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An
interview with Henry Gilbey, author of Adventure
Fishing |
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How did you pick the destinations featured in Adventure
Fishing and which was your favorite spot?
There were obviously some very special places in the world
that I wanted to show in the book, so I came to DK with
a kind of “wish-list” and we broke it down
from there. We tried to select locations that I hope offer
a great mix of fishing styles that will appeal to fishermen
the world over. I have tried to show what some may call
“normal” fishing in a different light, for
many of these trips were my first experiences in the various
places. Through my pictures and words I hope I have succeeded
in inspiring people just as so many other books have inspired
me.
As for my favorite fishing spot, well that is hard to
say, because I loved every minute of doing this book!
Seeing as at heart I am a shore fisherman, I would have
to say that Namibia has to be close to a kind of fisherman’s
paradise, where you can catch monster sharks not fifty
meters from the deserted beaches.
From a photographic point of view though, I would have
to say that Canada is really something quite special.
Everywhere you look there lies a perfect image. What I
am perhaps most proud of are some of my UK sea bass pictures;
we had perfect light and conditions when we were in Jersey
(Channel Islands). I wanted to show this kind of fishing
off and luck was on my side.
Which fish in your experience has put up the biggest fight?
For sheer power and stubbornness, I don’t think
you can beat catching bronze whaler sharks off the beaches
in Namibia, West Africa. Just the fact that you are standing
on the beach (with no boat to aid in gaining line) makes
the fight very hard; the best bit, though, is seeing all
the sharks go back alive. Extreme shore fishing like this
is really what drives me.
But perhaps the one fight that will live with me forever
is the first tarpon I caught in the Florida Keys. All
the words I had heard and read just could not prepare
me for the sheer speed and “shock” factor
of hooking into a big tarpon. I must admit that my language
on first seeing this fish on the end of my line was completely
unprintable, consumed as I was with a mixture of awe and
abject terror! As you may now guess, I am looking to catch
big tarpon from the shore and I have found out where this
can happen – Angola, West Africa. Watch this space
as they say!
What are the differences between fresh and salt water
fishing?
Apart from the obvious, I think it is the sheer size of
the sea and the number of species contained within that
is the biggest difference. To be a rounded sea fisherman
I believe takes a huge amount of skill and knowledge,
as does freshwater fishing, but the sheer unpredictability
of the sea makes it, for me anyway, the ultimate fishing
challenge. But put me anywhere near water, fresh or salt,
and I am more than happy; as long as the spot inspires
me photographically, I am one contented man.
When did you discover your passion for the sport?
When I was seven years old, my grandmother bought me a
simple fishing starter kit and took me trout fishing in
Scotland. You could say I was hooked the first moment
my float twitched and shot under. This addiction has simply
gotten stronger and stronger the older I get. I now work
in the fishing industry full-time, but at heart I am simply
a fisherman. While I am more than proud of this book,
my grandmother (the coolest lady I have ever known) died
just before I was commissioned to produce it. I just wish
I could have taken her a copy of the book to show her;
she would have been so proud. She started me in this way
of life, and for that I am eternally grateful and proud
to have had her as my grandmother.
What
advice would you give the novice angler?
Above all the required knowledge and technical skills
needed to make a success of fishing, never lose sight
of the fact the fishing is meant to be fun. We go because
we enjoy it, and I think that some people lose sight of
that. Just get out there and enjoy being outside and take
pleasure in the respect that we must afford both the fish
and the environment. We all want to catch some fish, of
course we do, but for me it is increasingly the whole
fishing experience that makes it all so magical.
Where are you headed on your next fishing adventure?
The middle of May you’ll find me saltwater fly fishing
on the coast of Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia). I have
never read anything about the fishing out there, but a
friend and I have been approached to come and see what
is apparently some incredible fishing. Could be great,
could be awful, but isn’t that bit of a gamble what
makes it all so special?
One extremely special place I went to very recently was
the West African coastline of Angola. This may well feature
in a future book, so I do not want to spoil it, but let
me just say that the fishing, the location and the people
all added up to the most incredible trip I have ever had.
When you get the chance to fish a coastline that has virtually
been un-fished for thirty years, what do you do?! One
word – awesome. I want to go back as soon as I can.
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