Rod & Line English - September 2016

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A fishing veteran once told me, the more you fish, the more you don’t know about fish and fishing. And the more you fish, the more you don’t know about mankind too, he added. I was not sure what he meant then, but now in the so-called ‘mellowing stage’ (read pending retirement), I too begin to appreciate these words of wisdom. Like many hobbies and sports, fishing is a dynamic game with rules dictated by man, which means that it is always changing, often tomankind’s whims and fancies. This artificial game is made even more intriguing and challenging too, as we are dealing with fish, another highly evolved living thing in another world totally different from ours. As pointed out in this issue of Rod & Line in the investigative article penned by Dr. David Popp on the ‘fear factor’ of certain fish species based on his years of observations (see page 46), there are just too many things about the world of fish that mankind is ignorant of or can never be understood. Heck, maybe this is why fishing has become so addictive to the extent of insanity! In our never-ending pursuit for better and more effective fishing methods using rod and line, new ideas and new gadgets naturally emerge in our dire attempts to become a more effective hunter, never mind the netters and long-liners. From the simple wooden hook and spear, the hunting instruments now include a wide array of electrical and digital gear aided by hightech electronic fish-finding devises. The latest to jump onto the bandwagon is the remote-controlled Drone (more info on page 8), which allows mankind to carry out one-sided aerial assaults on our poor counterparts in the boxing ring. What do mankind want out of fishing, really? The Editor.