Ho Ho! What a tangled web we can weave, Halford and Skues shake in your boots or revolve in the remains of your coffins; Waltonians rejoice, we can all go a fishing as the fancy takes us with fly, lure or bait and providing we do no harm enjoy our contemplative sport.
I too come from an age of willow wands, mothers sewing cotton and bent pin. With a worm for bait the burn was supreme and a 4 inch trout a monster to delight the heart of a child. Now rapidly heading for my dotage I discover some have never grown up and fish just the same though with slightly more sophisticated tackle and the prize is to catch a fish of less than 1 inch on hook and line. Yes I have tried it and it is a challenge; with a size 22# hook and an 8 oz line the smallest that I managed was a 2 1/2 inch Bully (Sculpin) and I had a ball.