Member Profiles

I want to occasionally post member profiles on the main site.

You guys are the members. This topic is here in the Gravel Bar because I didn't want the general public to see it like would happen if I posted it in "the Surface"

So, here you go. Post your profile in this thread. Be sure to post a photo with it.

You may include whatever you want in your profile, but here are some items to get the juices flowing:

Who and where you are.
How you started fishing small streams/Why you fish small streams
Your favorite rod/reel/gear/flies, whatever
What has small stream fishing taught you about life?

You guys get the idea. basically just tell us about yourself - stuff you would want shared on the front page...

Gus ,
as a long term smallstreamer I will start,
A decade or more ago ,I decided computing would be a nessacary part of being employable .
Guess what i found ,yeah Smallstreams ,then very much Adams and the big cat team.
been an on and off poster ever since .
Me ,born in 1950 in the UK ,where we still had food rationing as a result og the 2nd World war and the UK being uo to its neck with debt
Grew up with a vague feeling of never eating quite enough, not quite true my country cousins farmers all had an excess of meats and fruit and vegetables,when we visited we would have over full stomachs.
Did OK at school ,guess I could have stayed on after age 16 ,but my exams did not promise much ,so was apprenticed as a chef , a month later exam results came in ,Iwas offered a place in the 6th form,to late already ,an income ,mates who knew rock and roll clubs and good pre taliban afgani stuff,ectra ectra and wow!
well 67 turned into 1969
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o8BCkRIaX8&NR=1
I was there and had seen a nacsent Pink floyd ,and some,other folks, and found a music store that imported music from the states .
Work wise my apprenticeship finished and I left my City of London old style resturant to cook for a small resturant in West London (Kensington)
That was a failure ,but I met up with a guy there that reignited my child hood fishing interests,that soon turned me on too the then new art of resivour trout fishing ,which I pursued with a vengance ,becoming competant and killing far too many stocked rainbows .
A variety of jobs , gastro pub chef ( I was good at that ,if between jobs ,people would come and get me to work for them ,this was the days of no mobiles and shared land lines),banquetting wine waiter,trainee manager ,store manager for a middle of the road chain.
I got bored with still waters ,and stock rainbows ,so research was needed ( no internet then )Trout and Salmon magazine perused ,an advert replied to , bike (a Honda250cc) filled up , saddle bags loaded a rod slung over my back ,and its a 80 mile trip to a country house hotel .
It poured on the way , we wore waxed cotton in those days ,I arrive at the hotel drenched , reception looks down their nose but allows the bedraggled me in .
Dry and in smart ,hit the bar ,then the dining room , the wine waiter recognises me ,and alls well ,great meal a good bottle of Cote de Rhone and we sleep well .
Next day I hit "my" bit of the Berkshire Kennet ,http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...p/DSC00499.jpg
thats a winter picture ,time wise early mid 70s , of and on been fishing it since then ,
Enough of my rubbish ,have a good laugh

To see me more recently have a look at my mate Chris's blog , some rudich bits as well ,not for the easily offended
http://loopysfishing.blogspot.com/
Over in the UK I post as ACW ,not doctor !

doctor, I did a little editing, and guess what... It's POSTED! :)

WHO is NEXT!?!?! C'mon, gang!

I nominate Jax !!!

Just to add a little to the tale.
today I had an invite from the owner of "my Beat" on the Kennet to bring family for lunch and a little fish .its something he and his wife do for his trout fishers to celebrate the end of the season .
Hugh my now 6ft 2 son who caught his first ever grayling here some 10ish years ago ,I have the photo tucked away in my filofax organiser of a 4foot tall grin holding a halfpounder,also accepted the invitation ,with end of school exams and other 17 year old interests he has not been fishing for well over a year ,and he has just left home to spend a year working in Industry ,mind he is home every weekend so far for home cooking and use of the washing machine .
We left a grey chilly over cast London ,a trek across town to the west found us into some good sunshine ,and the trees just beginning to take on their autum colours ,some 40 miles out of London Boy and I looked at each other and I knew it was Coffee time ,me i drink one maybe at a push 2 cups a week ,down from vat loads 20 years ago ,but I enjoy watching the lad drinking the latest coffee confection .Left the service area only to find they must have given me a triple extra shot , nervous twitches and slightly "high". Thankfully the roads were fine and the rush subsided.
we arived ,tackled up and had a delightful stroll down the central path which takes us to the bottom of the fishery , talking away ,mainly about his new growing social life away from home .
we have a look at the short section of the main river ,and are impressed with the narrowing of the channel carried out by English nature,but find no rising fish ,we head up the road arm where just above the first weir pool we find a few rising grayling .all small and very quick ,Hugh being rusty from his long lay off from fishing ,missed the risers and spooked the rest of the shoal ,so we went on up the road arm the same dry brought him a exquisite jewel of 5 inches of grayling magic and from then on the rust fell away and he out fished me just .
The rest of the morning past in a whirl of fish spotting casting ,fighting trees ,and some fish .
Lunch with Nigel the beat owner was fun, folks we have met before and new faces all bound by a love of fishing and some tales of this bit of river and others from Iceland to New Zealand ,all ages from I guess 8 too well over 80 , time to go farewells made , a stroll down stream hugh sees a rainbow casts a perfect line the nymph is inhaled and its shortly back in the river to live on hopefully to entertain the trout fishers next season .
tackle broken we slightly sadly drive away , Hugh to be dropped at the station to catch a train to his new weekday home me back to Highbury ,.
I have to say despite being outfished by my pupil ,the day with Hugh is one I will treasure .
Oh yes all my dryfly fish of the day came to Jaxes Roughy as did Hugh's,though as most times a nymph is the killer for grayling !