Dr Bell recorded virtually nothing of his fishing experiences and, as far as can be ascertained, there is only one article written by him known to exist. It is entitled 'The Amber Nymph at Blagdon'. We do not know when it was written, whether it was intended for publication or else written purely for his own benefit. After all these years we will probably never learn if it published during his lifetime. It is most likely that it was not.

 

What the article does demonstrate, however, is what an observant and forward thinking angler he was for his time and what a great tactician he was when most reservoir anglers of the day were using techniques derived from the Scottish lochs employing 'flasher' patterns.

 

After it came to light it was subsequently published as an appendix in Reservoir Trout Flies by Adrian V W Freer (Crowood Press, 2010). Latterly it has been reproduced once more, together with a supplement on the life cycle of the sedge, in his autobiography Dr Bell of Wrington by Adrian V W Freer (Welford Court Press, 2019).

 

Links to both these books are appended below for those who would like to read the article for themselves. It is a rare and truly historic document in the annals of reservoir fly fishing.