stevetheangler

Title gives it away a bit, I think, so feel free to turn the page! LOL

It all started the day before really – Sunday 24th – when Liz made my breakfast cob to take with me – as usual a marmalade bap, but rather than drop it in my sandwich along with my snacks I told her to put it in the fridge and I’ll drop it in the box to take the following morning… an important change in routine that led to follow on effects it seemed…

So…

Monday 25th August, it being a bank holiday I thought I’d try to get out a bit earlier in case of crowds on probably of one of the least visited club fisheries (the Mike Day Fishery) albeit being one of only two pools owned outright by the club (the other is in the same meadow just 10 yards away)! Seems most of the members rather travel to the other club waters to catch 10-30 carp than perhaps catch a few bream, tench or perch or even blank … and possibly the half mile bomb hole pitted dirt farm track down the pool doesn’t appeal either… oh well. Mind you, on the day it was packed as it turned out … probably 4-5 of us between the two pools! LOL

Setting off at 0400 (an hour or more earlier than usual) I arrived in semi-darkness (pre-twilight) and headed to the peg I’d occupied on my previous visit – with lily pads to my left and right and lily pads on the margins of the far bank preventing access from any other peg its like fishing my own mini-pool…

As I’d fished previously by prefeeding my usual particle mix and fishing ‘on the lead’ with meat and had done ok in my terms I decided that was the way to go for this session. The only change being that the hook for this session was upped to a size 4 from the size 6 that I’d used in previously … and I’d taken my weights box and so the 5 SSG shot link was changed to a 3/4oz Arlesey bomb.  So, 11’ leger rod, 8lb main line + 6” 8lb braid hooklength to size 4 hook, lead on a sliding 4” link stopped to give a stop-to-hook tail about 20”. Bait initially a 3/4” salted luncheon meat cube (although last week’s had actually been ‘chopped ham with pork’).

So, all set up and ready to go the first cast was made around 0615.,.. and seemed to be a promising start as within the first minute the bobbin rose and the beeper beeped … unfortunately I had been sorting my table out and as I turned back the bobbin was already dropping back down and no further action ensued. At this point I had added a further jinx to the day in the form of posting on the club’s FB page ‘first cast, first bite’.

And then it started … really as I reached into my sandwich box to grab a toffee to suck and noticed the absence of my brown paper bagged breakfast cob which was still in the fridge at home … later, pouring a cup of coffee, I missed my cup and poured the, not quite scalding but still hot enough to hurt, coffee over my hand … and then I realised although I’d taken my metformin diabetic tabs with my pre-leaving the house cereal I’d not injected my morning insulin nor measured by morning blood sugar levels… lesson learnt – stick to usual routines and don’t leave home before 0500 at earliest.

And … only one further ‘bite’ during the session, which like the original was more than likely to have been a ‘liner’ – fast up, fast down’ despite having swapped to prawn for the last hour or so.

So I packed in at around midday … and had a bit of consolation for the day in that as I arrived at the outer gate a couple of members were incoming – and they very kindly gave me a couple of pike fishing books for my angling library which stands at around 465 books now J

Got home, put away tackle and baits – checked my bloods, not too bad considering I’d had a couple of choc bars in lieu of the butty – had my insulin – and my butty for lunch.

PLANS

Next week Liz has promised to come out to play :)

So back to the Mike Day… :)

ASIDES

Don’t know if I’ve mentioned before but I’m now in line to have my hernia looked at … after 4 years! As its the size of a casserole that a chicken could easily be cooked in its won’t be a keyhole job, full frontal slash and stuff! Anyway, I received, a week or so ago, my online pre-op questionnaire which it said would take 30-60 minutes to complete when in fact it took me nearly 2 hours (old, so LOTS of stuff to write in!) … and then on Friday I received in the post a letter confirming that I was on the list for general surgery and requesting dates of holidays ahead. Well, Liz is away for a week in September and we’re both away together in mid October so I passed on that info to the hospital this morning, When we spoke to my consultant on my last review and spoke about the hernia she said it most likely wouldn’t happen until 2025 but with 3 pieces of correspondence going back and forth over the past week or so then … would be good if it happened Jan-Mar 2025 for me though, a quiet time post-Xmas and before holiday thoughts.

Today I’ve also booked podiatry – should have had my next appointment back in Dec 2023 but when I rang all appointments had been taken until after the Xmas and I was told they’d contact me when a slot was available. Never happened. And when I’ve previously thought about it its been inconvenient for me make the booking and then forgotten to do … until now … anyway, Sept 18th my feet and I shall make contact with the podiatrist!