eyes for fishing

I'm not into fishing, but I know a man who is.

When I was about 8 I gave it a go: Saved up my pocket money to put towards a bait'n'tackle box, some floats, grease-proof paper pouches of different hooks - all the basic stuff that an aspiring young wannabe-angler should have. My godfather gave me an old rod to practice with and took me out one afternoon in the welsh hills to a fishery, to sit with him and learn from The Master. Nice and simple stuff with no flowing rivers in sight for him to lose me to.

I sat for about 10 minutes and found myself sillybored beyond belief.

I slowly edged further along the bank (within eyeshot of course) until I accidentally walked behind a man practising his fly-fishing technique. He whipped the line back and the hook sank into my left ear, awaiting the return lash. How my ear wasn't yanked off I don't know, but suffice to say the fishing trip was over.

I still managed to bag a rainbow trout though, my mum not letting on that a freshly caught one doesn't usually have it's innards already removed.