Trout in a Box

Trout in a Box is a lovely short film by Stephen Haggard, who in the 1960's was a keen fisherman and was once given a taxidermied trout by his father as a birthday present. The case was  lovely, bow-fronted with a neat gold border. The inscription read; ‘TROUT - Gwendreath Fach Weight. 1lb 9ozs.’ The fins seemed full and youthful, the flank was gold with black and red spots, the back blue and olive. Sixteen inches long, it’s a very good trout, but hardly exceptional. But the angler so loved his little river, the Gwendreath Fach, that he memorialized what he believed was its best trout. It's important to note that he gave the trout immortality, but not his or herself, for there is no captor’s name on it.

Our trout was caught on May 3rd 1914, so Stephen went to Wales in May of 2014 and fished the little river a hundred years to the day, to see if he could somehow duplicate the feat. And well, he certainly captured all the glory of the Welsh countryside in mid-Spring; Bluebells blaze under the glorious fresh green of beech leaves; the furrows of a recently-plowed field steam as the sun heats them; a young foal chases its mother in a daisy-studded meadow, birds sing, frogs call; and of course, lovely rivers and trout. Trout in a Box is a charming short film, with stunning Welsh countryside and a even a poem by Dylan Thomas! To watch just login or register