A Bonus Day....

Willow Park Fishery, Youngs Drive, Ash Vale, Farnborough, GU12 6RE
Stock Pond and Small Lake

Luke has had me working down south this week and had planned to get at least one day on the bankside but the only fisheries I could find around Dorking, where I was staying, were really pricey compared to what I am used to paying.  One wanted £15 for a day ticket but I suppose the prices reflect the area and Dorking is right at the heart of the stockbroker belt, so I shouldn't have been too surprised.  My last job of the week was in Farnborough, an area I know quite well after working for a company based down there, and I knew that there were a few coarse fisheries in the area.  A quick search online and I had a few to choose from and quickly decided on trying Willow Park Fisheries after having had a look at their website.

http://www.willowparkfishery.co.uk/

I decided that I would check out of the hotel early(ish) on Thursday morning and head over there and spend the day fishing before heading off to Farnborough for my last job of the week and then home, back to Birmingham afterwards.

The weather didn't seem to want to play along with my plan and looking out of the hotel room window it was misty, grey and damp.  I checked the fishery website again and had a look at the weather link they have on there which was predicting cloud with a little sunshine breaking through and a temperature of around 9 or 10c.  Hopefully this grey miserable weather was confined to the Surrey Hills and things were brighter elsewhere, so I got my stuff together and set off, but after negotiating the delights of Guildford my hopes were dashed as I made my way along the top of the Hogs Back, a well known part of the North Downs, in fairly heavy mist.  The realisation that the weather wasn't going to improve didn't deter me, I was going to have a good day however drab the conditions were because as Billy Connolly said once, "There is no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong choice of clothes".

I arrived at Willow Park around 10.00am, and parked up on the large car park adjacent to the Small Lake and made my way into the site Bait & Tackle shop.  Now this is where I got my first surprise, how they manage to get so much tackle and bait into such a small space is beyond my reasoning and I was faced with floor to ceiling shelving containing just about anything that an angler, especially a carp angler, would need.  There were pellets, boillies, groundbaits, additives of various types and flavours, colourful displays of floats for both rod and poles, wagglers, stick floats, artificial baits, rigs, hairlines, hooks and main line, in fact it may be easier to list what they didn't have.  The shop can't be any bigger than 25 foot square and just how they have managed to get so much kit in there and keep it looking as ordered and tidy is, like I said, beyond me. All I could think as I looked around was that Damian and Richard would run the risk of coming away from there completely broke if they were to visit.

I nicked this from the fishery website but there is more tackle in the shop now

Bream

The owner came from the cafe and after explaining that I was still a novice angler he suggested that I should start off on the small stock pond where he could guarantee I would be busy if I fed little and often.  I bought a pint of mixed maggots, paid my £10.50 for one rod and set off for the little pond next to the cafe and bait shop which the website described as being ideal for children and beginners and which held carp, roach, bream, crucians, perch & the odd chub.  Now as many of you will be aware from previous posts, I try to learn something new every session I have on the bankside and today was no exception.  In my eagerness to get set up and start fishing I failed to notice the rope strung out across the lake which the aerator was attached to and now I had limited myself to fishing in just one small area of the pond.  I really should have looked around and noticed the obstacles in front of me, so a valuable lesson learned.  I could have moved but I just wanted to start fishing so stayed where I was and I set up the float rod with a loaded waggler float and three No 9 Stotz on the line with a Size 20 hook.

The best of the roach

After my last two sessions I wasn't expecting much to happen but the owner had said that if I feed little and often then he could guarantee I would be busy and he wasn't wrong.  In two and a half hours I had bagged up 15 skimmers, 11 roach, 1 small crucian carp and 1 bream.  Not huge fish and the majority were less than 1 ounce, but the sight of the float tip dipping below the surface was fantastic, especially after my previous outings.  I had missed that rush of adrenaline you get when you know you have a fish on and it felt brilliant.  I had planned on having the morning on the Stock Pond and then moving over to the Small Lake and getting the feeder rod out, so I decided to move over and try my luck on there.

The weather hadn't improved at all and the temperature was around 8 C, but it felt colder and I was in need of a cup of tea and sandwich.  I moved my gear over and found myself a nice corner peg which gave me a nice area to fish into, avoiding the two carpers who were fishing two pegs away on my left and right.  I hadn't heard their alarms going off through the morning and had wondered if the carp here were going to be as hard to tempt as they were at Makins or Friezeland.  Before setting my feeder rod up I had to get something warm in my belly and so I went into the cafe and had a lovely bacon and sausage cob made by Mrs. Orford and a very welcome cuppa.

After warming myself up I set up the feeder and made my first cast into the lake which the website said held carp, tench, crucians, bream, perch, roach & the odd chub.  I had 6lb main line with a free running swim feeder and a Size 16 hook on a 4lb lead.  I had put a float stop on the line to prevent the feeder from catching on the snap swivel and I was ready.  I packed the feeder with maggots and made my first cast.  There was no wind and the water was very calm so hopefully I wouldn't keep thinking there was some movement on the tip and keep striking for no reason.  I settled down in my chair and waited....and waited....and waited.  The bloke to my right had packed up so this opened up more of the lake for me, but there didn't seem to be much action anywhere.  Two blokes across from my seemed to be busy but the were fishing on the float and I started to question whether I had made a mistake and should change back to the float rod.

Just as I was about to make the swap the tip of the rod started bouncing around, maybe I was being a bit premature on making the change.  I waited to see if there was any more movement but it had stopped for now, though I was sure it would not be long before I was going to catch.  I am a bit of a nightmare for not sticking to one area if I don't catch and will cast into different areas looking for that first bite and this really isn't the best way to fish and I really should have more patience and stick with an area.  With this in mind I thought I would clip my line this time so as long as I got within a certain area, I would be in roughly the right place for the bait I had already put out on the bottom.  I clipped up at about 30 to 40 metres out and looked to the far bank for something to aim for on my next cast so I had both the length and direction to cast to every time.

I had been fishing this peg since 1pm and I had to leave for my job in the town by at least 4.15pm so I didn't have too long left to get a bite but I continued to keep casting out to my chosen area and build up the base of bait that would be crawling around on the lake bed and hopefully attracting some carp or ideally a nice tench.  I've only ever caught one tench before and I have heard that they are feisty little things that fight as hard as a carp.  There was more movement on the tip of the rod so I knew something was out there and must be knocking the line as it scoffed all of the freebies.

