Saturday 14th April 2018
Alvechurch Fisheries, Bittel Lane, Alvechurch
Weather – Warm(ish)
I started this post a few weeks
ago but work and other things have got in the way a little so now I’m trying to
catch up a bit. I’ve been thinking of
entering an open match at one of the many fisheries dotted around Birmingham
but after what I saw when I went down to Alvechurch Fisheries a few weeks ago (14th April) to
watch a friend of mine who had entered one I’ve had second thoughts. You need ALL of the gear to compete with some
of the blokes who regularly enter these contests, all bedecked in their
sponsored kit. One bloke was like a
walking advertisement for Guru and he had everything, the works, everything was
black and orange, from his hat right down to his hook-length boxes. I don’t think there wasn’t anything not
stamped with the Guru logo, and he was not the only one. Everywhere you looked there was an angler
wearing the colours of some well-known tackle manufacturer and this got me
thinking about how fishing has changed from what I remember when my Dad used to
fish in contests.
Back in the 1970’s when the old
man was a member of the Barleycorn Angling Club, he would set off early doors
on a Sunday to get the coach and all he would have with him was his trusty old
wicker creel, his rod bag with his float rod and what he called a “quiver tip”.
I’m guessing he would mean feeder rod now but this thing was just the top
section of a rod which fitted onto his normal float rod. He didn’t have some carbon fibre pole that
cost thousands, he didn’t have a huge selection of baits, just 2 pints of
bronze maggots in his green plastic container, a bag of groundbait and his
little mixing bowl and that was it. No
flavourings or anything that people have today, just the basics.
Back then the older members would
chip up on the bankside with a shirt and tie on but the old man had his fishing
clothes, a thick chunky Arran sweater, old work trousers, Wellington boots and
thick woollen fisherman’s socks rolled over his boots. I’m pretty sure he had a coat of some sort
but I can’t remember seeing one. He’d
then bowl off up the road with his no name rod holdall, and wicker creel slung
over his shoulder with his sandwiches and tartan flask full of tea and meet his
mate for a lift to the pub car park before they boarded the coach that would
take them to whichever stretch of river they were fishing that day. Sometimes it would be the Severn at Hampton
Loade, the Avon at Stratford or Tewkesbury, the Anker at Tamworth or one of the
many other waters that were held by the Birmingham Anglers Association, but I
don’t remember him ever fishing a stillwater venue.
One thing that does stick in my
mind is the night before a contest though.
He always got his maggots and tackle from Allmarks Sports on Waterloo
Road, Smethwick and he had a green “EFGEECO” bait tub with a white lid. Strange that I remember that name after all
these years. If he bought a new float he
would fill the bath with water after tea and work out his shotting patterns
beforehand. To me it was, and still is,
a dark art, and I had no idea what he was supposed to be doing, but he would
take some off, put some on and move the shot up and down until he got the float
where he wanted it and he was happy. Now
when I go to Angling Direct in Halesowen or Fisherman’s Friend in Smethwick, I
can pick up a pole rig pre-shotted and ready to go or I can just take out a
loaded waggler and add whatever little Shotz I need for the presentation. There seems to be something of an art to
river fishing though and maybe the commercial lakes and fisheries have made
anglers a little bit more lazy.
Anyway, this match fishing
malarkey is not for me and I think it will be a long time before I think about
entering one but saying that I am due to fish in a two headed match for my mate
Dawn Shuttlewood’s scratch team against some war veterans from the Derby area
who she is connected with. Dawn goes
along and gives these blokes a hand with the landing of fish or whatever they need
any help with. I’ve been told that these
blokes are good anglers and we’re really up against it, but it’s for a good
cause and we’re sure to have some banter with them. Dawn has organised it for a friend of hers
who is living out his days in a hospice and he is hoping to come down and watch
the fishing. I hope he can.
This opens up a new can of worms
for me to rant about now regarding the sponsorship of anglers on the match
circuit. Maybe if the tackle
manufacturers were to donate equipment to groups like the Derby veterans or a
hospice so anglers who unfortunately need the hospice could enjoy a day’s
fishing. I know how fishing has helped
me with my depression and how it allows me to sit on the bankside and just let
life wash over me, allows me to forget all those little niggling issues that
life throws at me and lets me find some peace and solace within myself. I don’t worry about the mundane, everyday
issues of work or life in general and maybe it would bring a little peace to
someone who is coming to terms with a terminal illness or has disabilities,
both mental and physical, from serving their country.
Come on tackle manufacturers, get
involved…..
Right I’ve had my rant….See you
on the bankside
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