The friendly ones, or the friendly one, as you are not likely to see more than one in a week's boating, waits until you're level with him (oh, yes, it's always a him. You only ever see a her when she's with a him) and then gives you a cheery "Hello there! Nice day!"

The indifferent ones are the most prolific. These people will do any thing they can to avoid catching your eye. Pulling their cap down lower over their eyes, they affect to be tying a fly, adjusting a piece of kit, moving the keep net (what an exercise in futility - what are they going to keep in it, their sandwiches?) anything, but anything to avoid having to acknowledge your existence, let alone presence.

The openly hostile are the most entertaining, and the second most populous. The hostility varies from individual to individual, and can be as harmless as a tutting shake of the head as you pass, to the more open "WHY DON'T YOU STAY IN THE FUCKING MIDDLE?" This is a curious question to me. What is the most appropriate position in the canal in which to pass fishermen anyway? Most fishermen would probably answer the question with the reply "not at all", or "after we've packed up for the day", but I have a difficulty answering this question for myself. The middle may indeed be the best place, and if so, I thank most heartily my informative friend from Leigh, but if you see the length of some of the rods these guys use, they can reach the far side of the canal so easily, perhaps it would be best to pass as close as possible to the bank upon which they sit. This would however have the twin disadvantages of almost certainly having to pass the time of day with them, but also coming too close for comfort to their bait catapults. Temptation can be awfully hard to resist.

Back to Home Page