I looked at my phone to check the time and it was 3.30pm, I had 45 minutes before I had to start packing up and then leave when suddenly the tip of the rod bent round and started bouncing.  I was in !!!!!....I picked up the rod and struck the line and knew straight away I had something decent on.  The fish started heading towards the bank to my left and I had to get it back in front of me because there was a small bank on the left with a few bushes on it.  If I let the fish get there I would struggle to land it and so I had tighten the clutch up a little to put a bit of resistance on the line and try to drag the fish to where I wanted it and not where it wanted to go.  I could hear Damian, Luke and Richard in my head telling me to do this, that or the other as I fought the fish and tried to remain calm and not rush things and have the fish snap me off.  After about two or three minutes I could see the fish on the surface and got my landing net ready to scoop it up in.  It was a wonderful golden colour and the scales really stood out as I finally got it into the safety of the net.  When I got it onto my unhooking mat it put up a bit of a struggle as I got the hook out of it's mouth and you could feel the power of the fish, it was just a lump of solid muscle.

Carp from the Small Lake

The picture doesn't do this fish justice, it was thick around the body and the colours really popped a rich golden bronze kind of colour and weighed in at 5lb on my scales.  However because you have to dip your landing mat (and net) before starting to fish my mat was waterlogged so I took off half of a pound and settled on 4.5lbs.  I was really pleased with the catch and it had made my day.

Time came for me to leave and as I was making my way back to the van Mr. Orford, the owner, came out of the bait shop and asked how it had gone.  I got talking to him about the fishery and he told me that the Big Lake has been producing some big carp which are averaging between 15 and 23lb regularly and that they had recently had a 30lb carp out of there.  I told him that Richard and Damian like to fish either 24 or 48 hour sessions and he said that there was a £5 deposit for night fishing on the Big Lake but as long as people call up and pre-book a night session with 7 days notice this is refundable, so a 24 hour session would cost just £20 for two rods and a 48 hour session would cost £37.  The website has a list of other longer sessions that people can fish if they wish.

What struck me was that this is a fishery owned and run by anglers for anglers and that the fish are well cared for which is reflected in the condition of them.  The silvers I caught were very bright with good scale patterns and no damage to them and the carp was in brilliant condition.  It makes a change for a fishery to be just a fishery, lots are located on farms and make up just part of the day to day business so the facilities are nowhere near as good as they are at Willow Park.  Proper toilets, an exceptionally well stocked bait and tackle shop and a great cafe with the usual favourites on the menu all contribute to making any anglers day out more pleasurable and Willow Park does just that.....I had a great time.  From now on I am going to be rating my experiences at fisheries with carp like the star system they use on fancy restaurants so today Willow Park becomes the first to be rated and I will award them top marks and they are the first 5-Carp fishery.

A fantastic fishery, friendly staff and brilliant fish.....I did tell Mr. Orford that my only criticism is that they are not closer to Birmingham and I will definitely be returning.....

See you on the bankside.....

Early Spring Adventures...

Saturday 5th March 2016
Makins Fishery, Bramcote, Warwickshire
Lake 1, Phase 1

The first outing of the PIDs Fishing Club of 2016 saw us heading over to Makins Fishery, in Warwickshire, a fishery that is used as a qualifier venue in the Sky Sports "Fish 'O' Mania" competition, and regarded as one of the best fisheries in the UK.  With 18 pools spread out across three phases we had plenty to choose from but the chat on the fishing forums was that Lake 1 on Phase 1, was the best for lots of action from the big carp which would satisfy the requirements of Damian and Richard, and loads of silvers coming out for John, Luke and myself to catch.  It promised to be a very interesting and productive day if the websites were to be believed.

The decision to fish here was very quickly taken and everyone began reading up on the venue, what tactics would work, what baits were proving to be a hit with the fish and it would be fair to say that there was a little bit of excitement in the air as we all looked forward to a day out.  Following my last session when I had got just about everything wrong I wasn't going to take any chances with bait choice and took along 2 pints of mixed maggots, two tins of luncheon meat, one tin of sweetcorn, half a loaf, hemp seeds for loose feeding and some extra mature cheese that I raided from my fridge.  The fishery has a sponsorship deal with Dynamite Baits, so you could only use their feed pellets which were available from the bait shop on site, so armed with all of my supplies and cash for pellets I was sorted.

A trip to the bankside with this lot is always guaranteed to be memorable and today was no different for me.  I had started out at about 06.30, to make the 45 minute journey down to Junction 2 of the M6 at Coventry, before heading the few miles around the Warwickshire countryside to the lakes.  I don't know if anyone else experiences this but whenever I go away with work or out for the day, I get a strange feeling that I have left something behind in the house, and over the years when I get this feeling I trust my gut feeling.  I was aware of this niggling sense as I drove down City Road heading towards the Aston Expressway at Newtown and knew something was wrong.  I checked the the cab of the van as I drove along, ciggies, check, lighter, check, wallet...bollocks !!!! By now I had gone past the City Hospital and was in deepest, darkest Hockley just about the go past the Birmingham Mint.

I turned around and headed back home to pick up my missing wallet and added an extra 30 minutes to my journey.  Just as I got home Damian rang to make sure I was up and on my way and while chatting with him I noticed that not only had I forgotten my wallet, my fishing chair was still in the porch....DOH !!!!  Once I was all sorted and had checked that I had everything I was on my way again and arrived just on 08.00.

The others were there on the pegs on the bankside and so I settled down in a corner peg and began to set up on the new Maver Abyss X 12' Match rod that my eldest son, Alex had bought me for my birthday.  I was going to use the Middy Pellet Waggler with a lump of cheese on a size 14 hook and see if the bigger carp would fancy a bit of cheese for breakfast.  While I was setting up, John, who was in the peg next to me, came trudging down the bank from the direction of the bait shop with a landing net pole in his hand.  He told me that he had forgotten his landing net and had just parted company with £15 for a net and then found out that the pole wasn't included in the price.  Suddenly my extra 30 minutes seemed like a small price to pay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My view at Makins

There was no action on any rod all morning and I decided to double my chances of catching by getting the feeder rod out and fishing close to the island in case the bigger lumps were hanging out there.  I had a swim feeder free-running on the main line with a size 16 hook on the nylon attached by a snap swivel to the main line.  I packed the feeder with maggots and cast out to a point about two thirds across to the lake.  I had read that bigger roach tend to stay in more open water figured that there may have been some decent sized roach waiting for a maggoty-feast, but there weren't.  Richard came down to see how I was doing and he had a look at my set-up and suggested a change because it was obvious there had been some activity on the hook because the maggots were chewed up but the feeder had snagged the snap swivel and caused me to miss the bite.  He suggested a float stop on the main line to prevent it happening again and to switch to fishing the margins where there may be fish there looking for any freebies thrown in by other anglers.  After making the changes suggested I cast over to the reeds by the empty peg next to me and waited.

