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I
have a favourite place called Troutania. It is close to Utopia.
TROUTANIA
Troutania is one of my favourite countries. I visit there often. It
takes but a few seconds travel and I can be on seas, rivers, lakes and
streams of the past and present and future. I can fish again with
friends and family long gone, or I can go in present time and be
there, here and now. It is possible also to go into the future and
visit places that you have not fished, or may never fish. But all is
possible in Troutania.
The great thing is that no visas are needed. No stress of travelling.
You can visit at any time of the day or night. You can even visit
whilst at work. Look up from a VDU, or a pile of papers and look at a
picture of Troutania. We all have some. And hey presto, for a few
fleeting seconds you can be there. But those seconds can seem like
days, before the umbilical cord of reality pulls you back.
In Troutania, strangely enough, the weather is nearly always perfect
for casting a fly. The clouds and sun work in conjunction to make
this so. The fish are always there too. More over, it is as if they
know that your visit is but a short one, so they willingly feed. Do
take note of where you go and what you did, as you may well wish to
visit that particular spot again.
There is something for everyone's angling needs in Troutania. The off
shore fisheries teem with muscle toned fish. The rivers, as always
are a mixture of moodiness. Raging white frothed temper, swirling,
eddying stretches; beautiful long pools that hold large dark shadows
and calm placid stretches, where green patches of weed weave gently in
their everlasting dance to the rhythm of the river. Lakes that are
huge and awesome, lakes that are a challenge to read and a pleasure to
be found correct. Lakes that hold monster fish that turn the
screeching reel into a sound scarecrow, as coots half fly, half run
across the water making their alarm calls. Streams that originate
high up in mountains and hills, which burble and gurgle like the
infants they are, as they make their way to join up with the ever
moving larger rivers, sustain it with their being and merging for the
journey to the sea.
The people of Troutania are relatively few in number and are of many
races. Yet all tend to wear a type of National costume which varies
according to the type of fishing that they do there. There are no
divides of language, wealth, colour or class. People stop and pass the
time of day or night. It is a sure-fire cure for cabin fever, insomnia
and just plain boredom. Perfect escapism.
Look out for me there.
Brian Parkes
Dawlish S. Devon, England
Married
with two daughters and three grandchildren, 64 years old
Resigned
from the Royal Navy in 1979 as a Fleet Chief Radio Supervisor. Apart
from being at sea, has lived in Gibraltar, Malaya, Singapore, Mauritius
Has
fished as far back as he can remember, thaught by his Grandad, now
fishes exclusively for Trout and sometimes Salmon, since 1978. He’s
a Chairman of the Kennick Fly Fishers Association, also serves on the
committe of the West Country Fly Fishers Federation as Treasurer. Has
done a lot of competitive fishing and collected a lot of trophies along
the way.
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