Paul Arden | Tuesday, 5 December 2023
I’ve always liked the weather. I think as a fly fisherman that this is important. If you don’t like being outside in the rain, then fly fishing probably isn’t for you! Just being outside, no matter what the conditions, always makes me feel alive. And it sure is pretty damned wet over here at the moment.
What I don’t like is sleeping in a wet bed however. I’ve certainly slept in a cold wet sleeping bag many times in my life. Once I had to wrap myself in a foil blanket to get through the night. All character building and fun to talk about afterwards but not particularly pleasant at the time. Perhaps the most important outdoor skill is being able to light a fire in a downpour. I’ve certainly had a lot of practise at this in New Zealand. It’s actually quite a skill. The key ingredients are to find standing deadwood, and then to build the thing like you’re trying to suffocate it.
Living in the condom boat was a fantastic time. I liked that I could fish right through to dark, tie to a stump and wake up and fish through again. What I didn’t like was that fishing in the rain was a problem, because if I fished through rain then I’d be sleeping in a wet bed at night! Consequently I didn’t fish as much as I’d have liked in the Wet.
But things are very different now with the Battlehship; I can get thoroughly wet and cold (cold is relative here of course), motor back to the Battleship, hop in the lake to warm up again, dry myself off and my bed is always dry.
Electric storms out here can be something to behold. There is one at the moment. But electric storms in the “summer months”… those are the most intense. They come in fast and heavy.
I’ve always fished no matter what the weather. Some of the best trout fishing days are wet and windy. So you have to be out there. Being outside in a good storm really is very energising. Just don’t get struck by lightning!
Here the mornings are usually dry at the moment, and the late afternoons, evenings and nights are wet. It’s a good test of the boat bilge pumps! Which reminds me… I must change the automatic switch on one, because if that fails to open, or stays open and drains the battery, then it’s a hell of a job to get the boat going again. If the rain is heavy enough and the pumps fail then the boats can sink in a couple of hours. I’ve had some experience.
My Zoom lessons are interesting at the moment. Especially those in Europe where there is lots of snow around! My USA and Canada ones are interesting too, since I’m afloat in the dark casting under the boat’s rear floodlight. Must look kind of spooky. Not so many night wasps around at the moment, so at least there is another level of excitement yet to look forward to.
If you’re interested in excelling at flycasting then drop me a line. I have room for a couple more students at the moment. I’m considering Starlink for the Battleship next year. Just for the freedom of being able to teach more remotely. Problem is I’ll need two or three more solar panels (or a generator) and I like sleeping on the roof when I can! That and it’s damned expensive, especially factoring in how to power it.
When we are sailing around the world we will need it. Or how else are we going to deliver “Sexyloops from an ocean near you”?
Have a great week.
Cheers, Paul