Fishing? Mr Crabtree or Robson Green?
- Thread starter RED-DOT
- Start date
baguio
Well-Known Member
How many of you know that the son of Bernard Venables who wrote Mr Crabtree is a member on here? He was my main deer stalking trainer. It was the first fishing book I ever read having been passed down to me from may Dad. I only found out via a passing comment that I was spending my early mornings with his son. Bernard Venables was a fishing pioneer being one of the first Brits to catch Nile perch and the like. A true legend.
Baguio
Baguio
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Crosshair243
Well-Known Member
Hooked with Paul Young is basically Robson's show without the silly competitive edge and childish enthusiasm. However, one is consigned to sky and one gets rave reviews from the most staunchly anti-fishing spouses.
Its light entertainment and if it helps one more person pick up a rod then bravo!!!
Its light entertainment and if it helps one more person pick up a rod then bravo!!!
Crosshair243
Well-Known Member
Oh and Passion for Angling is the best thing ever on TV in the history of TV 
Totaly agree with you RD , cant stand to watch that nob ,as for MR Crabtree , the only good ones are the books from years ago , the best on TV for me is jeromy wade .
paul k
Well-Known Member
True. Even my wife enjoys it and daughter too if we can wrestle the Top Gear remote button from her.
K
I think you've pretty much put your finger on it. RG is in fact Top Gear in a fishing setting. The guy is such a wimp and with all the unnecessary screaming and shouting I can't watch it but being RG, he guarantees a wider audience than just anglers, and TV companies need that these days. It's an entertainment rather than a fishing show.
The Crabtree series was terrible but there have been some good fishing shows and a Passion for Angling was beautifully filmed by Hugh Miles despite the presenters getting on your nerves with their sycophantic banter, I wouldn't have been surprised to see them get out of the same sleeping bag.
paul k
Well-Known Member
I agree that Jeremy Wade is a decent angler but the format is still very annoying. JW rocks up to a remote location where people or animals have been attacked by a mystery fish, he has a furrowed brow as he just can't figure out what is responsible, he then proceeds to catch everything but the culprit but can't solve the mystery, he then catches the fish in question in the last five minutes when any decent angler knew what it was in the first five minutes!!
I still have the Mr Crabtree book I got for my 9th birthday 55 years ago, it was my only source of fishing knowledge for a few years. I owe Bernard Venables a lot and also amongst my prized possessions is a former Pflueger multiplier reel of his that may well have been the model for the plug fishing chapter.
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+1 for Paul Young.
He has a real respect for the fish and his shows were great.
I met him once at Glasgow airport and told him so. He had a flight to catch to Chicago but still could spare a few mins for a chat. Very nice man.
There doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for the Mr Crabtree TV show on here and I can't understand why. The idea of the show was to fish with kids – thus recreating the books – and compare older methods with new. I thought it did that pretty well and, more importantly, my son (then 5) LOVED it. We already fished together but it inspired him to try/stick with more old school methods rather than pestering me about why we didn't have various alarms and whatever.
It also, interestingly, got him reading like he never had before. He went from the modern equivalent of Janet and John to the Bernard Venables original (now reprinted thanks to the show) almost overnight!
Passion for Angling is all on Youtube, btw.
It also, interestingly, got him reading like he never had before. He went from the modern equivalent of Janet and John to the Bernard Venables original (now reprinted thanks to the show) almost overnight!
Passion for Angling is all on Youtube, btw.
Blackrider
Well-Known Member
Richard Walker gets my vote !
pete evans
Well-Known Member
quite enjoy most of the fishing shows although not that fussed about big game ones with trolling. There was a show with nick fisher called screaming reels that I used to enjoy.
The one offs with hugh falkus and another with brian clarke and john goddard were good, i think they were part of the world about us series.
The one offs with hugh falkus and another with brian clarke and john goddard were good, i think they were part of the world about us series.
The antithesis:
http://www.outoftown-dvd.co.uk/out-of-town-box-set/
Volume 5:
Tidal Mill & Ice. Fishing in freezing conditions is captured by Jack’s cameras in this film.
K
http://www.outoftown-dvd.co.uk/out-of-town-box-set/
Volume 5:
Tidal Mill & Ice. Fishing in freezing conditions is captured by Jack’s cameras in this film.
K
Pine Marten
Well-Known Member
I have a vague memory of Screaming Reels. Nick Fisher also appears once in a while in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's programmes. But since the sad disappearance of John Humphreys, he's by far the best writer in Shooting Times. He has a very genuine, humane approach to angling, putting the experience and people at the centre of it, not tackle and trophy fish. He's as happy writing about catching shore crabs with kids as he is talking about monster salmon. Moreso in fact, and he always brings it back to food, which resonates with me.
RED-DOT
Well-Known Member
I have fished and benefitted from knowing the words greatest caster who still holds a dozen world records for his distance and accuracy. He has taught Presidents, Prime Ministers and Hollywood legends. He still works for the US embassy taking out visitors and getting them onto the fish of a lifetime. He taught John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe and her husband JDM, several golfers such as Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin who would throw a game if there was fish in the Tay. He worked in America for years for Hardy doing demonstations of Scottish casting and dumped them when they were involved in the death of a compeditulor. He had the Hooked on Scotland job before Paul Young then due to a wee previous error got bumped at the last minute. He still fishes on the set and hands the rod to PY once he hooks a fish. I have watched him cast 45 yards of a No10 salmon line with his wedding ring and he caught britains second biggest salmon at 61 Lbs,i am lucky to call him a friend, Peter Anderson a legend.
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pete evans
Well-Known Member
Peter Morse did a series on sbs (Australian TV). Welcome to Wildfish
When I lived there this show got me into saltwater flyfishing. Very good shows and well worth a look.
When I lived there this show got me into saltwater flyfishing. Very good shows and well worth a look.
paul k
Well-Known Member
Screaming Reels was OK but a bit quirky and not all good. The Hugh Falkus (Salar the Leaper) and Clarke/Goddard (Educated Trout) films were classics but the best technical anglers on TV are probably Matt Hayes (Total Fishing and Great Rod Race) and Martin Bowler (Catching the Impossible) who both have an incredible record of catching big fish of many species on camera, in the latter case filmed by the excellent Hugh Miles of Passion for Angling fame.
In terms of just enjoyment in watching it's hard to beat Paul Young who is a competent enough angler but with a smaller ego that allows the fishing to be the star. I also enjoyed the late Oliver Kite's countryside and fishing programmes for Southern TV (where Jack Hagreaves was a director) but sadly mostly in black and white. Not on TV but Oliver Edwards has a very good series of DVDs on fly tying and fishing for trout and grayling as does John Tyzack.
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Pine Marten
Well-Known Member
Matt Hayes is almost unwatchable as a presenter though. They show repeats of "Total Fishing" I think it's called on one of the more obscure digital channels and it's terrible.
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