Catching the Impossible: DVD One of Three

If you liked "A Passion for Angling" it will be a most curious thing if do not enjoy this; and enjoy it immensely. As a matter of fact, if you have just a modicum of beauty in your soul, you may even fall a little in love with it.

But first, the facts:

The website for the series may be found here

There will eventually be three DVDs, each containing three, one hour films. The first is currently available, the others, I believe, are still in the cutting room, and will be "available in 2009".

To purchase the first DVD, please go here

The price is £29.90 inclusive of postage & packaging and VAT. Alternatively, you can telephone 0845 4082606.

There is also a 26 chapter, 372 page, hard cover book containing over 400 stills to accompany the series, priced at £31.45 inclusive of postage & packaging. A review of the book will appear on this site in due course.

This book may be purchased directly here

Or, if you prefer, you can use Amazon, which currently has the book priced at a lower mark of £24.95 with FREE Super Saver Delivery available - something of a commercial discrepancy I feel.

Amazon link


The films are produced and filmed by the award winning Hugh Miles, and it is easy to see why he has earned his awards. I don't think it is any exaggeration to say that these films contain some of the most stunning photography, both above and below water, that I have ever seen. Even with the advance of technology, I am finding it hard to see how these pictures could possibly be bettered. The Korda (State of the art?) films pale into subdued ignominy by comparison, as these masterful sequences cover not only the fish in their watery lair, but also the abundant and beautiful wildlife that surround the rivers and lakes that contain them.

Like "A Passion for Angling", the films are narrated, gently and lovingly, by lifelong angler, Bernard Cribbins; but this time he is present on film, and is accompanied by twice UK record holding master angler, Martin Bowler - a nephew, I learned recently, of the "crazed, cackling catcher" himself, John Wilson!

The Cribbins' narration, background music, and Miles' filming coalesce and conspire to create a truly majestic visual experience. The viewer is transported to a world unseen, a world where shoal fish and monsters lurk, and one of which anglers can only dream. The sequences and backdrops can, and do, take the breath away.

But this is not a "how to" series. Far from it. Indeed, the tone and theme is set immediately by Cribbins when he states quite clearly: "and though catching a fish is the aim, it's really an excuse for being out here, in this beautiful spot, marvelling at the wildlife and wondering whether the fish will actually take the bait". Aficionados of hard core rig tying and angling methodology productions, à la the Korda films and Hearn books, beware - this is a celebratory symphony to Nature first, and a complimentary ballad to angling second.

In short, these productions enhance and make manifest the precise reasons I go fishing. And, if you are of a similar view, you will drink in these lovely films and dream. If not, then I am saddened, because they are masterpieces, and you may be missing out.

There are three films:

• Searching for Gold
• Magic Circles
• A Summer Idyll

The film starts with a bit of fun and larkery, as Mr Cribbins, with Mr Bowler's help, catches his best ever carp - a fish of 18 or 19lbs; the poor old boy (he is sixty five) even has to jump in after the fish. But, as the series' title suggests, the rest is mainly focused on the not inconsiderable angling skills of Martin Bowler, as he is asked to catch a variety of species with "impossible" target weights. Sometimes he fails, sometimes he comes good, but always is the action filmed to perfection, as he fools large and beautiful Rudd, Chub, Catfish, and there is a superb sequence as he hooks, fights, and then lands a Barbel of 15lbs 7oz from Adam's Mill on The Great Ouse Later, he tackles more species, and I imagine the series will eventually cover almost every type of UK freshwater fish.

The Kennet river keeper, Rob Starr, even makes an appearance as he helps some youngster catch tiny fish, shrimps, and crayfish with a jam jar for a keep net.

The films go on and Mr Bowler is tested further on a variety of waters that I would give my hind teeth to fish. Some other characters appear to swell the cast, including a trio of fly fishing sisters, Wendy Lythgoe - England Ladies Angling team member, and there is a friendly competition between Mr Bowler and a certain Christopher Yates. Mr Yates is late as usual and fishes, of course, with his split cane rod. Their quarry is Crucian Carp, and the prize is a pint of cider. Mr Bowler wins as he lands a huge Crucian; the biggest I have ever seen and almost another record.

But I won't go on any further. I would simply suggest that you purchase these films, sit back, and enjoy them.

Hearnians may not take to these graceful images, as they present no new magical baits or wonder rigs. Nor do they suggest that catching fish is the only reason to rise early and cast a line onto the water. They revel in the beauty of nature - swans appear and ask for breakfast; Turns, Grey Herons, Bitterns, Grebes and colourful Kingfishers all grace the scenes. They celebrate our "green and pleasant", "sceptered isle first", and the fish are a gorgeous enrichment second.

They are wonderful, quiet, gentle, and compulsive.


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