 I had decided to change things on the float rod as well and took the pellet waggler was replaced with a loaded waggler float with 3 x No.10 stotz from the Preston Innovations range down the mainline to make the bait fall more naturally and a No. 18 hook with two or three maggots on the hook.  I now started to feed loose hemp along the margins in an attempt to draw the smaller roach and perch from the reeds while I waited.  After about 30 minutes the feeder rod started moving around and pulling i the direction of the reeds and I knew I was in.  I reeled in and there were the familiar sensations of a fish on the line, a sensation I'd missed over the cold winter months and had missed on the last session at Friezeland.  John came down to my peg with is new net, a carp specimen net that must have been around 3 feet wide at the top edge and about 2 1/2 feet on the sides.  He reminded me of the child catcher in Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, as he came round the bank, and soon the roach was in the massive net looking completely lost inside it.

My only catch of the day

 There isn't really anything else to add about the day other than we had rain, sun, snow and a little bit of wind throughout the day as we all sat in the cold waiting for a bite.  John managed to catch a couple, though the first catch was a bit dubious because he was stood wafting Luke's smaller landing net around in front of his peg and the smallest perch I have ever seen got caught up in it.  Like a man possessed he made sure everyone in our group saw his tiddler.  His second catch was more conventional and he reeled in a nice 6oz roach, which again looked completely lost in the cavernous landing net.  That was it for all of us after that and we spent the remainder of the day giving the fish a free feed.

Again I came away having learned some new tactics and picked up a few new tips from the more experienced anglers in the group, so it wasn't a totally wasted trip for me, plus I was out doing something enjoyable with great company.  The worst part of depression for me is how I have cut myself off from people and become very scared in social settings, avoiding them like the plague because I think I am being judged by people.  It doesn't help that I was told by my ex-wife that the friends I had were just using me for their own gains, and you do start to believe it when you're told something often enough.  To my eternal shame I had believed her and the fear of being judged or laughed at grew inside me.  I don't understand why I get so concerned about being laughed at considering I love making people laugh, but again I have always used humour as a shield because I have always felt that if you can make people laugh then they will like you.  This stems from my childhood when I was desperate for my Dad's approval and thought that he must like me if I made him laugh.  He was never the most outgoing of people towards me and I can't remember him ever telling me that he loved me, but I was desperate for him to if that makes sense, and so I became Stu the Joker.

Anyway, enough doom and gloom.  See you on the bankside.....

Wrong Tactics, Wrong Bait and the Wrong Weather

Pam's Pool, Friezeland Pools, Market Bosworth
Sunday 21st February

Last weekend I splashed out on a brand new rod, and I went for a Maver Abyss X 12' Feeder rod and a new Daiwa Harrier reel from Fisherman's Friend, in Bearwood.  I came home with visions of catching some double figure Carp, a couple of 2lb Roach, maybe a 3lb Bream or Tench and hopefully breaking a few personal bests with my shiny new toys.  All week I had been looking forward to finally getting out bankside after Luke had said that he had been ordered out of the house by his fiance Jo, as she had a girly day planned to discuss their forthcoming nuptials in August, and he was going to be on a free pass this weekend.  It was hastily agreed that we'd hit Friezeland Pools as it isn't too far for either of us and we could use the session to blow out a few cobwebs before we start on with the new PIDs Fishing Club outings during the Spring and Summer.

Pam's Pool

I arrived at the lakes about 08.00, to find Luke was already packing everything up because there was a match on the pool we were planning on fishing.  We were told that we would be able to go onto the smaller Pam's Pool, where there was a mythical 20lb Carp (isn't there always ?), so we made our way over to the new pool and the first thing that struck you was the South Westerly wind that was blowing strongly down the pool.  The pool looked very bare with little to no vegetation around the margins and no real bank to speak of.  The one end of the pool had a few reeds but nothing that would afford any cover to fish and the surrounding grass was waterlogged.  The area for parking resembled something that would not look out of place on the Western Front during the Great War, with thick glutinous mud that made walking to the pegs very slippy.

As the photograph shows, the western end of the lake has a few conifers that acted as a windbreak around the northern bank but for some reason (my idea I think) we decided to fish from the southern bank, into the wind.  After setting up a swim feeder full of red and white maggots on the line I was ready and things looked good for me when my first cast had been in the water a few minutes and the new rod dipped and bent round to the right.  I struck and immediately felt the weight of a fish on the line and the fight was on.  I managed to get the fish, a Common Carp, to the surface and it looked like it was between 1.5 to 2lb, when it slipped the hook and was off.  Little did I know that I wasn't going to experience that feeling again.

Whenever we go fishing there is something that happens to make it memorable and today was no exception.  At Friezeland, the bailiff comes round for your money and takes any orders for sandwiches or rolls at the same time.  They then disappear off and return within half an hour with the orders and walk around the various pegs delivering the food.  Usually the bailiff is a lady named Pam, who is on the ball and can usually remember the orders, but today she was not there and it was some old bloke who was a bit hard of hearing.  He came up to me and asked what I had ordered "Bacon and Sausage" I replied "Bacon and egg ?" he asked, "No" I replied "Bacon and sausage", "Sausage and egg ?" he said, "No, Bacon and sausage".  When I finally had my food he left and went over to Luke.  Luke had bought three of the kids with him and the four of them had all ordered sausage and egg, so after looking through his bag, the bailiff took one box from the bag and handed it over to Luke and then went off to the other end of the lake looking for whoever had ordered the remaining sandwich.  In no time at all he was back grumbling that he'd got a spare sausage and egg roll somehow and did anyone want it.  Luke said he'd have it and promptly paid for the extra sandwich.  After the bailiff had gone Luke called the kids round to have their food and it was then that he discovered that he only had three boxes in the bag and the 'extra' he had taken off the bailiff's hands was in fact his missing roll that he had already paid for.

 The wind was proving to be problematic for me as it was bouncing the tip of the feeder rod around and I couldn't tell whether I was getting a bite or not.  It was now that I realised that I had got my approach wrong and I was a little lost as to how to rectify the matter.  Luke and John were fishing with free running weights on their mainline and feeding lumps of luncheon meat over pellets.  In the excitement of using the new rod I had only bought maggots and two sticks of Pepperami it was clear that the fish weren't being tempted by the maggots at all.  I thought I'd move out of the wind and go around to the northern bank, which was sheltered from the wind and see if the fish round there would be less fussy, so I moved pegs and took up residency on the northern bank facing Luke and John.

The calmer conditions around the other side of the lake were very welcome and I cast out towards the island hoping that the fish were sheltering around this side, but again I was out of luck.  I had got it spectacularly wrong with regards bait, tactics and just about everything else.  The only things I had got right was to buy a warm hat the day before and to put on Jake's festival wellies which he had left in the back of the van.  I was just too excited and hadn't given much thought to anything other than getting out on the bankside again and had forgotten to cover all bases and bring along different baits in case of eventualities like this.  I decided that I'd try the other rod with a pellet waggler on, with some Pepperami as bait to see if this would bring in the fish and while I was setting up I left the feeder rod in the water as a last resort, in the hope that something would sacrifice itself for my pride and snare itself on my hook.

