Small Beginnings

When I was nine years old I had this yearning to go fishing in the sea, which was about ten minutes walk from where I lived. Unfortunately nobody in my family fished, so there I was, a bored kid with a new craze.

Because nobody took me seriously I had to try to sort it out myself (no problem I thought).

I made a rod from the straightest branch I could find on the tree in our garden, when I had stripped all the bark off it looked almost passable.

From where I cannot remember, but I had already laid my hands on an old wooden centerpin reel. This was duly loaded with orange Courlene from a hand line complete with round grip lead and two booms with rusty hooks. I was nearly there.

All this had cost me nothing but I had come to a problem - no rod rings. After pricing up the real thing I decided the only way was to invent something. After much thought I tried screwing curtain eyes into the branch and this looked the business, until I put a bend into the rod similar to pumping in a common skate. I started work on plan B.

Now having priced up the genuine article earlier I knew what they should look like, and then I had my best idea yet. I made some rod rings from safety pins by cutting off the clip and point and then bending the arms. I then had rod rings but sadly no safety pins in the first aid kit!

I quickly learnt how to whip the rings on the branch (nobody had told me about varnish) so this was a regular occurrence. I was now ready to fish. Bait collecting was next on the agenda. I took my kids beach bucket down to the beach and proceeded to collect a bucket full of winkles from the breakwaters.

The bucket full of winkles topped up with fresh sea-water was taken home and placed on top of the fridge for safe-keeping, much to the families disgust. Sandwiches were made and I was in bed early that Saturday night ready for an early start the next morning.

Bright and early the alarm clock burst into life and I was up like a shot to get the best spot on the jetty. I grabbed by trusty rod and my bag of food (I did not have any tackle) and when I got my bait bucket down from the fridge I was distraught there were only two winkles left in the bucket.

I immediately raised the whole household demanding to know where my bait had gone and who had taken it. My bleary eyed mother, father and younger brother were all protesting their innocence but I was having none of it - I wanted blood!

After over an hour's searching high and low the missing bait was found, all the missing winkles were stuck all over the kitchen ceiling. After knocking them all off with a broom and trying to make some sort of peace with my family I eventually set off for the jetty.

I arrived on the jetty and found a spot next to an angler who was obviously very experienced (he had a proper rod and reel!). I then set about trying to get a winkle out of its shell to bait up my hook, but I was continually put off by the angler next to me falling about laughing at my tackle.

I could not cast more than about five yards with the reel I had so I pulled plenty of line off the reel onto the boards and just flung the end tackle towards the horizon and settled down to await my first bite.

It was then that I noticed the worms lying on some newspaper that the angler next to me was using for bait. I had never seen these before and asked him what they were.

He told me that they were called ragworm and they were a very good bait. He gave me one and said I could have one just for my cheek. I soon baited up with the new bait and again cast as far as possible.

The inevitable happened and by the time I had used up all the worm I had scrounged I had caught two nice flounders, and the poor man next to me packed up and went home in disgust.

He is probably responsible for changing my life and making me spend virtually all my spare time fishing. God bless him.

I have fished ever since then, nearly all types of fishing and in every country that I have been to. These days I am lucky enough to make my living from angling and I get as big a buzz from getting a novice catching fish as do from catching them myself.

Mind you don't see many youngsters with branches today!