Just back from a couple of weeks in Finland, spent on an island in a lake about 300 miles north of Helsinki with No.2 Son, Charles, and his family. Casting instruction for grandson Sem. All our children and grandchildren fish, a statutory duty for members of Clan Sandison. It was hard to leave; such a wonderful country, myriad forests and lakes and absolute peace.

Most of the lakes have trout and salmon, but they are hard to catch - where are fish easy to catch? The primary species, however, in Central Finland, is pike, and there are always plenty of perch. Sem got the hang of casting in about ten seconds, as most youngsters do, and, much to his delight caught a few small perch.

I also was grateful for a few perch, but I did manage, by luck rather than by design, to hook a considerable pike. The fish was lying in a weed-bed and took very quietly. Initially, I thought I was snagged on the bottom; until the 'snag' began moving towards me. There was nothing whatsoever I could do with the fish. It sulked, shook its head and, eventually, set off at a great rate of knots and broke me.

After such great excitement, I decided that some calm reflection and relaxation was urgently called for, happily, to be found close by. Now, that’s what I call fishing!