Fly fishing in the junk-shop

      The boss and I do love a junk shop but in amongst the junk, if you are prepared to spend some time rooting about, you sometimes find little treasures. I once found a WW2 American serviceman's dog tag that is now back with his family in Montana, I paid £1.00 for that. An old pocket knife made by a one of Sheffield's 'Little Mesters', Trevor Ablett, was bought for £5.00 and restored. If you can cope with the smell of old clothes and dusty books you just don't know your luck.

      Talking of old books I found this gem for the princely sum of 25p and to further increase the value it's been signed by the author himself in 1910, no doubt a present to someone. Border Rod fished the rivers in the far North East of England to north of the Tyne from the Cheviot Hills and up towards the Scottish Borders, even my powers of deduction say that fits with the nom-de-plume of 'Border Rod'.
      It's a book from a different time because he's not just a fly-fisherman he dabbles in the dark arts of the upstream worm and spinning with a minnow. That simply wouldn't do on the Test, Itchen and Avon in Hampshire and Wiltshire, black-balled wouldn't come into it.
      By jove, I think you'd simply have to move house.

      Here's a spread from the book where the author tells you which flies to use and specifically when you should use them. More research is needed here but to my eye the literal on line five of page 31 shouldn't have slipped past a 'border proof reader' and Whit Adder should in my eyes read Whiteadder. Never mind being picky we know what and where he meant meant, It's a beautiful river too, check it out.
      For the trout fisherman there are some interesting flies detailed in the pages that need further examination.
      And when to fish them of course.