I came across this book while at the Midland Game Fair in September. It caught my eye as it was boxed but looked like a diary having a brown hard cover embossed with gold lettering which I thought was rather unusual. Once I leafed through it I knew I had to buy it. It was a reprint of Muriel Fosters fishing journal which documents her fishing expeditions outlining a wealth of interesting catch records for a variety of locations in the UK (Scotland, Cambridgeshire and Berkshire) and Ireland. She also recorded the flies that she used, the weather, trout habits, fishing companions and was beautifully illustrated with sketches and paintings.
Muriel Foster was born in June 1885 in Surrey, the eldest of 6 children (4 girls and 2 boys) in an upper middle class Victorian family. As a child Muriel enjoyed fishing and fencing with her brothers. She was also a talented artist and attended the Slade School of Art. It isn’t known what sparked her lifelong love of fishing chronicled in her diary which spans 1913 to 1949 with gaps during the World Wars where she set aside her rods. What was intriguing was the number of other fisherwomen she documents fishing with over the years. It was also interesting to see the development of her fly selections with time and the diverse array of non-fly lures that were used as well. Her descriptions of trout splashing the fly or coming short were all too familiar.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the journal and it has inspired me to keep a similar journal, sketches and all, although I doubt mine will ever be published nor acclaimed as great art 🙂
Tight Lines
Greg
