Ever fell in or other catastrophe?

[Tim Ridge]

I'm always falling in. Read Dave tippings book 'angling days' for instance.

One incident that im still trying to forget involved a journey of several hours to the great ouse and then painstakingly baiting several swims throught the day. I really put the effort in and never even considered fishing any of my swims until it was nearly dark. Then creaping into position I gently manovred down the bank to my first chosen pitch and proceeded to push my bankstick in, whereaupon the bank collapsed and I went into the freezing river head first.

heading back towards the car I suddenly realised I didn't have a change of clothing and therefore my session was over. Worse still I had barely any fuel left in the car. As it was several degrees below zero I had no choice but to strip down to my boxer shorts. The look on the lady attendants face was one of horror as I proceeded to pay for my fuel at the garrage in wolverton dressed only in my dripping wet boxers and shivering like I was on 'crack'

 

[greentura]

last Thursday week while trying a new 'martin Bowler big river barbel rod', that i recently won from his website comp, after cairfully lowering a bait just over a weed raft and feeding pellets for half an hour or so, 2 at a time every 30 seconds, a '4' twitch' had me scrambling for the rod and sliding down the bank in the posses,catching my footing just above the water. another couple of minutes of frantic action had a barbel, well over my then 'PB', heading for the net, and as i slid the net forwards the arm came out and got caught over the fishes pectoral. trying to free it me and the fish so as to get in position to attempt to land it i knocked it off, slid further down up to my knees and watched the fish slowly return to deeper water. getting back to the top of the bank i found that i must have broken the net when i slipped the first time and in the process ripped a lump of cork from the rod handle and bent a guide. returned to the van, changed shoes and unzipped the bottoms of the trousers and drove home. returned last thursday to the same swim and saw a much smaller fish feeding so lowered a bait in the same place, fed pellets and waited. less than 30 seconds and the tip wrapped round,with the rod repaired and ready for it this time i had the fish over the 'new' net in a couple of minutes and a new PB was established at 8lb3oz not bad for my second go at barbel stalking o the Stour, and more than double my last PB. working on that my next should be over 16lb......i can dream