BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP - Snoooze once!
BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP - Snoooze twice!
BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP - Snoooze three times!
Nope that's me done, any more snoozes and the boss is gonna
retract the permission granted for yet another fishing adventure!
So now I'm up, stretching, yawning and stumbling as usual into the
spare room to get dressed in order to keep peace in peace time. No
noise from the ankle biters (thanks guys). Yep, the kiddies slept well,
the boss is still sound asleep and now I'm off down the stairs like a
bolt out the blue. Dodge the cat, stick the kettle on and as usual
turn the kettle off again as my eagerly awaited adventure beckons.
Three fags later, and yours truly is pulling into the little lane
of the 'lost world'. My lost world! The world beyond computer screens
and nagging clients. This is my domain and today, I'm gonna
dominate!
The sun's peering over the skyline whilst I'm unloading the kit,
the almost overpowering odours of bottom weed, fresh air and sublime nature
allow me every time to draw upon my personal memory bank of being
here before. This is the moment to savour, the time between looking
forward to going fishing and the actual getting it on!
I'm now packed up like a work horse, counting the steps to the
swim, pushing myself to get to the peg in one hit! There's no way I'm
going back to the car until this session is over. That's a fact and
this is personal!
First thing's first, unfold the chair, lay the kit on the bank
behind me, sit down, savour the moment and scour the lilies for my
prey. Eye's fixed….. nothing.
Recover my breathing from my seemingly never-ending journey to the
swim. Relax, chill out and refocus. There, just on the edge of the
third lily pad out is my indication. There she is, blowing out her
needle-like bubbles, just visible as one hits the surface and one
hits the under-base of the pad. And again, and again.
My old friend has returned; she is here to tease, she is here once
more to do battle with her old arch enemy. As she flips her tail out
of my view and knocks the stems of the pads she parades her militant
well being. These days, for too many anglers, a fish is a fish is a
fish! But not this one, this is my fish, this is my opponent and this
is my day!
As I drift into my 'as-one-with-nature state of mind' I once again
believe I can communicate with the world under the surface, I once
again start talking to my fish. We've all been there, we all talk to
them, mad as it seems. Call me a liar, but try to deny ever saying
those immortal words "come to daddy, pick up the bait and come to
daddy".
Choose your weapons
She's calling me now, she's motioning, and she's taunting me with
her message loud and clear "Choose your weapons and let battle
commence".
I proceed to throw in a few morsels of bread crumb, hemp and
sweetcorn to my desired battlefield. Careful not to spook the
surrounding silver fish who may eventually form alliances with me in
stirring up the bottom and enticing the old girl to feed.
Sun's breaking away now, mist is cooling off and escaping the
clench of dawn. I slowly pull back from my position near the edge of
my world and unzip my rod bag and reach for my old pal - the quiver.
As I place my rests firmly in the ground I turn back to the water,
just in time to count the ripples speedily departing on top of my
loose feed. The signs are there, the time is right. Today is my
day.
A looped feeder rig is my choice on a 4lb main line to a 1.7
bottom and a 'never to be noticed' size twenty hook. Once again I
turn to feed my girl with a few teasers, and this time its red
maggot. I send out approximately five at a time in two second
intervals till I've reached a hundred, thus keeping top to bottom
alive with wriggles. Whilst these settle, I fill the feeder. A simple
base mix of active feeder, boiled hemp, caster, sweetcorn and a
splash of amaretto boilie oil for good measure and luck. Don't
ask!.
Getting the bait down is crucial when enticing fish out of the
lilies. I cast once to the side of the pads then recast a foot to the
right of this spot and continue to do so until I've covered about the
same area as a pool table. Firing in occasional particles across my
newly developed feeding ground.
Rod tip poised at the end of my last cast, held directly towards
my swim and three inches under the surface. A quick loop and splash
and my line in sunk. Line tight and placed firmly back on my rests
now at a 45 degree angle.
Savouring the moment, I sit back.
Knock, knock, twitch, twitch my tip is alive. My confidence is
high and the temptation to strike is overcome. As my tip continues to
twitch I decline to be pulled into a false sense of security. These
are my allies, these are my foot soldiers these are my feeding silver
fish friends getting the bottom stirred up in a frenzy.
No more knocking, no more twitching, no more nothing.
'BANG'! Here we go, we're off, this is my time. The rod tip knocks
aggressively round in one foul swoop, stops, recovers and again takes
its magnificent plunge towards the pads. As I grab the rod and reel
concurrently in a 'I've done this a thousand times before' lunge, I'm
connected. I'm in. I have her!
Once again, I speak out loud to my old enemy, "Come to Daddy, come
to Daddy". Large swirl and she's off, but not towards the pads, she's
off to open water. She wants to drag this battle out, she wants to do
battle the fair way.
My confidence grows, as I reposition myself to follow her path.
Straight ahead. Full steam ahead. She stops, corrects herself and
changes her route towards me now. As I wind in fast to pick up my
line, I pay deep respect to my extremely light end tackle and again
pick up her pace. The rod bows and dips as I follow my merry old
dancer in her jig towards the pads.
"No, No…Don't go there!" Full steam ahead, lily stems
smacking my line as it cuts across the budding flowers and deep down
below I know she's laughing. One last tug and I'm stuck. I couldn't
bully no more, my wily old friend has left me firmly embedded. She's
stubborn, she's smart and she knows where home is.
Five minutes later and my swirl has again appeared by the side of
those dam lilies. I hear her calling once more, playfully laughing as
once again, I'm caught and she's free.
"Until the next time Old Friend. Until the next time!"
Paul Scattergood