When I had got the second rod set up I decided to reel in the feeder rod to lay to one side and it was then that I realised that there was indeed a fish on the line.  I reeled in and there was a 4oz Rudd on the line and I had missed the take, the strike and just about everything, I had caught without the excitement of the catch.

My one fish of the day

This day was just getting better and better, but at least I hadn't blanked.  The rest of the session was just the same as before and I was effectively sat on a lake bank with a line in the water.  It didn't matter what I did, the fish were just not interested, and in the meantime I had been joined by Luke and John, who were happily catching some nice carp while I was sat between them and would have struggled to catch a cold.

You would think that a day like I was having couldn't get any worse but you'd be wrong, so very very wrong.  Because I'd bought the new feeder rod, I decided to give little Rhys my old rod, a feeder / float combination, a decision that I was due to regret by the time the day was over.  The biggest fish I have ever caught is a 6lb Carp and that was on the very first time I went fishing last May, so imagine my joy when wee Rhys lands an 8lb Carp using the rod I had earlier given him.....The fishing Gods had decided to not only give me a kick in the nuts with the lack of action around my hook, they had now decided to grind them with the heel of their boots.....

To end a stressful day I got stuck in the mud as I tried to leave the car park and had to spend 20 minutes throwing loose gravel into the mud under the tyres to get some sort of purchase on the ground as I tried reversing the short distance to the firmer ground.  I eventually managed it and left the venue and headed home....

You should always take something from every situation you're in, it's how we learn to deal with things and cope, it's how we develop our strategies for dealing with life and the surprises that get thrown up.  So what can I take from my first fishing session of 2016 ?....Well to quote the Boy Scout movements motto 'Be Prepared'.  From now on I will make sure that I carry a variety of baits to cover every eventuality, so I guess it wasn't a wasted session after all...

See you on the bankside......

I Need To Get Back On The Bankside......

It was pointed out to me earlier this week that I haven't written any blogs recently and to be honest I hadn't really thought about it much.  I haven't been fishing for a few months due to the weather and the cold, though saying that I did give it a try on a couple of times.  I went to a couple of places on the local canal system, The Smethwick Engine Arm behind the old Rolfe Street fire station and under the bridge at Tat Bank Road on the stretch of canal from Titford Pools to the old Birmingham Main Line canal.  Both times I blanked and caught nothing even though I had listened to what others were posting on social media about baits, approaches and tactics, but I suppose when the fish aren't biting then you're not going to catch.

I've used the Winter months constructively though and watched a plethora of videos on YouTube, read the Anglers Handbook that my youngest son and his partner bought me for Xmas and tried to develop some new strategies for the Spring and Summer.  I have decided that I am going to have a couple of years fishing in the warmer months first and hone the skills I have learned before attempting to fish in the Autumn and Winter months because it seems to me that there are a totally different set of skills required for that time of year.

I have also looked at the kit I have and what I will require for the coming campaign, especially as I plan on going after a few bigger carp this Spring and try and raise my personal best from 6lb for a Common to a double figure lump and from 4lb for a Mirror to another double figure lump.  I have started getting my gear together and over the next few weeks will begin changing the line on my reels, restocking my hooks but include some size 12 and 14 this time round, having a look at different bait options and even trying a few chopped worms after I finally get round to digging my back garden.

Last year was very much a time for learning the basics, tying knots, how to and when to strike, reading conditions, where to fish and what bait to use.  This year I will continue to develop those skills, but widen my horizons as well and try to be more of an all round angler rather than a bumbling novice.  I have enough people around me whose knowledge and skills I can call upon, so in reality there should not be anything I cannot work on and improve.

As for the depression, well surprisingly that has diminished recently thanks, I believe, to fishing.  I went from a complete novice who knew nothing and ended the year going off solo and pushing myself to try new things and places.  Twelve months ago I would never have done anything like that and allowed my own self doubt and lack of confidence to overpower the desire to get out there and actually do it.  This has also been reflected in my work life as well and I am now starting to believe in myself there as well and started to grow in confidence.

There have been a few setbacks which did slow me in my tracks, note they only slowed me and did not stop me, but these were easily dealt with a little positive thought instead of reflection on the negatives.  One set back which did hurt was not being given the chance to be interviewed for the role of Lead Engineer at work.  I had been given a date and time for an interview, but due to having contracted the Hand, Foot & Mouth virus, I was unable to attend the original interview and was promised that I would get my interview when we returned from the Xmas break.  However, upon my return I was informed that the positions had been filled and I was not going to be given the interview now.  That really did knock me back but by applying a little self belief and positive thinking, I have decided that I will not be applying for any future posts, that I will remain a humble engineer and just play the system now and do just enough to be considered a good engineer.  I won't be training other engineers to do jobs, I won't be writing or compiling anymore procedural documents, I won't be working overtime and I won't be doing anything above and beyond like I have in the past.

This may sound petulant and childish, but I firmly believe that they have made a huge mistake but I'm afraid that knowing I am a much better engineer than those who have been given the roles, and as I am not a second draft person, I am not prepared to do anything other than the bare minimum for them now.  I'm not the sort who will accept being picked second or third time around so it may seem like I am cutting my nose off, but as long as I do just what it is I need to and no more or less then I'll be happy.

Anyway, that's enough of that, it's time to concentrate on the fishing to come....See you on the bankside...

A Week To Myself

Apologies for not posting recently but I have been rather busy with work and haven't really had time to sit down and write about much.  A hectic work schedule that left me drained every night and then a pinched nerve in my wrist meant that I wasn't able to type very much until now.  The wrist injury saw me lose nearly two weeks off work and I only managed to get back on the bankside last Sunday, but that post will have to wait for a while.  The only thing wrong now is a little bit of a cold given to me by my 7 month old Grandson, Charlie.....  

I usually never take any annual leave and have to be almost forced into having days off as we get close to the end of the year or risk losing them altogether.  I've never really had much to do on days off except lie on the sofa and watch the drivel and dross that is daytime TV in this country.  However, this year I couldn't wait to book off some time because it meant that I could get some serious fishing time in and lose myself on the bank-side.

The plan was to fish every other day, starting on the Monday, then Wednesday and Friday, however, as usual with my best laid plans, it all changed and I had to have a rethink.  I'm not complaining, I got to spend the day with Edith and Charlie, my Grandkids, and any time spent with them is far more rewarding than any amount of time sat on the side of a lake.

