“Fallon’s Angler contains some lovely writing from an eclectic mix of writers, angling disciplines and locations. A masterstroke is getting that now iconic giant of angling writing Chris Yates on board, and though I suspect he would probably laugh off suggestions of being an angling icon he is really the founder of the current trend of nature-angling writing, and is as well known amongst carp anglers as he is amongst sea anglers and match anglers. Nobody else has had the longevity or generates such feelings of warmth amongst the angling community as Yatesy. There are other well known and published angling authors in the magazine, notably Theo Pike the author of Trout in Dirty Places, and Tom Fort, the former fishing correspondent for the Financial Times and author of the excellent Book of Eels amongst others. Tom Fort’s article is a eulogy to some of the rods and tackle he has possessed going back to before ‘England won the World Cup,’ and ‘when beer was two bob a pint.’ He’s never purposely disposed of a rod, and I suspect there are many other anglers out there whose garages, sheds and studies are forests of cane and carbon; my partner constantly reminds me that ours is. When pressed to reveal ‘Why fish?’ he has ‘no sensible answer, just as I cannot explain why I prefer Trollope to Dickens, Schubert to Mozart, real ale to lager, slow roasted lamb to burgers. It’s just part of me.’ This philosophy, I’m sure, resonates with many anglers for who there is more to fishing than Realtree camo bait buckets, and buzzer bars, and this philosophy is as good a reason as any to pick up a copy of Fallon’s Angler.”
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