childhood, catching a good 'un from the Great Ouse at Ely when at school and suitably intoxicated by roach, have gone on to catch hundreds of two pounders from around the country.

this one only went 1lb15ozs - so many do don't they!

More than a few of these two pounders have come from still waters and as my good friend and river keeper at the famous Britford Fishery on the lovely Hampshire Avon Stuart Wilson says 'they only count half and I have to agree'!

A river two and especially a three pounder are the true monsters of the freshwater world ... this roach weighed only 1lb11ozs, just in case you were wondering. I couldn't catch him a two for this happy snap - must try harder!

Like many of my generation, I had been inspired as a child by Bernard Venables and his creation, 'Mr Crabtree Goes Fishing', so we were very keen to include Bernard in our film. 

Autumn perch fishing seemed the perfect subject. 

How could anyone forget Bernard's wonderful painting of a shoal of perch attacking minnows. 

Filming with Bernard was one of the highlights of my fishing life - catching big roach has been another.

I've been lucky enough to catch eight three pounders - so far! - to a best of 3lb11ozs and one of these was from the Hampshire Avon, so our quest for a two pounder in our autumn programme was right up my street. It felt like I’d spent half of my life trotting its' crystal waters and this was to be our location for this episode of our six part series.

Luckily Bob, Chris and I lived close to its’ banks and were members of the Longford Fishery below Salisbury, so we knew where and how to catch big roach, or so we thought, but after a week all we had to show for our efforts were too small.

As all roach anglers know, roach have a habit of rolling on the surface at dawn and dusk and in spite of a week of failure I was still on the bridge at Longford Castle before dawn, looking for signs on this hallowed stretch of water.

Just as the light increased slightly I thought I saw a slight furl in the main flow upstream and suspected a big roach so without waiting for a second invite, I grabbed a rod and cast into the spot with a large lump of breadflake. The line had hardly settled before it tapped, then pulled tight and several solid thumps told me we had at last found the big roach shoal. That fish weighed 2lb6ozs and on the next cast I landed one of a bit over 2lbs10ozs, then two more two's.

I had slipped these fish back while starting to think about not calling Bob and Chris and carrying on compiling my greatest ever catch of big roach but duty prevailed, the lads were summoned and Bob went on to make a historic catch of ten two pounders, the best an ounce short of the even more magical three pounds.

It was a perfect overcast day and the roach simply wouldn’t stop biting, even when Chris and I punted out over the shoal to get shots of Bob casting towards us. Chris held the boat in position in the shallow swim by sticking an oar in the gravel and when I asked Bob to cast closer to the camera he couldn’t because he had hooked yet another big roach from right under the boat.

It was just one of those days when dreams come true and even when we had finished filming, I couldn’t get back in my swim as Chris grabbed a rod and promptly caught his biggest roach for twenty five years. At two pounds five ounces we were all very happy, so we retired to the pub for a pint to celebrate a days fishing for the history books.

We had to catch a big Avon barbel too of course and Chris lost a monster on our first evening of trying. Upstream of his swim was the hot spot under an oak tree and it seemed only fair that this should be competed for, so instead of a coin toss, arm wrestling or tiddlywinks, Chris and Bob chose a conker fight as illustrated by Rodger McPhail. And what a privilege it was for us when he agreed to add his wonderful works of art to our book.

Bob won the contest and did splendidly by also winning his
fight with a superb barbel of 11lb13oz. caught from this book cover spot ... I know that isn't big by today's standards but it was twenty years ago.

We had invited our ace artist Rodger McPhail down to put the finishing touches to our Passion book, promising him a fish for his troubles and he caught a feisty little mirror to end our  celebration with some fun.

If you enjoy the programmes on YouTube you might like to purchase the boxed set of six films from us at: http://www.passionforangling.info/order.html

Sadly we have run out of copies of our film following Chris's carp fishing adventures "Caught in Time".