My plan was now to fish Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and I had decided that I would visit Hunnington Coarse Fishery for my first session of the week, but the skies were the colour of a battleships hull and the forecast wasn't indicating any possibility of change.  Undaunted and armed with my new umbrella from Aldi, I headed out with just sweetcorn and luncheon meat as bait.  I had used the same baits on my last two trips with mixed results and I had decided that if I struggled to catch like I had on my previous sessions then I would be going back to maggots and laying off the sweetcorn and luncheon meat that I had been using.

Tuesday - 25th August
Hunnington Coarse Fishery

My first session of the week was at one of my favourite fisheries where I'd caught a few nice fish on previous trips.  I went along armed with the two baits mentioned about and felt quietly confident that I would do well and decided to fish the bottom Kingfisher Pool, where the bigger carp are found.  The weather wasn't too great and the threat of rain was never far away, but undeterred I set up on the bank-side adjacent to the car park and got the Carp rod out and put the pellet waggler on the line.  I was using the sweetcorn first and cast out as tight to the side of the island as possible where I had been told the biggest specimens could be found.  Unfortunately there was a strong wind coming from an easterly direction which was coming along the length of the pool.  In hindsight I realise now that I should probably moved a bit to my right and fished on the other side of the island where it was calmer due to the island and the trees and bushes providing a sort of windbreak.

I tried to compensate for the wind and cast into it so the heavy waggler float would hopefully be diverted to where I wanted it, but the line was blown into the overhanging branches and I had the float sitting just where I wanted it but the line snagged above the water.  Everything went okay as I reeled the line back in, hoping that it would free itself in the process, but no such luck.  The float came up and got stuck and I had to pull on the line until either the line or the branch broke.  The line went first and my pellet waggler float made the usual heavy splash as it hit the water free from the line. My first thoughts were that it was another £4.00 lost to those vengeful fishing demons, but then the same wind that had caused the problem decided to work in my favour and the waves created as it blew across the surface of the water pushed the float towards the bankside.  I was able to use the landing net to rescue the float but any thoughts of fishing near the island disappeared quickly.

I moved further down the lake and pitched up at the opposite end where I thought I would have more of a chance of catching something, and I was soon set up with the carp chair out underneath my new umbrella just in time to shelter from the first of many downpours through the day.  The conditions were particularly nasty throughout the day and the warm weather we had enjoyed in previous weeks now seemed like a distant memory as the wind got stronger and the rain fell heavier.  The owner had been round collecting the fees from the anglers who had arrived after myself, and he stopped for a chat and passed on the cheery news that the fish had been heading towards the bottom for a few days due to weather.  Apparently the fish at this venue are easily spooked and the change in the weather had signalled that autumn was coming and they'd gone into deeper water before they begin to feed voraciously for the winter.

I had adopted the "feed little, but often" tactic but no matter what I tried the fish were just not interested and I couldn't get them to rise from the bottom and I was now debating on whether I should cut short the session and head home to the warmth and comfort of the sofa.  I had tried changing hook size, used various baits that I had available, changed pegs and fed up the peg with copious amounts of sweetcorn.  I started to wonder if my freebies had over fed the swim, but then there was some interest on the line as the float suddenly disappeared beneath the surface and then bobbed back into view; that was enough to get my interest restored and it was game on again.

I didn't strike straight away, I waited until there was more interest on the line and then I took my chance and struck the line.  I have been getting into the habit of striking too early and it has been pointed out to me by Damian, but try as I might I couldn't break the habit.  This time I was aware of what I was doing and I gently gave the line a flick of the wrist and I was on.  It was at this point that my carp chair decided that now would be a good time to collapse and the back legs splayed upwards as the two rails that the seat part were attached to bent to almost 90 degrees.  At first I lay there wondering how one minute I was watching the water and the next I was looking at the underside of my umbrella.....I still had hold of the rod and the line was still tight so at least I hadn't lost the fish and I managed to land a nice Linear Carp weighing about 2lbs.  Not huge but at least I hadn't blanked.

After the disaster with the chair, the miserable weather and being cold I decided enough was enough and I started to pack away the broken chair and rest of my gear.  I suppose it was just not my day and the fisheries resident goose, a big grey lump of a thing who is very friendly, topped it off when he came down while my back was turned and helped himself to my luncheon meat and sweetcorn.

Thursday - 27th August
Smethwick Junction, BCN Old Main Line Canal

For my next fishing trip I decided to go local and went down to the canal system that runs through Smethwick, and was responsible for the industrial expansion during the 18th and 19th centuries.  The canals used to run past the huge factories and industrial plants that made up the northern parts of the town but are now mostly derelict, demolished or have characterless new housing estates built on the sites.  The part of the system I planned on fishing is accessed through the new(ish) Galton Valley estate which used to be a big engineering factory until the business closed in the early 1980's.  The towpath side is accessible from Brasshouse Lane, but parking is limited and so I decided to use the small mooring area on the opposite bank.

This stretch of the canal is known as Smethwick Junction and is where the original Old Main Line canal branches off to form what is known as The Engine Arm, which terminates about a mile or two further down at French Walls, crossing the New Main Line via an aquaduct.  The Old Main Line continues down and joins the newer canal after passing through a series of locks.  I've fished this stretch before and drew a blank, but then I had not plumbed the depth, used the wrong tackle and thought I knew everything.  This time I went armed with red maggots, the correct waggler float and a variety of hook sizes, so I thought I had most bases covered.

The sky was lead grey in colour and the forecast had predicted that their would be heavy showers throughout the day.  I would be in trouble if the rain did come because the area I was fishing from was concrete and there was no way I could put the umbrella up.  I started out with the float rod, short waggler float and 4 x No.8 Shotz from the Preston Innovations range.  The hook was a Size 14 wide gap just in case there were any bigger species around.  I fished the middle section where the canal is deepest but after 30 minutes there was no activity there and I had been dropping two or three maggots into an area just in front of a Buddleia bush that was growing out of the concrete moorings, so I changed the hook and put on a No.16 with two maggots on.  Things seemed to be looking a little better here and the float went under a few times but that was it really.  There were no real takes, just a lot of line bites.

I stuck it out for a further 30 minutes but the heavens opened and I was forced to reel my hook in and sit on my box, holding the umbrella while I waited for the shower to pass.  I'd been told by my mate from Stoke, the legend that is Mark Woodward, that the best time to fish was when or after it was raining so I wasn't going to pack up just yet.  The shower soon passed and I was back on it, but further out this time, where I thought the shelf on the far side dropped into the central channel.  There was a lot of activity around the stretch of water as the fish kept coming to the top and breaking the surface, but they ignored my hook.

