CHRISTMAS DAY FISHING....

[Janet S]

This Christmas Day, instead of visiting friends and family, I'd decided to spend the day doing what I love best – fishing! Unfortunately Paul, my usual fishing buddy, was unable to make it, so another club member, Roy, kindly offered to provide transport and company for the day. He picked me up at about quarter to nine and we were soon at the lake. The weather, although slightly overcast, was lovely when we got there – the lake was like a mirror and we could see fish topping everywhere. Now, where to fish? Oooooh! Too many choices!

 

Still, we finally made up our minds. It didn't matter really, as we had the lake to ourselves, and didn't expect anyone else to show up, so if we made a bad choice it would have been no problem to move. I decided to set up on the newly rebuilt peg 8, and Roy went next to me on peg 9. He was going to try peg 10, but the overhead lines that we've put up to deter the goosanders made casting a bit difficult, as he was fishing the feeder out to the island, and he would have risked getting tangled. I only ever fish very close in, so the lines were no problem for me.

 

I have to thank the guys who worked so hard to rebuild this peg a few weeks ago. They've done a fabulous job. The main intention was to make it large enough, and accessible enough for our wheelchair bound members. Well, they've certainly succeeded. After my usual favourite peg, which is the smallest on the lake, this is most definitely my next favourite. It's so big that I'm tempted to hold a party on it! It was such a pleasure to be able to spread about a bit and be able to sit well back from the water for a change.

 

I didn't have to wait long for my first bite – which I managed to miss…..and I also missed the next one! I did hit the next one though, and caught a lovely little mirror carp. When I say little, I mean it – only about 6" long! Luckily though, that was followed by a very nice perch – the biggest I've had from here, and it quite made my day! Roy had a missed bite and a few twitches (well, it's his age….)

 

The weather was still nice, although a bit overcast, but after an hour or two we started to get a bit of a chill breeze blowing towards us, (nothing like the raging hoolie that we had on our Fur and Feather match last weekend though!) so we decided, just in case it got worse, to simply turn round and fish the back pond for a while. We have two ponds here, with only about twenty feet of bank and footpath between them. What we call the "back pond" is much smaller than the main lake, but very much deeper, and it contains much larger fish.

 

It didn't take long to move everything over, and we both put up our brollies as windbreaks, which made it very comfortable. I was surprised at how deep that back pond is. I generally fish at a depth of around 2 to 3 feet, very close in to the margins on the main lake, but it was twice that depth and more on this one. Roy caught the first fish – a beautifully coloured golden orfe, following soon after by what we think was an ide? Looked like a small carp, but had too much colouration on the fins. Very nice though, and who cares? It was a fish! My first fish shortly after was another little mirror, just about the same size as my first. I didn't even realise it was there – I was just reeling in when it took the bait. After rebaiting with a couple of maggots on a mission, I didn't have to wait long for my next bite…..

 

My float suddenly vanished below the surface, and line was being stripped from my reel at an alarmingly rapid rate as it raced off. What the chuffing heck was this? I tightened up the clutch a bit, and tried to gain some sort of control, but with my painful shoulder it was quite an effort. It was putting up a very energetic and altogether erratic fight. One minute it was heading out to the island, and the next it was diving down to the depths or heading straight towards me and the reeds. All I could do was to follow Roy's advice – just hang on and keep it clear of the snags!

 

After what seemed like an absolute eternity, with me having to use two hands to hang on to my rod at times, the wee beastie eventually gave in, and I managed to guide it over the rim of my landing net. Result!!!!! A perfect little common carp! Don't laugh – it may be a tiddler to most of you, but at just over 4½ lbs, it was my biggest so far from this lake. The reason for the erratic fight was soon clear – it was foul hooked in one of its pectoral fins. I'm still going to count it as my PB though, despite having heard other anglers saying that if it's foul hooked, it doesn't count! I don't usually weigh my fish, but I'm glad that Roy had a set of scales handy on this occasion so I could record the moment accurately.

 

It took me about half an hour to get my baited hook back in the water again afterwards.Somehow, during the fight and the landing of that fish I'd managed to get my line wrapped round both my legs, tackle box, rod rest, chair and umbrella! I must have taken the line round the back of my brollie when I went to get it weighed, and then got it round my chair on my return….what a mess! Eventually I sorted it, despite Roy laughing at my antics!

 

After sitting biteless for a while, I glanced at my watch….it was going up to one! Where the heck had the morning gone? I reeled in, and then headed back to the cabin to rustle up some lunch for us both. Oxtail soup was soon simmering on the stove, whilst I laid the table….yes, I said I laid the table!

 

 

 

After all, this was Christmas Day…I'd brought a tablecloth, napkin and napkin rings and place cards….I can honestly say that our cabin has never had such a posh lunch! Yes, I'm probably barking mad, but after all, it is Christmas! We had a nice bowl of soup and crusty bread, followed by mince pies whilst listening to Christmas songs on the radio and chatting for a while before we headed back out to our pegs for the rest of the afternoon.

 

Despite all our best efforts, neither of us had so much as a twitch for the rest of the day. The fish just weren't having it. I don't really care. I stuck with my float rod. Roy tried both float and feeder. He was using a swing-tip, which I'm not familiar with, but he's going to show me how it works next time. He'd also made himself a rather nifty gizmo for placing bait, which again I'm going to have to investigate further. It seemed to work very well, as I didn't see him having to pick maggots out of his hair or from down his cleavage!

 

There was absolutely nothing doing for the rest of the day, but I don't think either of us really cared. We'd had a couple of hours of brilliant sunshine and clear skies, where we could watch the robins, wrens and magpies and just relax. The fishing somehow seemed secondary.

 

All being well, weather permitting, we're going to have another go tomorrow…

 

Janet

[Barry]

Fabulous Janet - what a description of the day and a memorable fishing trip

[Janet S]

Bazza - yes, it was a memorable trip.

 

I haven't managed to convey even half of the fun we had! I can't remember the last time I had a Christmas Day I've enjoyed so much. Excellent company, good conversation and lots of laughs - what more could anyone ask for? I'd have preferred him to look a bit more like Max Beesley or Brad Pitt, but hey, do they know how to tie a spade end hook correctly? Are they also expert in fishing swing-tips and giving appropriate advice? All being well, I'll get a lesson in how to use one properly tomorrow.

 

I found out this afternoon that Roy, my fishing buddy for the day, is 76 years young....and doesn't look a day over 60! I was gobsmacked this afternoon, when I discovered how old he actually was, after a brief conversation about travel insurance....I may have been gobsmacked, but he was tremendously flattered, and I now believe I have a friend for life!

 

Janet

[Barry]

Its a rare skill, being able to tie a spade end hook - and I'm pleased to see you have your priorities in order

[jeb]

Its a rare skill, being able to tie a spade end hook - and I'm pleased to see you have your priorities in order

 

Is that some sort of garden implement ?

[Barry]

Ummm.........no