Fly fishing has occupied a significant slice of my life for more than thirty years, ever since seeing a brief report on TV around 1991.
The first venue I tried it was Larkwood, near Bury St. Edmunds. I found the phone number, explained what I wished to do and was welcomed by the owner, a patient man who after providing rods, reels, leaders ,tippets and flies, proceeded to give my companion and me a basic lesson in the rudiments of casting. However, he failed to warn us of the impediments posed by the trees behind us, so we were forced to call on his services to cut branches to retrieve the flies a number of times. Shame prevents me from recording the exact number of times! Despite our early efforts that would have been more fitting in a “Carry On” film than a tranquil Suffolk waterside, I did manage to land a rainbow trout of about a pound and a quarter.
Since then, I have discovered other venues, returning to Larkwood many times although sadly it has now joined a long list of trout fisheries that are no more. This has driven me, over the years as one after another fishery ceased to operate, to encourage others to try fly fishing.
Presently two fisheries I frequent almost locally are Norfolk and Suffolk Fly Fishers, having been a member for over thirty years, and South Elmham Lakes.
One of the real highlights has been making new friends, some only rarely seen but nevertheless enduring.
The only time I encountered “unpleasant” fishers was at a competition resulting in my decision to not enter any more except the annual charity fishing match in aid of E.A.C.H. at South Elmham Lakes, which is always a very enjoyable day's fishing.