This video was inspired by an article in The Independent newspaper by Andrew Brown who summed up the attraction of fishing on Dartmoor:
"To gain a sense of remoteness from the quotidian world, and closeness to primal monsters, is one of the main reasons for fishing. This is quite unrelated to the size of the quarry. It is a function of their wildness. Wild brown trout are now almost impossible to find in the south-east of England, and are little valued where they are found, compared to fat stocked fish. Dartmoor offers the last remaining accessible and affordable fishing for them in southern England."
This diagram shows that even experienced anglers find Dartmoor challenging
(Note: I assume that only fish over 150 mm (about 6 inches) were counted
A group of anglers were catching at a rate of at least one fish every 10 to 15 minutes
These results illustrate Sir Michael's point that Dartmoor rivers are home to relatively small fish
The American author John Gierach has a refreshing approach to the increasing tendency to equate fishing quality with the size of the fish caught
For example he writes " Let me introduce an idea, just something to kick around. Maybe your stature as a fly fisherman isn't determined by how big a trout you catch, but by how small a trout you can catch without being disappointed. And of course without loosing the faith that there's a bigger trout in there"