How Times Change....

The last week has seen me working down in Devon and I took my gear along with me in the hope of getting a day on the banks of one of the many fisheries down that way.  However circumstances dictated otherwise and a text message off my bank on the Monday afternoon informing me that they had arranged an informal overdraft extention to cover standing monthly payments that were, or had, gone out of my account meant I was potless until Thursday.  This seriously dented any aspirations I had of any fishing and so with a frustrated resignation I had no choice but to just get on with the job in hand and concentrate on work.

Now in the past I would have had a meltdown at the thought of going over my overdraft and would have slipped very easily into a bout of depression, but this time I adopted a much more positive outlook at the situation and just didn't bother worrying about something that I had no way of fixing. It had happened, it was happening and I couldn't change a thing about it.  I felt the odd moment or two of something I couldn't quite work out at first but then realised it was just pure and simply self pity.  I work long, hard hours doing what I do (Retail IT by the way.  I install PCs, servers, switches, tills, printers and just about everything else to do with tills in some very well known High Street retailers stores) and here I was not able to afford a few hours leisure time.  I looked at my outgoings and realised things had to change straight away, with the bulk of my money going on cigarettes.  I worked out the cost per month and was staggered by the result.....I could afford a decent new seat box every month, I could buy myself a much wanted shed for the garden, I could do such a lot with the £380 every month I'd save if I stopped.

It was at this point I decided that smoking was going to stop, I was going to quit as soon as I had finished the packet I had on the go at the moment but after that I was stopping for good.  I had stopped back in 2007 / 2008, but foolishly started again after breaking up with someone (another reason to dislike her I suppose) and so I knew I could do it again.  I've made some half hearted attempts in the intervening years but never really committed to the process of stopping, but this time I was going to do it for sure.  It helped that I was living in a Travelodge all week because I had a long walk from my room down to reception, had to stand in the cold while I puffed on my ciggie and then had to go walking through the hotel corridors smelling of the tell tale smoke making the return journey feel something like a 'walk of shame'.

I fell foul at the first hurdle on Thursday though and bought a pack of 20, but my determination not to buy anymore was, and is, strong so I thought "Okay, you've bought some.  Let's try and reduce the amount you smoke and not fall back into old ways."  I got back on Friday with 11 left in the pack so that was a positive and immediately set about formulating a plan to keep to.  I left the ciggies in the van which meant I had to go outside if I wanted one and leave the comfort of the sofa, the wind and rain from the tail-end of Hurricane Doris was still about so that added to the discomfort of being outside because the van is a work vehicle and we are not allowed to smoke inside.  With the cost of the habit in mind I worked out that I could spend £30 on patches and lozenges and be in profit after just three days and then the rest of the month would be savings.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say in a very convoluted manner is how my outlook to situations that once reduced me to a gibbering wreck has changed, and I think this is very much due to taking up fishing.  Any angler will tell you that no two sessions are ever the same,one day you could be catching all day long, the next day at the same peg you could blank and struggle to catch a cold, let alone a fish.  You kind of learn to adapt and roll with the punches, find a solution to the problem, look at the bait you're using, change tactics if needed, make little adjustments to your presentation and not get stressed out by things, and I honestly believe that I have started to draw on this and I'm applying it to life and situations in general.  Okay I'm going to have a rough month, maybe two, until I have a firmer financial footing, but things will improve just as they do when you go fishing the next time after blanking (unless, of course, your name is Damian...he did have a spectacularly long run of blanking sessions)

Fishing has been a real life saver for me and considering I used to call Luke and Damian all-sorts of names for being anglers and I was very much in the anti fishing camp, it has surprised me just how much I enjoy the sport now and how much of a positive influence it has had on my life.

That's enough from me for this week.  I'm too busy making a list of things I want to buy at the Great Northern Angling Show in April...

See you on the bankside......

First Session of 2017

Thursday 16th February 2017
Dayhouse Farm Fishery, Old House Lane, Romsley, B62 0EX
Bottom Pool
Weather - Overcast with some light rain
Temperature - Freezing !!!!!

After last years disastrous fishing adventures I am determined to make amends this year and get out as many times as possible.  Last year my first session came around the 23rd February with Luke and John over at Friezeland and it was a bit of a rubbish day with blustery winds and freezing temperatures that didn't help anyone.  The only highlight was when Luke ordered three Sausage & Egg cobs from the bailiff who comes round for the money and takes sandwich orders which are then bought to your peg.  After a short time the bailiff returned and handed over everyone's food but because Luke had ordered three sandwiches his order came in a carrier bag.  Luke didn't bother to check his bag when the bloke first arrived and continued fishing and we all sat and watched as the bailiff, an oldish and hard of hearing chap, walked around scratching his head trying to work out how he had ended up with an extra sandwich.  There were only five adults and two kids fishing that day and we'd all had our sarnies, so a mistake had been made somewhere along the line.  He came up to all of us individually and asked if we wanted an extra butty but no-one did....except Luke.  He figured it would be a shame to let it go to waste (and he had a point because they are lovely sarnies) so he shouted across that he'd have it and duly paid for the extra roll.  The bailiff took his money and happy that he wasn't going to have to throw the extra roll away, he left.  It was at this point that Luke decided to hand out the cobs to the two kids and upon opening his carrier bag discovered just two Sausage & Egg rolls and the realisation that he'd just bought his own sandwich dawned on him.

