As of this coming Monday I shall be journeying to the desert lands of Egypt, where I shall be taking a break from my life for two full weeks.

No work, and with 37°C(+) temperatures and enough beer to kill a herd of cows, I’ll be relaxing and doing a nice bit of reading; oh, and did I say there will be a fantastic lack of work?

Sadly, however, I’ll be unable to fish for two whole weeks; the thought of which actually terrifies me. Although if it becomes too much I can always travel over to Lake Nasser, or hunt for the large perch which call the river Nile their home. The Mrs – I suspect – may not really appreciate this, however, and may therefore forfeit my life. So I best play things safe. Coming dear!

One thing that does console me slightly is the fact that I’ll be holidaying in a land saturated in history. Apparently, during the time the pyramids were being constructed – and after some very unfortunate weather and freaky plagues – some dude with a beard led another load of dudes with beards out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, and actually managed to get some large stone tablets engraved with the Word of God just North of where we’re going to be staying. In all seriousness, however (and with the blasphemy aside – I’m excited, can you tell?), the country is minted with history, and I’m very much looking forward to experiencing it.

Aside from the culture, I’ll be engrossing myself in John Gierach’s ‘Fishing Small Streams’ and Thomas McGuane’s ‘The Longest Silence, a Life in Fishing’ over the two weeks. Two books that I’ve wanted to read for a good while now, and the latter, being a book that has been recommended by a couple of good friends.

So gang, I will see you in a glorious two weeks. Do me proud on the rivers, and please feel free to catch a few for me. I’ll miss you all…but I’ll miss the trout more

See you all in two weeks.

An apology for the lack of fishing posts of late; but the fishing has just been that good that I’ve not had the time to write much. That said, I shall be spending a nice few hours at my desk over this coming weekend to write up a few reports, and also, there will be a few gear/book reviews added.

All of the reviews coming up can be seen in the new Reviews section, viewable via the Reviews tab at the top of this page.

I’ve also had a few camera problems over the last month (hence the lack of photos). As the temperatures have dropped, my camera seems to want to curl up and die every time it’s taken out and used in the cold. It works fine at home and in the warm, although while attempting to take a photo of a quality fish last Saturday in -3°C temperatures, it simply wasn’t having any of it, and switched itself off. Rather rude I thought.

Luckily, Santa is involved in a new camera investment, and one which will laugh at the feeble efforts of my current, being able to withstand temperatures of -10°C. A nice bonus of the camera is that it will be totally waterproof for underwater shots, and able to with withstand some pretty hardcore knocks and drops. Well…so the USPs say. Time will tell.

I’m currently reading John Gierach’s ‘Trout Bum’, a book full of short tales and shenanigans, from commando fishing, camp coffee, to ghosts. It’s all covered in this beautifully written book.

The more I read this book, the more I can relate to his tales (and laughed out loud on several occasions!).

A true classic, and the wisdom and love for fly fishing which John conveys certainly does touch your heart. A brilliant book…and a classic I’m embarrassingly late in finding!

For those of us who breathe, drink, eat, sleep, and constantly think ‘Fly Fishing’, this book is a must!

A trout stream should be approached with a degree of reverence, for practical as well as aesthetic reasons: if you jump out of the truck after five hours on the road and hop into the stream, you’ll not only wade right through a pod of rising fish, but will probably fall down and get your ass wet, too. Be calm – you’re there. Squint at the sky, sniff the air, listen to the water. Tell yourself there’s no rush, even if there is.

- John Gierach: Trout Bum (chapter: The Adams Hatch)

Check out Trout Bum and John Gierach’s other books by clicking here or on the above image. Enjoy!

…Trout Hunting (Bob Wyatt), The Trout & The Fly (Brian Clarke, John Goddard), and The Fly (Andrew Herd).

I’ve been meaning to do a lot more piscatorial reading for sometime, however, I’ve been doing a lot more of the practical as opposed to the theory, which I suppose, is a good thing!

So, with this so-called ‘Big Freeze’ which is apparently hitting us (I think someone got that a little wrong!) and all the rain forecast, I’ll be settling in with the above books and a cuppa (okay, maybe a beer).

I’ll let you know how they go.