Merry Christmas

Festive merriment to one and all. Imagine my surprise this morning when I did not recieve one single Christmas pressie involving my favourite pastime, angling. It's not as if the red suited gentleman was not aware of my wishes as I did inform him of my wishes by way of a letter. I would like to share this letter with you and warn everyone never to trust a man with a beard.

Well its that time of year again when every fisherman has got to turn his thoughts to the very serious matter of what he wants for Christmas .Its not as easy as it first appears because the choice of game fishing accessories is quite bewildering these days. Difficult the choice may be, I’m sure that by way of this page, Val, oops, sorry I mean Santa will take the hint and get me what I want for Christmas. Now then there are various things I could be doing with, for a start I could do with a new pair of waders, The neopranes I have at the moment let in water like the lily burn rushing into the rizzer in full flow, Yes I really could be doing with a new pair of waders. A new floating fly line, I could always do with some top of the range fly lines. Living on a financial knife-edge means that I am always putting economy before efficiency, so what better time of year could you ask for some hi- tech gear? You see that is the beauty of Christmas you don’t have to pay. This being the case I think I will ask for a Sage four-piece travel rod with matching reel. I must say, that I have been a very good angler this year Santa so if you could kindly get me a season ticket for an exclusive beat on the Tweed or Tay I’m not bothered which river you choose, it would be really be appreciated, you see I already have a ticket for Hillend Loch so it would be beneficial to me if I could broaden my horizons and put my fishing skills to the test on some of the more challenging waters that there are to offer. Oh and as a little extra add-on could you guarantee me that I could catch at least one fish on each trip I make as it does really get embarrassing coming home empty handed time after time and having to make up excuses, such as, the water was too low or the water was too high or that the wind was that strong that I couldn’t get my line out far enough to reach the fish. Could you also make sure that when I’m fishing I’m always within sight of my friends so that they can see me when I connect with a fish. For a joy shared on a riverbank is a pleasure doubled I would also like it not to be raining every time I go on a fishing trip, you see this beautiful country of mine has a climate problem - its always bloody raining, In the last few years, my fly fishing travels have taken me to some truly awe inspiring locations bit it is always the same scenario, lovely all the way on the journey until I almost reach my destination, you guessed it down comes the mist down pours the rain or if its at the start of the season an easterly gale might come thundering in and just for good measure bring along the snow for company. Like I already said we have a very serious climatic problem and I can think of only one solution “ we need a roof “ I’m getting a bit flippant now I know that’s impossible, even for you Santa, I’d be happy if you could just stop it from raining every once in a while. This is Christmas the time for goodwill to all men and all that stuff. It’s not a lot to ask for, is it? Santa? I don’t suppose I’m the only applicant but I’ve been extremely good this year and after all it is Christmas