Anyway, back to this year's first session.  After spending the winter reading the fishing magazines and watching YouTube videos, the excitement has been slowly building and I have kept an eye on the weather just waiting for that little rise in temperature that usually arrives towards the end of February and means that spring is just around the corner.  I had decided that the time would be right when the first of the early spring daffodils pops from beneath the surface, so after seeing a few promising buds appear on the roadside as I have been driving about the excitement had reached new highs and my thoughts had gone from matters relating to work and had been slowly usurped by what tactics should I employ ?, what bait should I use ?, should I go all out with the method feeder ? and am I going to beat a few of my PBs this year ?.  Tuesday and Wednesday had been quite mild compared to other days and the forecast had promised more of the same for Thursday, so I made my mind up.  I was going fishing !!!!!!

I spent Wednesday night humming and arrhing about where to go.  Hunnington was closed until mid-February, the canal was an option but I never do well on canals and I didn't want my first session to end with a blank, I could drive around and find a new fishery and give that a go but that meant the risk of a blank as well not knowing what worked and what didn't.  I needed somewhere familiar and safe, somewhere I had caught in the past and I had an idea of what was needed to catch.  I decided on Dayhouse Farm's Bottom Pool, one of my favourite fishing venues and a place where I knew I would catch something.  There are two pools at Dayhouse, the smaller Top Pool where I struggle every-time and the larger Bottom Pool where you are guaranteed to catch something around he margins.

Dayhouse Farm Bottom Pool

The day arrived and I spent the first few hours getting my gear sorted, preparing the bread I was going to use (microwave for 10 seconds and roll flat), I took the hand blender to a few more slices to get some breadcrumbs for the cage feeder, checked my bait tub and made sure I had enough ground-bait left from last year and lastly I got my trusty old flask from the cupboard and filled it with coffee.  I just needed a pint of maggots and some micro-pellets from the local branch of Angling Direct on Long Lane, Halesowen and I was good to go.

I arrived at the fishery around mid-day and after dipping both the keep and landing nets in the disinfectant tubs I made my way down to the Bottom Pool where I could park the van and get setup.  I had decided to start the session with the Maver 12' feeder rod with a small cage feeder and the hook-length setup with an anti-tangle rig to prevent it from getting caught up during the cast.  I went for a number 16 hook and got everything ready at the peg.  It was a little muddy and I almost went into the lake when my foot slipped as I made my way down the small bank, but with the grace of an elephant and a little girlie squeal I managed to prevent myself from having an early bath.  The peg I went for was dry enough and I placed the seat-box on the concrete slab provided so I had no concerns about sinking in the mud.

I filled my feeder with the mix of micro pellets, groundbait and breadcrumbs and put four medium punches of bread on the hook and I was off.  As soon as I made the first cast I could feel all of the frustration of the last few days lift from my soul and I relaxed for the first time in days.  It has been a bit difficult at home since Sunday because my eldest son has come back to live after he split from his partner and it hurts me to see him so upset, especially when she is putting some horrible things on social media about him.  As usual in these things, she is selective with the truth and is painting a picture of him that is far from the truth and it has led to some heated exchanges between us as I try to reach out to him but he pushes away.  Don't get me wrong, I'm no saint and in the past I've reacted badly and ended up punching him, but I'm determined to avoid that this time even though he says some pretty nasty things.  He takes offence when I tell him he's better off without her and he defends her and it all gets a little messy.  Anyway, once my feeder hit the water all of these issues went and I was happy to just sit and watch the tip of the rod, relaxed, chilled out and oblivious to everything.

I sat for about 10 minutes when there was a bit of movement on the tip, nothing major, nothing huge, just a slight knock as if something was investigating what goodies were on offer.  With my hand poised over the rod I waited and waited but there was no indication of anything to suggest a bite.  After another 10 minutes I reeled in and saw the bread had gone so something was down there so I refilled the feeder and put more bread on the hook.  Same as before, lots of line bites and nudges but no solid bites.  I decided to give it a few more tries before swapping over to the maggots to see if they could tempt a few more positive bites but before that happened the rod tip, which had a slight bend on it as I've been taught to have, went loose.  Something had picked up the hook and so I struck gently and could feel the fish on the end of the line.  I reeled in and saw a lovely Roach around the 2 or 3 ounces mark and I managed to get it out of the water and into my eagerly waiting hands.  Now to me this counts as a catch because I landed the fish, unhooked it and it was clearly out of the water, but some may disagree that it should count because when I went to throw it into my keepnet I missed and it went sailing down the side and back into the lake.

