10 Iconic Shots From Subsurface Journal 2

Oz Holness – A Moment in Time

"It is also the essence of the ephemeral as well, you can’t ever catch that moment again, it has gone, so you’re plugged into the very essence of now. That transgresses itself into everything I do, I only get one chance at work often to make the right decision when you’re trying to help someone, you might not get that second one to save their life."

Dan Kilgour - No Half Measures

"It wasn’t just about the size of the fish or how high the grade of the climb was, instead it would be what it meant to me, or what I got from the process of working out how to do it. The process of working out how to catch a particular fish is really similar to choosing a particular boulder that I really liked or wanted to climb, then working out how to do it."

Gareth Fareham - In the Lee of the Wind

"Thirty minutes later they’d all been lovingly photographed in the soft glimmer of January morning light, I had been back to my van to change and get rid of the slime covered clothes, new socks, dry trainers… Micky and Marcus had tidied the swim, slings were washed and stashed back in holdalls, mat washed off “Any good mate?” Micky chirped up with a wink and a smile as I returned. It looked like nothing had ever happened.. Just ten minutes later the first of the weekenders arrived and I did my best to act normal."

John Cope - The Longest Journey Always Starts with the First Step

"Things would often get a bit out of hand and all the usual stuff would ensue- a whip round for a stripper and a round or two of depth charges; half a Stella, half a cider and a Drambui in a sherry schooner dropped in it…"

Jon Skold - Aurora Borealis

"Nothing at this point could change the fact that the past weeks sub-zero conditions had completely shut the door on what was left of any fresh autumn carping, with all of the magic it had offered. Yes, nature was still a fantastically composed mosaic of beautiful barren trees, bleached frosty meadows, swirling mist and indescribable skies, colored by something out of an acid trip along the sunset boulevard. The landscape was intact though, the snow was yet to come, but the essence and the actual magic itself was now effectively gone."

Luc De Baets - You Might Have Fancied That

"The illusion of grandeur and an evening of Facebook fame can be bought on some of the lakes in this world, but this fish at least decided to become iconic and refused to be abused. Twenty-four years on, this still makes me smile. Even if IT may have died of loneliness…"

Matthew Beddows - The Edge of Places

"No lily-strewn scenics here, no sat-on-creel chocolate box sketches, just towering great spoil heaps 200ft high encroaching over seven acres of azure-coloured water. A moonscape where twisted iron meets the water's edge, and angry concrete foundations loom like beasts of prey; echoes from the past, a symphony in blue, and black, and grey."

Rob Gillespie – The North Face

"I took a little bit from everyone I think, although I’ve never actually thought about it, when I look back those lads influenced me massively, undoubtedly. The lengths anglers went to on Redes to catch was immense, and wherever I’ve fished I’ve rarely ever seen that level of effort again. Take Mark Burgess as one example, he was known for his strokes and big bait ups and when he was ‘hemping’ and area, he would be swimming out 25ltr buckets of hemp seventy yards, in the middle of the night in the open water, every 3rd night, so no one saw what he was up to, that was the level of effort and angling practices I was exposed to really early on, that kind of thing became normal to me. (laughing). I realised early on that to catch well from there I needed to be as keen as they were, to enter that world."

Tom Stokes – A Prayer Answered

"Dropping to my knees and taking a deep breath, pausing for a moment to take it all in, in total solitude, only my dog and the pigeons had heard my scream and a strange feeling of loneliness now took over…"

Tony Moore – Tony’s Theme

"I was fishing near him on ‘The Church’ and we stayed up until late chatting and pulling hooks into our fingers. The next morning this one lay in his net. A lovely fish, ‘Petals’, a real character and one I'd seen a picture of palm sized. A few years later Tel returned to fish the 'mans' lake next door. I awoke one damp spring morning just as the full moon was disappearing to see him playing a fish. I just knew which one it was, and I was correct... Choco at 48 plus!"