I stuck it out for a further hour, swapping to the feeder rod hoping that might bring a bite but there was nothing doing and the rain had started to get really heavy as well.  I decided that enough was enough and packed everything away and trudged back to the van water whacked by the Smethwick canals once again.....Stu 0 Canal 2

Friday - 28th August
Barlow Lakes, Barlow, North Derbyshire

Ever since I began fishing I have wanted to get to this venue.  I used to visit the village every Summer growing up, staying with my Aunt Doreen for two weeks of absolute freedom, running around the fields, playing in hay barns, playing in Barlow Brook and just having the best time a little kid could have.  The happiest memories from my childhood all come from these visits to Barlow and if I could, I would buy a house up there in a heartbeat.

I remember clearly when the fishery was first started way back in 1976, when it was just a trout fishery, but over the years it has developed into a stunning little venue with 4 coarse pools, a specimen lake and 2 trout ponds.  I couldn't wait to get bankside and left home about 06.30 for the two hour drive up the A38 to Alfreton and then the A61 to Chesterfield.  I got to the venue at about 08.30, and set up straight away on the first pool as you entered from the Keepers Lane and Smeltinghouse Lane entrance.

Barlow Lakes

The weather promised to be sunny with the odd chance of showers and after the previous day's downpours I was ready just in case.  The umbrella could be deployed at a moments notice but for now the sky was azure blue without a cloud in sight.  The first few hours saw plenty of nudges and line knocks close in around the reed line and I got a fair few small perch and gudgeon taking the red maggot bait, but I was determined to get the swim feeder out into the middle and see what I could catch.  I hadn't used my feeder rod yet and I was feeling confident enough to give it a go today.  I had read articles in the magazines, watched the videos on YouTube and felt I had an understanding of this technique.  It was game on !!!!!

After a few showers and rapid deployment of the umbrella he fishing was going great and I was catching redfins on a regular basis but I wanted that fish that would move me from what Damian calls "sticklebacks" to heftier fish in or near the 1lb+ weight.  I swapped over to the feeder rod and cast out into the middle and waited.  It wasn't long before the quiver tip was bouncing about as the fish investigated the free feed that had just landed in their midst.  I'd watched Luke fish this method many times and wasn't sure if I should strike now or wait, but the fish decided for me when there was a clear and definitive bend on the rod and I struck.

I reeled in carefully so not to lose the fish and soon it was clear that I had a Bream on the hook and it just lay on it's side as I got it to the surface.  These fish give up so easily.....

My first feeder Bream

I finished my day off at around 6pm having had a quality days fishing and bagging up a total of 31fish.  I would have stayed longer but I had promised my Aunt that I would pay a visit and so I happily packed everything away feeling pleased with myself that I had nailed the feeder technique at last......See you on the bank-side.......

Just What I Needed.....

Dayhouse Farm, Old House Lane, Romsley, Halesowen, B62 OEX

Dayhouse Farm Fishery

I really needed some time on the bank-side this weekend after receiving the devastating news that my cousin Kevin had passed away on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.  He was just 49 years old and leaves behind his lovely wife Natalie and his two young sons Nathan and Evan.  It is no age for anyone to die but cancer is a vile disease that does not respect age and the sooner it is eradicated the better.  Kevin and I were so close as kids and some of the best memories from my childhood involve him like when his Dad, Uncle Ray, took us boating at West Smethwick Park.  Ray couldn't swim so Kev an myself started rocking the boat and he was gripping the sides so hard that his knuckles were white and the air was blue with his language, another memory is Kevin writing a ransom note in his tent for my Mom to find so, as we thought, she would go home and leave me at his house. The fact that it was in his handwriting and they would know where it was from hadn't occurred to us, but to make it seem more genuine, Kevin picked a scab off his knee and dripped blood onto the note for added dramatic affect.  I am going to miss him.

I had tried to keep myself busy all week after hearing the devastating news because I couldn't let things get on top of me and undo the hard work that has gone into getting me to where I am now.  I had been working on the South Coast and doing two shifts per day so I wasn't stuck in my hotel room where I would no doubt sit and think about things and slip back into a deeper depression, so the rushing about from job to job through the day really helped but left me feeling shattered.  I had decided that after my last job on Thursday, I would be heading back to Smethwick and home, where I could look forward to my weekend and get some time in on the bank-side and come to terms with everything.

I decided that it was about time I got back to one of my favourite places to fish, the bottom pool at Dayhouse Farm, just outside of the village of Romsley on the Bromsgrove side of Romsley Hill.  It is a wonderful venue, perfect for the experienced or the novice angler, situated in a small valley with trees and greenery all around and the kind of place where you can just chill out in the peaceful, relaxed setting and let your hassles just wash over you.  It has two pools, the smaller top pool and the larger bottom pool and both are well stocked with a variety of fish.  It was here that I caught my first Gudgeon, Ide and Bream on my first session here and I had not been disappointed on any visit since.  This time though I was going to do things differently and come out of my comfort zone and not take any maggots as bait.  I had been using them since my first fishing trip with Luke back in May, and they had become a sort of security blanket to me.  The only time I had fished without them before was when I was down in Cornwall at Bake Lakes an could not find anywhere that sold them and I was forced into using 6mm soft hooker Strawberry flavoured pellets.  I did okay that day though by fishing the margins, but this time I wanted to give my method feeder a try that I had got free with the Angling Times.

The bottom pool at Dayhouse Farm

Aldi had just started to sell their fishing range and so I went for some of the particle mix of maize, hemp and seed and a bag of the green match groundbait.  I mixed this up at home and took along some chopped luncheon meat an a tin of Tesco own brand sweetcorn for the hookbait.  I got to the fishery and had a look at the top pool but it was packed an very few pegs were available so I made my way down to the bottom pool which was being fished by a local club for a contest.  They were more than helpful pointing out which pegs were going spare and so I was set up for a days fishing.

I set up the method feeder and realised that I had made the mix too wet and it was sticking in the mould so when the feeder came out, the hookbait and half of the mix were still in the mould.  I plugged away though and just pressed the mix around the method by hand.  The only problem with that was I kept stabbing myself in the hand with the hook but I figured a little blood would just add to the flavour.  I cast out and sat waiting for the day-glo orange tip of the feeder rod to do something but then realised that maybe I should have watched a video on YouTube or something to know what to look for to indicate a bite.  I'd never used my float / feeder rod as a feeder before and my only experience was when I sat with Luke when I went with him for the first time in May.  Back then I was constantly surprise when he sprang into a flurry of activity because I hadn't seen anything to indicate a fish was on an I was beginning to think he had some sort of fisherman's intuition that I didn't,, that there was some special power that I had yet to find deep within my psyche that meant I could call myself an angler.