Happy that I wasn't going to blank I decided to continue with the bread for the time being and see what else would fancy a little bit of Hovis medium sliced.  The trend continued with loads of little knocks and nudges and after about 45 minutes I decided to switch to maggots with plugs of my mix at either end and a maggoty treat in the middle.  Four yellow maggots on the hook and the delicious concoction (which had benefited from a shot of Halibut glug) and I was back in action.  The results were startling and there was far more activity on the hook than before.  Another decent Roach sacrificed himself for my entertainment and then the big one, the one that got away.  The rod tip shot round and as soon as I struck I could tell this was a really nice fish.  It made a dash for the centre of the lake and I knew it was either a Carp or a Tench from the way it was fighting me as I tried to bring it into the landing net.  Closer and closer it came until I could see it was a Common Carp of about 4 or 5lbs and it's head came out of the water....then disaster....one quick flick of the powerful neck muscles and he was gone.

I decided that it was time for a change of tactics and set up my 12' Maver float rod with one of my favourite clear loaded waggler floats mounted on a swivel with two stop beads to prevent it from slipping up or down the line.  3 No 8 Shotz below the float and a quick change bead on the end was topped off with a Drennan No 16 hook on a 6 or 7 inch hook-length.  By this time the rain had started to fall, nothing heavy just a steady drizzle, and I set up my umbrella on the back of the seat box with one of the adjustable arms I had bought from Dragon Carp just before they closed their Tamworth clearance outlet.  At £2.50 a throw they have proved to be a bargain and hold the brolly stem fast and should prevent any repetition of my experience at Drayton Reservoir when my brolly was lifted by the wind and dumped unceremoniously in the water where it slowly sank beneath the waves just out of reach accompanied by howling laughter from Damian.  I sat there under the brolly with my flask close at hand and happy despite the weather and the one leg that was soaked as it caught the rain.  I suppose it is a feeling of contented elation that only someone who has fished in the rain will appreciate.

I had told Ryan Shields, a young lad who had played football for me back in the days when I ran Warley Albion and turned out to be one of the best right-backs in our league, who loves his fishing that I was going to Dayhouse and he turned up in his little Chav Mobile and I spent the rest of the afternoon just sitting there chewing the fat with good company talking about fishing and the impending arrival of his first child with his gorgeous fiancee Lily.  The change of tactic worked better than I could have wished for and there was bite after bite and the sight of the float tip disappearing under the water was indescribable.  It has been missing from my life since August, and to me it beats that bend in he tip of a feeder rod every-time for excitement.  It's fishing at it's traditional best.

I ended the day with about 9 or 10 silvers (mostly Roach with a juvenile Perch, Skimmer and Gudgeon as well) and left the lake just before they closed at 5pm, tired but very, very happy.

My catch

Not the best picture but I didn't care...I hadn't blanked

With frozen hands I took everything apart and packed all of my gear away and went home looking forward to that hot sweet cup of tea and the couple of slices of toast that mark the end of every fishing adventure....

See you on the bankside.....

Getting Excited Now....

Friday 10th February 2017

When I began my journey through depression I found that with a few hours on the bankside with good company helped me huge enormously and pretty soon I was relying less and less on the medication to make it through the day.  I would still be visited by the black dog and would plummet to the depths of despair, but a quick trip to a local fishery would soon lift my spirits and I would be back on track. 

Unfortunately last summer I was involved on a roll-out at work for a large national toy store chain  and it slashed my time on the bankside to the very bare minimum.  I managed just one session with Luke on the Moira Canal just outside of Swadlincote and I made a vow then that there would be no repeat of this happening again and I was going to try and get out at least twice a month or more next summer.  I have toyed with the idea of going out through the winter, but I haven't done so yet because of various reasons at home.  However, I have just been informed that the latest project I am working on has been suspended for a week and I had 17 days worth of annual leave to take before the end of March or I would lose them.  The forthcoming week has been booked off and I am hoping to hit the bankside at a local fishery next week to experience a spot of winter fishing.

To say that I am excited at the prospect is putting it mildly and I have been reading all about fishing with method feeders, banjo feeders, cage feeders and every other type of feeder that the experts claim to be the best approach.  I guess my next decision will be what bait to go with and I have dug out all of my old Improve Your Coarse Fishing magazines, quite a few Anglers Times and Anglers Mails, and Saturday looks set to be spent sitting in front of the fire, cuppa in hand and the biscuit tub close by, as I trawl trough them.