This should maybe titled 'A Journey Back Into Angling' as I've recently rediscovered my passion for fishing, a sport I effectively left 17 or 18 years ago. I cant really say why I stopped fishing but I suppose it mainly had to do with the end of my teenage years and joining the army meant that I was no longer at home with my gear. Does that sound familiar? Like most lapsed anglers, though, I never stopped looking and wondering every time I passed a pond, lake or river. I was never the greatest angler so hopefully this time around will be more successfull.
So here I am again! Having started up a few months ago I'm still using the gear I owned when I stopped though I have bought some new stuff over the last few months my old Conoflex glass fibre rods and Ryobi reels are still in evidence. Its a strange thing to say but after all these years away things have completely changed and at the same time stayed exactly the same. Bolt rigs are still the order of the day and used unquestioningly, pike rigs are identical and maggots still catch almost everything.
I've had a few sesions over the winter with enough fish to keep me happy mainly on the Trent where I took a few pike including a personal best 18lb fish on a sardine. The rivers have been very full this winter making fishing them a bit hit and miss. I fished a late afternoon sesion on the Trent, the steps section just upstream of Trent Bridge in Nottingham, I spent hours trotting a single maggot under a stick float trying in vain to catch anything at all from a river flowing about 5 to 6 foot above normal. I would have been happy with anything of any size that afternoon, my one and only bite resulted in a heavy slow dogged fight which plodded around for 5 minutes or so before I slipped the net under 5lb 8oz chub. I was nervous to say the least with a size 18 hook on a 1lb 10oz bottom!
I'm off to a local reservoir tomorow but the weater isnt lookin very good, cold and windy. It holds a special place in my memories as its where I spent most of my spare time as a kid and where I did most of my carping. Its only 3 1/2 acres and esentialy a square concrete hole in the ground! Roach, bream and perch are my target tomorow but I'll be back for the carp later.
I hope to use this space for you to answer my queries and maybe to post some of yours to get answered too. I also hope to be able to write up on new bits and pieces I buy and post a list of tackle and bait supliers and venues.
So here I am again! Having started up a few months ago I'm still using the gear I owned when I stopped though I have bought some new stuff over the last few months my old Conoflex glass fibre rods and Ryobi reels are still in evidence. Its a strange thing to say but after all these years away things have completely changed and at the same time stayed exactly the same. Bolt rigs are still the order of the day and used unquestioningly, pike rigs are identical and maggots still catch almost everything.
I've had a few sesions over the winter with enough fish to keep me happy mainly on the Trent where I took a few pike including a personal best 18lb fish on a sardine. The rivers have been very full this winter making fishing them a bit hit and miss. I fished a late afternoon sesion on the Trent, the steps section just upstream of Trent Bridge in Nottingham, I spent hours trotting a single maggot under a stick float trying in vain to catch anything at all from a river flowing about 5 to 6 foot above normal. I would have been happy with anything of any size that afternoon, my one and only bite resulted in a heavy slow dogged fight which plodded around for 5 minutes or so before I slipped the net under 5lb 8oz chub. I was nervous to say the least with a size 18 hook on a 1lb 10oz bottom!
I'm off to a local reservoir tomorow but the weater isnt lookin very good, cold and windy. It holds a special place in my memories as its where I spent most of my spare time as a kid and where I did most of my carping. Its only 3 1/2 acres and esentialy a square concrete hole in the ground! Roach, bream and perch are my target tomorow but I'll be back for the carp later.
I hope to use this space for you to answer my queries and maybe to post some of yours to get answered too. I also hope to be able to write up on new bits and pieces I buy and post a list of tackle and bait supliers and venues.
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