I suddenly had a brainwave and posted on the PIDS Fishing Club facebook page what I was up to and asked the question, What should I be looking for ?....Luke posted a reply pretty quickly that I had to do this, that and the other and look for the tip doing this or that.  I read the posts and then realised that I had sat watching the tip of the rod do all of these things and missed loads of bites.  Undeterred I reeled the feeder in and recast roughly where I had before, using a marker on the far bank as my aiming point.  I only had to work out how to judge the strength of the cast now to ensure I was in the same area each time I recast, but I got through okay even though I was just providing the fish with a free feed.

I had been two hours providing this takeaway service for the fish when everything came together for me and I got the moulded bait perfect from the mould, the cast was bang tidy and the tip moved as it should to indicate that I had a bite at last.  I struck the line and felt the fish catch, something I had heard other anglers talk about on the angling shows on Discovery Shed bt never really experienced myself.  The fish took off and I realised there was a problem with my reel straight away because everything went tight and there was no run on the line.  I looked to make sure that I had the clutch set to allow the fish to run and that was correct but the tension on the line indicated there was a problem still.  I tried to reel in and the rod bent right over making me fear that it was about to snap and I would lose everything.  I then remembered what Luke had said about making sure the drag was set properly so any activity would allow the line to run freely.  I hadn't done that part and the drag was set not to run.  I turned the knob to allow the line to run and there was an explosion of line from the reel as it suddenly had the freedom to go, the fish must have been as surprised as I was and it started to run into deeper water.  It was now that I made my second mistake an started to reel in furiously and suddenly everything stopped.  I looked down to see the line had come off so fast that it had wrapped around the reel and I had added to the tangle with my over eager reeling.

I had no choice but to hope that I had the fish securely hooked well enough to stay on the line as I attempted to untangle the Gordian knot I had created.  The Gordian Knot is a legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem (disentangling an "impossible" knot) solved easily by cheating or "thinking outside the box, only I am not Alexander the Great and I didn't want to cut anything if I could help it.  I sat for the best part of 20 minutes trying to extricate myself of the problem when I realised that my line had gone slack and my catch had managed to rid himself of the hook.  I decided that I had nothing to lose now so cut the line and untangled everything.  To say I was slightly miffed would be an understatement and I decided that feeder fishing was rubbish and I was never going to attempt it again.  I got the trusty pellet waggler out and set it up on the big carp rod using the luncheon meat as my hook bait.  The pellet waggler had been bought for use at Drayton Reservoir when I went fishing with Damian, and had caught nothing with it.  Hopefully this time would be different and I would not draw a blank as I had up until now, because it couldn't get any worse.

My first few casts felt promising and there were loads of knocks and bumps on the line and the float would dip and bob as the fish investigated the bait.  I was mindful of my habit of striking too soon and waited patiently for a proper bite that would pull the float under the surface.  I sat there waiting....and waiting....and waiting and when I reeled in the meat had gone and the hook was bare.  I re-baited an this time I added some of the Aldi amino feeder dip I had bought and gave the meat a generous amount of Tutti-Frutti flavouring.  I was fishing in the middle of the lake, just on the drop off and in the margins and the activity was the same in each area with line bites, knocks, bumps and everything but I could not get a fish to take the hook.  They took the bait every time, but not the hook, and I had never been so desperate for some maggots in my life.  I was so far out of my comfort zone and my confidence was rocked by my failure to catch anything and I was cursing under my breath at Damian and his suggestion that I tried fishing without maggots.

My fears of blanking were banished when the float disappeared from view and I felt the familiar pull of a fish on the line.  I didn't care what it was, how big it was or what species it was.  I had caught something and I could go home with my head held high, safe in the knowledge that it was possible to catch without maggots.  The luncheon meat and sweetcorn combination had paid dividends and I had a nice Bream on the hook.

My saviour from a blank

It was getting quite late now and the sun was slowly disappearing the trees on the hill to the west of the lake and so I decided to call it a day.  I had got my fish an hour or so earlier and had a few nibbles on the hook afterwards but my timing was off and I was beginning to strike too early again and I thought it better to pack up and be satisfied with my one fish.  As with every fishing trip I have, I learned new things about fishing like making the groundbait mix too wet, allowing the groundbait to soak in the moisture the night before and not immediately before trying to fish and to remember to allow the line to run freely by turning the clutch down.  Fishing is a wonderful sport that really does help anyone to relax and unwind, but there are some frustrating parts to it, but funnily enough that frustration is fleeting and doesn't last longer than a few minutes until you sort yourself out and calm down again.

I left the fishery having come to terms with the loss of Kevin though I wasn't looking forward to his funeral on the following Wednesday at all, but I as already looking forward to getting back to Dayhouse Farm in the next few weeks when I have a week off work and will be fishing most days.......

See you on the bank-side.........

A Day of Mixed Fortunes....

Drayton Reservoir, Daventry, Northants.

Drayton Reservoir

Drayton Reservoir is considered by many to be one of the finest Carp lakes in the UK and often features heavily in many articles and reports in the angling papers and magazines.  The Look Fishy website gives this description of the place "To many people, this could be described as the Wembley of places to go fishing (not in a facilities kind of way), walking round the boards on the way to your peg must feel like emerging from the tunnel ready for an FA Cup final or England international match. The reservoir is packed with fish, not just any kind of fish, it is packed with lumps! There aren't many places where you could get bored of catching double figure carp, but this is potentially one of them!"......Did Damian Smith write this ?

The day started very early with a 04.00 wake up to make up my flask of coffee and cheese & pickle rolls, pack my gear into the van and get the general chores done that are part and parcel of a fishing trip.  I left the house at 05.15 because the Sat Nav was telling me it was just under an hours drive to the lake and they opened at 06.30, and you needed to get there early to guarantee a parking space along the dam wall.

Damian and myself were to only two from the PIDS Fishing Club who could make it, Luke's car needs repairing and Richard's young son was ill on the day, so a mixture of financial restraints and sickness decimated our ranks.  Damian was, as usual, like an excited schoolboy, even calling me at 05.15 to make sure I was on my way.  I made my way onto the motorway and headed off down the M6 southwards towards the M1.  After an uneventful journey along an almost deserted motorway, I arrived at my destination a few minutes late, but nothing major.  Of course Damian had been there extremely early and had already set up his gear on the dam wall and had put his chair on the next peg to save it for me.  I got myself ready with my gear and was going to use my new purchase from the day before, a loaded pellet waggler, on 10lb main line with a hair rig of a Size 14 hook on 8lb line and a pellet band on the hair.  This was connected to the main line on a snap swivel and the waggler was held firm on the main line with two float stops preventing the snap swivel it was attached to from sliding around.  I'd never fished with a pellet waggler before so wasn't sure what to expect, but I had some idea about the workings of this new style of fishing.  

