Tag #19162 - fishing 1 of 3

"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries, “Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did.” And so (if I be judge) God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling.”

(Izaak Walton from “The Compleat Angler” first published 1653)

We, Pam and Steve, together jandalfan, have lived in Auckland for half our lives. Long story short we are kiwis! This is where home is and where we love to be. Longer story Pam is Canadian and Steve is English. A big reason for us choosing NZ could be said to be the fishing but the design of a pathtag to do justice to Steve's love of NZ fishing proved a bit of a problem.

It really isn’t JUST about the fish!

There are 3 elements which must coincide to become Walton’s ideal:

1. An inspirational location

2. The skill and craft of the angler

3. The fish

So here is the first part of our three part panorama which is our homage to New Zealand trout fly fishing.

NZ’s lakes and rivers are magnificent. The location depicted is the South Island’s pristine Eglington River which flows east out of the Southern Alps. Fast flowing, cold water with shingle and open grass in the valley providing lots of room to cast. The touch of colour is provided by lupine. Pretty but not native and thriving to an extent it is considered undesirable. The lucky angler is surrounded on all sides by snow capped mountains and dense bush.