stevetheangler

So it came to pass … eventually … that I returned back to the waterside, rods in hand … and as usual not an usual sort of fishing day … or maybe it was as a ‘usual’ sort of fishing day in itself would be unusual for me?? LOL!

AND .. the preparing of the planned outing was in itself an event…

Last outing had been, I think, the 2nd December 2022 … and that session was quickly curtailed as I needed to dash home … and so at that time I’d not tackled down per usual but had literally stuffed all my gear into the back of the car, still all made up and just adjusted to get it all to fit in for the homeward journey. Back home, the following day, I got around to splitting down the rods, folding down the trolley, emptying bags, etc. … and then I’d not needed the tackle for over the rest of 2022 and into 2023… So.. now I’ve planned this outing and start to gather all the bits and pieces necessary … rods, brolly, bags and check their contents … and landing net … WHERE IS THE LANDING NET? NOT ONLY CANNOT I NOT FIND THE NET BUT ALSO NOT FIND ITS POLE! … so a  two hour search of the garage, the shed, and everywhere else where those items may be ensues without any joy … so obviously in my haste to leave the pool I had missed collecting the net and it got left behind?? So, I posted on the club’s FB page to see if anyone had come across it … and, as much needed items and missing for a month on a popular water and thus probably not to be seen again, I decided I’d buy replacements – the net, the pole and the quick release net adapter I use – on eBay, which I did. Fast forward then, ERRRR,, ALL OF 10 MINUTES, and I go into the garage and I see poking out from behind the step ladders by my rods, 2 shiny spigots and turn out to be attached to the missing net… but there’s still no sign of the pole UNTIL I go to drop my brolly into the holdall and there’s a thump as something falls from the folds onto the floor … yep, the missing pole with the adapter attached. In the end, I requested the order of the pole to be cancelled (still awaiting confirmation of that) … and then received an out-of-stock/refunded message about the adapter so that fixed itself, and the net will come in as a spare.

Oh well, all sorted … nothing else can happen can it? Ha ha ha!!!

Monday 9th January 2023 I set off for the club’s usual bream/tench pool (AA-B) having heard that carp and tench are still being caught.

The weather on start out was a bit overcast, turning to drizzle as I travelled BUT as I got to a mile or so away the skies brightened and blued and the clouds dispersed and it was a lovely morning on arrival at around 0815 with no-one else out. I barrowed my gear up the pool from the near end hardcore car park to the top end as the land around gets very soft especially after a long wet spell. I catapulted out a few maggots and a threw in a few small handfuls of cereal groundbait to the margins of the small island that I was fishing across too about 3-4 rod lengths out to attract whilst I was tackling up to fish lift method and setting out my area and accessories… then all set and plumbed up I made my first 2023 ‘cast-in-anger’ at around 0915 … straight into a bush on the island’s margins… ha ha aarrggghhhhh! So the next 30 minutes or so is spent retackling up again….

2nd cast of 2023 … PERFECT!! LOL! … fishing worm.

Pour a coffee … 30 minutes passes without issue … or interference from fish…

Then a voice … ‘Hiya, Steve … how are you at pushing?’ .. yep, someone had got their car stuck in the mud and quite deeply at that it turned out. Rocking the motor, etc didn’t make a inch of gain… gathered hardcore, branches, etc under the wheels were no good.. So I went on a wander around the pool and located a decent length of spare blue rope that club uses to tie across the pool as a cormorant deterrent to use a tow rope. So I drive my car close enough to the stricken vehicle for the rope to attach yet to remain on solid ground. First attempt to pull … BANG!! … as the rope snapped … doubled up the rope … an even louder BANG! as that snapped under the strain and we’d not budged one inch … then we located some more blue rope and made effectively a four ply rope … and with a bit of a jerking technique (pull/relax/pull/etc) we eventually managed to get the motor extracted and parked up on the hardcore. We then tied the rope across the path to block anyone else from getting up and stuck.

So fun and games over I got back to fishing and so did the other guy…

Not much to report re my fishing – a couple of small knocks and one large lift on the float which came as I was delving in my bag located the opposite side of my seat to that of the rod and so I was unable to respond in time.. typical!

Come noon the temps took a big dip and the breeze turned a bit so that it was quite chilling in my peg but I lasted until 1300 before tackling down and heading home via a Sainsbury carwash to get rid of the mud streaks of the day J

One hot coffee and a hot shower later, Liz and I set off for a beer and cob… :)

PLANS

Not sure yet … need to take car into the garage to have a wing mirror fitted on Monday probably so earliest will be Tuesday … and at the moment all is still much weather dependant.

AND … today I’ve purchased a 4 metre, braided steel, 5 ton rated towing cable! :)