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Drawing on (angling) Experience: -a collision of art, science, fishing and life-
Paperback
AthletesFishingGeneral Water Sports
Publisher Price: $26.99
ISBN13: 9781764888301
Publisher: Publicious Pty Ltd
Published: Aug 27 2026
Pages: 176
Weight: 0.71
Height: 0.48 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The chance find in a Bristol bookstore in 1981 of an Edwardian illustrated fishing diary started trainee zoology researcher Ned Pankhurst on a gentle obsession to record his fly-fishing escapades in a series of illustrated diaries. The obsession has endured for over forty years and follows his path through life, career as a fish biologist, amateur artist and fly angler across continents and oceans. The diaries form the basis for Drawing on (angling) Experience, capturing his life as a research scientist and manager, the satisfying intersection of fly-fishing and science and the insights this delivers, and the happy fact that a research career can take you to many places, most of them with fly-fishing.
The narrative tracks his early beginnings as an under-gunned and overwhelmed novice angler in the trout waters of New Zealand, the coming of age as a fly-fisher on the chalk streams of southern England and the expansion of horizons offered by the freshwater fishing of western Canada. Canadian adventures marked the beginning of the collision of angling and fish science, a theme continued in the waters of New Zealand and Australia in exploration of fish migration, the physiology of vision and reproduction and the insidious effects of climate change on fish and fish habitats. Science forays also allowed the exploration of fly-fishing across the globe from Florida to the Pacific, from Antarctica to Australia's tropics. Fishing is as much about the people and the place as the fish, and the diaries record how exotic travel creates insights about more than the fishing.
Fishing is seldom a solo event and so it is here. The diaries present a parade of fishing mentors and companions, some of whom have survived 45 years of the author's angling company among the detritus of fishing triumphs and failures, bad jokes, observations on life; and the quiet understanding that it can't last forever so you need to make every trip count.
Then there is the conundrum as to whether to fish with a guide or not and the answer is to do both. The relationship between guide and client is a fascinating mix of technical skill and psychology, and experiences across different countries, cultures and target species are a rich vein for the diarist. Later, the odd gift of COVID enforced 'close-to-home' fishing and a re-evaluation of what was important. It also opened opportunity for stalking superb Australian native freshwater species that otherwise might have been overlooked.
A lifetime of fly-fishing needs some reflection on how it might all end. The diaries suggest that it will be with a great day out, because by definition every day fishing is a good day, whether in the company of other grey beards, the infectious enthusiasm of a fit competent young guide or just a day on your own. Diaries keep the recollections honest, fresh and enduring, and offer engaging story-telling for anglers, fish people, and anyone who just likes a good story.Also in
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