In todayâs The Times is a nice article on fishermen telling âpork piesâ and a few hints on maximising the impact of these fibs:
âLast monthâs column on how an angler qualifies for the term âgreatâ prompted a flurry of correspondence. Amid much else, it brought to light a telling quote attributed to Jerome K. Jerome, the author of the wonderful Three Men in a Boat. Jerome was talking not about great anglers, but about the qualities even a merely good angler needs to possess.
âHere is what he said: âSome people are under the impression that all that is required to make a good fisherman is the ability to tell lies easily and without blushing. But that is a mistake. Mere bold fabrication is useless. It is in the circumstantial detail, the embellishing touches of probability, the general air of scrupulous – almost of pedantic – veracity, that the experienced angler is seen.âââŠ
The previous article on:
Quiet, unsung heroes are true greats of angling
is also a good read.
I wrote an article for a fishing magazine on this subject, but with a different slant, you might enjoy it:
Do Fishermen Tell Lies?
âI guess, at the risk of upsetting some friends and readers, that only politicians, car salesmen, and advertisers, have as bad a reputation for telling pork pies as fishermen; it is a widespread prejudice.
The picture of a fisherman, his arms spread wide, extolling the size of the "one that got away", has become an over-worked clichĂ©. But under the clichĂ©, beyond the ‘liesâ, there lurks a possibility.
Fishing, by its very nature, nourishes the imagination, feeding it with a potent fuel of hope and desireâŠâ
