Fishing Season
Grant Fraser is hooked by Philip Weigall's latest book.
Rod Taylor, Guy Pearce, Philip Weigall —what ability do these rugged Aussie blokes have in common? Answer—to transport you to another time, and another place. Rather than seating you in a time machine, a journey with Philip commences in your most comfortable chair. And rather than battling the horrible Morlocks, the greatest challenge facing the reader is when to put the book down and go fishing.
Fishing Season makes you feel that you are there at the scene of his many adventures. From the shores of Tullaroop when the famous nine-pounder gently plucked his miniature Zonker, to the banks of the creek Philip fished as a boy. One minute Philip is inexpertly tying a Geehi Beetle (he’s a mere mortal) and next he’s on board a mothership in the Gulf of Carpentaria chasing tuna and mackerel. Sometimes, if you close your eyes and drift like a parachute Adams in a bubble line, you imagine this is you: ‘…the moment the trout passed within reach I swiped. There is a lot of splashing, followed by a heavy weight through the handle, and I lifted. But then the instant of glory was replaced by the long second of horror. The trout was not safely in the net…’
or ‘…travelled around 10 kilometres when the road left the shade of the forest and I reached for my polarised sunglasses to combat the glare. At first I felt inside the vest pocket where I normally keep them, but nothing. Hmmm.’
As the name suggests, Fishing Season spans the highs and lows, the hot and cold of a year on the streams and creeks, rivers and oceans of Philip’s memory. Also within its chapters is the recognition that we fly anglers sometimes define a season by the type of fishing that is prevalent e.g. ‘mayfly season’ or ‘grasshopper season.’ Finally, it is a journey from boy to fly fisherman. Having had the pleasure of knowing Philip for many seasons, he writes as he speaks—with insight, thoughtfulness, compassion and a genuine love of our sport and those connected with it.
‘The invisible nymphs cruised past me and I felt the slightest tick through the line as one or other briefly tapped the bottom.Then just as the line was about to swing in the current, it stopped. I lifted the rod with that mixture of hope and caution a few fishless hours can create, and a 4-pound brown took off downstream.’
Fishing Season is an education, and an inspiration. Drop the hint to the family that this would make a perfect gift for Christmas. Or if you miss out, buy one for yourself, whatever the season.
Exisle Publishing: $34.95.