The deepest water in the lake goes to around 30ft along the dam wall, but then it levels out to around 3ft deep at the far end, with around 7ft being an average depth around the sides.  Damian had researched the venue and the majority of comments suggested that the dam wall was the place to fish from, so we were fishing from there.  The set up at Drayton is impressive and there is a wooden walkway around the majority of the lake with jetty style pegs to fish from.  The dam wall also has these platforms but with no walkway between them so access was over the wall through gaps in the barriers.  With everything in place it was time to fish and I was trying a new bait this week that I had been told was irresistible to Carp, the fruity flavoured Starburst sweets (formerly known as Opal Fruits).  A bloke at the hotel I stayed in the week before had told me that he would squash them around his hook and catch all day long.  It being a day of firsts, first time with a pellet waggler, first time specifically targeting bigger Carp and the first time on a seriously big venue, I had nothing to lose.

Damian had told me that I was sure to catch big here, that every cast would produce a fish of a decent size and I would smash my personal best for a Common and Mirror without a doubt.  Well I sat there with the pellet waggler out about 30 yards, for about an hour with no activity on or around my hook, rain lashing down, wind blowing a gale across the lake and holding onto my umbrella for dear life.  The wind had already got underneath it and lifted it clean out of the hole in the decking, sending it shooting through the air onto Damian's peg, so I was fishing with a distinct handicap now.  My left hand holding onto the umbrella, the right hand free for the rod.

After three or four hours of no activity on the hook I decided to switch to my float rod for a while and see what I could catch around the margin and platform because there was no way I was going to blank at this so called legendary venue.  The rain and wind had subsided a little so I set up the reliable float rod with a waggler float, 5 x Preston Innovations No. 8 Stotz weights, snap swivel and a Size 14 hook on a 6" nylon line.  Straight away I was into a nice Perch fro right beneath the platform so at least I wasn't going home with no fish to my name and three more followed in quick succession.  While this was going on Damian was into a Carp and he provided a real comedy moment when his umbrella was lifted from it's anchor while he was trying to land his fish.  He shouted across for me to give him a hand but I just sat there watching him struggle, remembering the laughter that had come from him when my brolly had decided to go on a fly-about.  He managed to sort himself out and landed a pretty decent Carp but it wasn't close to beating his PB of 16lbs.

The next fish he got into came shortly after and we both knew that it was a big lump straight away.  His reel was almost smoking as the line raced from it and it was game on as he played the fish back towards his platform and the safety of his landing net.  It was a full 5 minutes before the fish was ready to give up the fight and at one point it had nearly pulled him from the wooden decking when it had put on one final burst.  I made my way across to help land the beast and when we saw it surface we both agreed this was a huge lump that was at least 20lbs.  After successfully landing it and weighing it Damian's face was a picture when he read the scales and said it was 27lbs 8oz, beating his previous PB by 11lbs.  He was like a little kid at Christmas and the wind and the rain all seemed worth it, for him at least.

Damian's new PB Carp

While all of this had been going on I had reeled my line in but had unknowingly left my hook and bait in the water and it was Smudge who noticed that I had something on and it was about to pull my rod into the water.  I rushed across the little ledge between the pegs and managed to grab the rod before it went into the drink and landed the fish which beat my own PB for a Roach.

Roach PB (sorry about leaving it on the wooden decking.  It has been pointed out to me already by numerous people)

Little did I know that my fishing was finished at that point, with no activity around my hooks gain for the rest of the day.  The Carp pellets had failed, the Starburst had failed, I was soaked, cold and beginning to long for my sofa at home. Smudge made me up a rig with a boillie and pop-up to see if I had any luck on the bottom, but nothing happened.  I had been sat under my brolly, still holding onto it for dear life, when I decided to recast and let go of the brolly to use both hands on the rod.  Suddenly I felt very exposed to the elements and all I could hear was laughter coming from the next peg.  A quick glance to the right and I could see my brolly floating away in the wind but taking on water as it did.  I jumped down onto the small ledge between the pegs with my landing net in the hope I could throw the net over the end of the pole but it was too short and I had to run along the ledge and fetch my long handled  landing net, again it was too short but only by inches.  All of the time I was running back and forth between peg and brolly it was getting lower and lower in the water, and Damian's laughter got more and more hysterical.

I grabbed Damian's landing net which was a lot longer than mine but it was all to no avail as the brolly slipped below the waves and slid down the sloping concrete wall into 30 feet of water.  Now this brolly was my Dad's old one and all that I had left of his gear so I was rather upset at losing it, so Damian then spent the next 30 to 40 minutes trying to hook it and reel it up from its watery grave.  He managed to hook it several times but the weight it had taken on was too much for his hair rigs and he lost three heavy weights in his attempts.  I had had enough of the wind, rain and cold and decided that without the shelter of the brolly I was going to pack up and watch Smudge fish from the van.  It was then that I noticed something different about Damian's set up and asked if he was going to loose feed on the surface, Damian said no and then we realised that he had lost his Spod Bomb.  Now he hadn't used that rod when trying to rescue the brolly so it had either worked loose or one of the yachtsmen had snagged his line when they sailed close to his line.  This is what I didn't like about Drayton, the sailing club have banned fishing from  around its little corner but they just sail as close as they can right across where people are fishing.  While I am sure the sailing club pay a dividend to the Canals & Rivers Trust to sail there, the CRT need to remember that it is angling that brings in a lot of money for them from their various fisheries and other schemes and anglers should be looked after to stop the Hooray Henry's from sailing across their lines.

With his weights and Spod at the bottom of the lake, along with my brolly, Damian decided to call it a day also so we both packed up and tried to get warm.  It was here that my turn to laugh at his misfortune arrived when he realised that he had read his scales wrong and it was a marker hand he had read and not the actual needle that gave the weight.  His new PB had gone from 27lbs 8oz to 18lbs in an instant, still a new PB but not as epic as he had first thought and it was my turn to laugh at his misfortune.....

All in all, despite the loss of my brolly it had been a great day with a great mate and it had lifted my spirits again and despite the initial despair I felt when the brolly went and along with it the last tangible connection to my Dad with fishing, I had managed to get over the loss pretty quickly and had moved on.  In the past I would have allowed things to fester and get to me, but now that process is just momentary and I am able to dwell on them less which in turn lessens the amount of time I spend feeling sorry for myself.  There is still a long way to go but at least I can now recognise that there is progress.  However on my way home I received some devastating news which I have been dreading for a while.  I'm not going to go into it now, it is too painful and I have to respect another person's right to privacy.

It was a day of mixed fortunes, a day of mixed emotions, but a day that I enjoyed for the most part....

See you on the bankside.....