Creel and Waterlog

[JohnClyde]

A bit of a strange question. Can anyone recommend stand out issues of both Creel (during Bernard Venables' editorship) and Waterlog? I'm sure they're all great but I'm not able to buy them all. I guess any issues with memorable contributions by Yates or Venables themselves?

[Hermit]

I've got most issues of Creel (1963 -67) and the early one's appeal to me most, my favourite one being the first issue July 63. There seems to be less Venables content in the later ones, perhaps after he left the editorship, and I could be wrong (can't get to them at the moment) but I don't think the Mr Willows cartoon (drawn by BV) appears in the later ones either. So 63-64 are the best for me - be mindful that if you pick up a bound volume of Creel it was customary to remove the front covers of each issue before binding as apparently they tended to stick together. Suppose its the inks used in those days.

The best Waterlogs for my taste were the early ones again.

[JerryC]

A bit of a strange question. Can anyone recommend stand out issues of both Creel (during Bernard Venables' editorship) and Waterlog? I'm sure they're all great but I'm not able to buy them all. I guess any issues with memorable contributions by Yates or Venables themselves?

I used to have the lot (Creel) but , with time and various house moves I'm only left with issue 1 - in my opinion it's a good'un.

[JohnClyde]

Thanks for your replies. I've since got hold of a couple from 64. Great stuff with some of my favourite writers in there - other than BV, Ian Niall and Righyni. I was expecting a bit less fly and sea and a bit more coarse fishing though.

[JerryC]

Yes there is quite a lot of fly and sea.

I’ve managed to dig out Issue 1 of Creel, July 1963 (3 shillings & sixpence). It has many interesting articles including Kennet Barbel (Leslie Brewer), About the Chub (BV) Where fish once swam (Tony Brenna looks back in nostalgic alley) Coarse fishing in Yorkshire – The Swale has Two Characters (F W Sharpe) Silkweed Carnival (Robin Murrell)
64 pages with very few ads.

[Julian]

A bit of a strange question. Can anyone recommend stand out issues of both Creel (during Bernard Venables' editorship) and Waterlog? I'm sure they're all great but I'm not able to buy them all. I guess any issues with memorable contributions by Yates or Venables themselves?

Having only fairly recently started to read old issues of Waterlog I would strongly recommend issue number 1, while its still available - back issues available through Medlar Press. It has some superb articles, but then again so do all of the early issues.
I had a gap of over 10 years when I didn't fish at all, so coming back to fishing nine years ago Waterlog was completely new to me.
I subscibed for a few years from about 2006 to 2011 but , as others have akso commented, found it increasingly lacking over time.
Having now read issues 1 to 9 for the first time in the last 6 months I found them quite superb, I really look forward tio reading more of the early issues. Its a real pity that its still not the same quality, but they did have articles by Yates, Venables, etc back then so perhaps not surprising.
Vernon the Roach and Mr Crabtree in the 90's were also very amusing regular articles in those early editions.
I'm now reading further issues I have slowly - keeping roughly in time with the time of year they were published - I'm just starting on number 10 which was the June/July 1998 issue.

[Snape]

I subscribed to Waterlog for the first 50 issues but I felt its change of focus when CY left as joint editor was for the worse. I always enjoyed 'The Waterlog' by CY but was particularly partial to 'the diary of Vernon the roach' - it was sad day when Vernon was cancelled....

[Julian]

I subscribed to Waterlog for the first 50 issues but I felt its change of focus when CY left as joint editor was for the worse. I always enjoyed 'The Waterlog' by CY but was particularly partial to 'the diary of Vernon the roach' - it was sad day when Vernon was cancelled....

I must confess that when I received the first five issues as a present seven months ago, and having got as far as 'Vernon the Roach' I liked it so much that I then immediately read the 'Vernon the roach' sections in the next four issues.

[Mark]

I subscribed to Waterlog for the first 50 issues but I felt its change of focus when CY left as joint editor was for the worse. I always enjoyed 'The Waterlog' by CY but was particularly partial to 'the diary of Vernon the roach' - it was sad day when Vernon was cancelled....

This morning I was only flicking through the first 50 issues.

[Beresford]

I stopped at about issue 58 or there abouts. A great shame CY left. I always wondered what prompted him to move on as I kind of thought WL an ideal outlet/life style for his talents.