"Doing it for for chari-dee...."

I'm not a proper "guide" or a qualified angling coach, in fact I'm just a bulk standard pleasure angler of no particular great ability who after 30 odd years of fishing should be much better than I am, which meant that there was a fair element of risk along with the bravado when at a recent "Auction of Talents" at our church, fund raising to send a couple of our teenagers to Tanzania to work with a party from our Diocese and Tear Fund, I offered a "one to one fishing lesson with the Vicar" as one of the auction "lots". I consoled myself with the fact that, even if the winning bidder didn't catch much, at least they'd have only paid about a fiver ........ little did I know! On the night a bidding war broke out for the "fishing lesson with the vicar", with the eventual winner (a 15 year old lad from the congregation) payng the thick end of twenty quid for the privelege; now I really did feel under pressure, especially as it was to be his first ever fishing session. Blanking wasn't an option, I had to help him to catch, and catch well.

 

I opted to take him to the Estate Lake, arriving at the very civilised hour of 9:30am. I set him up on a 4 metre whip, and showed him how to plumb the depth. With the bait (maggot on a 20) just touching bottom we began feeding a few loose maggots every cast, but initially things were slow. After about half an hour my protoge connected with his first bite, but the fish (almost certainly a crucian) raced into the reeds and adroitly transferred the hook to a reed stem, resulting in a break at the hook link. After 40 minutes, two broken rigs, and no fish things weren't looking too handsome, but then the loose-feeding began to pay off. After half a dozen crucians things got really interesting with a solid, thumping fight resulting in a lovely perch of over a pound gracing the net. Things were looking up.

 

 

 

For the next two hours the action was hectic, with a net of mainly crucians, supplemented by the occasional perch and one solitary roach being amassed, before bites became harder to induce and the lake slowly settled into an early afternoon heat induced stupour. After four hours fishing he'd managed 45 fish (none of which were caught by me), and really got the hang of using the whip, playing fish on elastic, feeding the swim and disgorging the hook. The largest fish of the day was a crucian of about a pound and a half, which nicely supplemented the handsome perch.

 

A sunny day, a willing pupil who out-fished everyone else on the lake on his first ever trip out, and money raised for a good cause. I call that a "result", and a great first and last foray for me into the world of taking someone fishing in a scenario that involves the exchange of money .... I have the utmost respect for professional guides: me, I'd never cope witht he weight of expectation and burden of responsibilty; thank goodness it turned out well- I'll quit while I'm ahead!

 



 

 

One pluck, but out of luck ...

Desperate times demand desperate measures- it'd been three weeks since I'd last fished, and a combination of work pressure, family commitments and preparing for my American fishing roadtrip had conspired to keep me from the bank. With no immediate prospect of the time constraints relenting there was only one thing for it: a night sleeping in the spare bedroom so as not to awaken my wife at an unholy hour, alarm set for 5:30am and a brief spinning trip before work.

By 6:00 I was threading the line through the rings of my spinning rod on a blustery, drizzling and downright cold morning- so cold I elected to wear my winter thermal suit.

One of the many reasons that fishing is superior to golf is that while golf has been described as "a good walk ruined", spin-fishing is a good walk enhanced, and so I set off on my enhanced walk.

 

The section of canal I spin fish has not been prolific for me (14 perch from 8 trips), but has the joint advantage of (i) being free fishing, and (ii) being close enough for brief "smash and grab" fishing escapades. The perch have never been large, but it's a pleasant stroll and a diverting form of fishing and so, if taken on its own terms and with realistic expectations , challenging, thought-provoking and a lot of fun.

 

 

I started off in my "banker" swim on my "banker" lure- fishing under a bridge where my son and I have caught several perch, using a Rublex Ondex, but today to no avail. I moved spot and in my second swim had a "follow" and then a tentative "pluck" from a small perch (I saw the fish, all of 2 ounces, a momentary flash of dark stripes and erect spikey dorsal) right under my feet. I persevered in the same swim, eventually changing the Ondex for a small Panther Martin spinner, and then for an even smaller silver and red spotted spinner, but failed to induce any further interest.

 

I wandered up and down, trying a few more spots before returning to the swim where I'd had the follow, and then, finally, to the bridge, "chopping and changing" spinners, but- again- without luck.

 

By 8:05 am I was back home, sat at my desk and ready to begin another day of church-related activity. Did I regret the early start as a result of my blank? Not a bit of it. In many ways an hour and a half's spinning on a not particularly productive stretch of canal is much more of a challenge than most of the other fishing that I engage in and provides plenty of puzzles to fuel the piscatorial brain cells. I'll certainly be back for more, it's a style of fishing that fits nicely with my work and family patterns, costs nothing and gets me scratching my head and thinking. I'm toying with the idea of getting into drop-shotting and proper ultra-lite fishing for these perch .... now that really will be fun!

My son with a canal perch from a previous session when the stripey quarry were proving more co-operative.
 

America- the adventure beckons...

I'm not quite at the stage of counting down the days yet, but the anticipation is growing. I love fishing, I love travel and I love my Christian faith, and it seems almost greedy to be bringing the three of them together for a "once in a lifetime" adventure treck, but that's what I'll be doing at the end of next month.

 

All travel is exciting, but the most rewarding is when the journey spirits you out of your existing comfort zone. All-inclusive poolside holidays in Spain have their place, but they don't teach you much about life or yourself. My forthcoming American adventure will unquestionably take me to places (and I'm not just talking geography here) that I've never previously been.

 

Travelling (unaccompanied) in a rented car- alas not the pick-up or SUV beloved of American outdoorsmen, but a cheap little economy hatchback- my journey will take me from Atlanta to South Carolina, on to North Carolina, then into Tennessee and Kentucky before spending some time in Missouri. I'll be connecting with American Christians (churches, individuals and groups) who use fishing and hunting to build relationships with non-churchgoers and to share faith with them, with the intention of learning lessons that are transferrable to a UK context.

 

There is- inevitably- some fishing planned. A kayak fishing trip will see me way outside  the familiar  (I've only canoed 3 or 4 times in my 45 years, and to do so with an expert in the kayak in front, while trying to cast and land fish on a four foot rod will severely test my mettle ... and I suspect do wonders for my humility!). My wife, upon hearing of this proposed kayak trip at first looked alarmed, but was later seen reading the small print on my life insurance policy with a strange, avaricious look in her eye! I'll also be fishing for North America's favourite sportfish, the largemouth bass, as well as hoping to bank fish for trout in Lake Taneycomo. Excited? ... you bet!

 

Most of all I'm looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends. I'm excited about worshipping in new contexts (ranging from a Presbyterian church in South Carolina through Southern Baptist to an "Outdoors person's" church in Missouri), and to meeting people who run local and national outreach ministries based around outdoor sports, sharing their life and learning from them as I experience and enjoy the distinctives of their church-life, their culture and traditions.

 

Motels, big steaks, strong black coffee, bluegrass music, the open road, Christian fellowship, apple pie and new fishing techniques and methods .... bring it on! Oh, and I'll be blogging too, so you also can  vicariously experience life on the road, interesting characters, and fishing and faith US-style.