I suppose an introduction would be of some benefit to those who have not had the good fortune to meet the erudite and self effacing DrTaJ. I have the good fortune to work as an artist and illustrator; I have an absolute passion for fishing. I’m also fit, athletic and intelligent. It’s usually at this point that I wake up and find that I’m a grouchy old bugger with a limp, the IQ of plankton and all the speed and grace of the common, all garden slug; and what I thought was Kylie tenderly nuzzling my neck, is in fact the doddery old dog that shares my house. This ‘blog’ is intended as an exercise in getting the assorted rubbish that flaps around between my ears into some kind of order. I suffered the first of many strokes on 9-11, and due to this I sometimes see things a little differently to some people, so be prepared.
Today is the start of the fishing season, and I’m not fishing, instead I’ve had to content myself with drawing instead. Although I will imagine you may get a glimpse of the way my mind works from the image, but at the moment art is the last thing on my mind.
For some reason I can’t seem to get my head around the ‘lack’ of a closed season on certain venues and this is why I always start my own season in earnest on the ‘Glorious Sixteenth’. In the past transport has been a big problem because of my disability, with either the eldest boy, my Dad or in the last resort the ‘push-bike’ providing the required lift (or wobble). This season things will be delayed because of a momentous occurrence that will alter my life dramatically. On the thirtieth of June I take delivery of my car. I have to admit that for the last seven years I’ve felt like Patrick McGoohan in The Prisoner, without the bouncing balls (well there was the time the top fell off the Belisha beacon)!
With my fishing horizons suddenly expanded, I started to plan the year’s campaign. Advice came thick and fast, especially from Ironfever at the www.gofishing.co.uk website who has kept a look out for suitable venues, so that soon the old envelope I was making notes on became full and I started a note book. With oil prices that are increasing faster than a concessionary rod license and my list of venues increasing by the minute I knew I would have to plan and budget very carefully. As the notes and maps started to clutter the living room, my Dad asked if I would make copies as some of the ‘little old boys’ at the fishing club wanted to have a look at what I was up to. So here we have it, my assorted jottings, ramblings and reports with a little artwork thrown in for good measure.
Years as a Scout Leader kick into action and leaving aside all comments about my ‘woggle’ I start to look at the resources available. Geographically I’m fortunate to live in an area with some of the best fishing available in the UK. On the borders of Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, is the town of Gainsborough hugging the river Trent. Like many areas these days commercial fisheries abound, ranging from the ‘muddy pool’ scraped into a farmer’s field to quality venues catering for match fisherman and the pleasure angler alike. The area is also blessed with a multitude of drains and rivers, both large and small, as well as canals. All of this within an hours driving, in any direction, while the river Trent divides the area into east and west.
The species of fish available cover a broad range, and although in the past I was happy to catch anything that ‘tugged my line’ over the next season I want to start and target specific species, and in the process learn new techniques and skills. This will mean more expense I’m sure, as I will more than likely need to invest in more diverse equipment. However I’m very lucky in that the town also boasts an excellent tackle shop, that not only stocks a wide range of quality product, but they will also take the time to not only pass on their wisdom, but also demonstrate, space allowing. This season the main species I would like to target are tench not having caught one for a long time, Barbel also feature high on my list as I’ve never caught one. After landing a four and a half pound perch the year before last, I would dearly love to repeat this experience, so I will take these aims into account with my planning.
Fishing is ‘bloody expensive’! This could be my Jewish ancestry speaking or the fact that I’m tight, I have been known to wring out flies that happen to land in my pint glass. With my bait bill for a day’s fishing creeping ever higher and the average price of a commercial about the £5 range, each trip is getting to the £40 mark, if my boy comes with me, once I include paying for the petrol for my trip. With this in mind, the cheapest way of fishing a large number of different waters is to join a fishing club. Bearing in mind the species I wanted to target there was one club that instantly sprang to mind, having the rights to a ‘magical’ water on their book. I’m talking about the Scunthorpe Police Angling Club and the Warping Drain. I was fortunate to have grown up in one of the villages close to this ‘tench paradise’, and at one time was intimate with each section, although not as intimate as I was with the string of young ladies who seemed to tag along with me on ‘fish’ watching expeditions. The Warping Drain is shallow, often gin clear and was a Mecca for tench fishermen. The tench may not be record breakers in size, but with bags in excess of ten to fifteen fish in a session they provide excellent sport! The Warping also holds perch and boy what perch they are, with four pound specimens lurking in ambush.
The Scunthorpe Police Angling Club hold numerous waters in the area on both sides of the river Trent, ranging from ponds, drains, pits and even sections of the Trent itself. Excellent value for money, membership was my first purchase. The second was a yearly book for the river Idle, running parallel with the Warping Drain, with about a mile in-between the two waters. This little river holds a good head of roach up to 2lb, chub and barbel and one or two monster carp, escapees in the recent floods. With books purchased I just have to wait for the first days fishing. Although I’m longing to plunder the tench on the warping, the Idle will be the first venue I will tackle, in two days time. In the meantime it’s back to work, drawing naked ladies for a fantasy book, although why a woman wearing nothing but a bikini would need such a big chopper is beyond me!
