Petals R.I.P

Linch Hills famous resident Petals has been found dead, she will be sorely missed.

any specific reasoning or just natural causes?

couldnt happen to a nicer carp!

your halo has slipped so far down now mr Monk you will need a crowbar to get it back............or have I missread

No, your right really Cakey, I`m becomming far too cynical in my old age. The lost of any known fish is of course a great pity,especially for the guys who fish for them, I can remember when the Clough got wiped out, we lost a lot of big fish and actually greived for them, rightly or wrongly it just shows how strongly this hobby can grip us.

I think its worse when the fish is one that you fish for ....but everyone and their mum was after this poor thing........so rip big fish

yeah your right mate, Its very sad but then again I often wonder about these big fish who are targeted by all ensundrie. If a big fish is present in a water of course everyone will want to catch it

When is the funeral and are they having flowers or donations to a charity ??

I remember when a fish called 'Blondie' died on Spade Oak in Marlow. Some anglers were in tears and saying "She weighed 47lbs when they lifted her out." Naturally, she died of dropsy, her scales were stuck out like a pine cone, 15lb of that weight was water.

The place they buried her, anglers were taking small flowers and putting them on this little piece of rough cut ground. What a shame, she was really buried 30 yards away under a sod.

Its strange really how obsessed we get over what are basically hobbies, or indeed how emotional we get about pets. I do have a lot of compassion about animals and its broken my heart when I`ve lost pets in the past. Because of the type of work I do, I also care about people, particularly if they have genuine problems and are vulnerable and unable to fen for themselves.

A few years ago, I was privillaged to fish an exclusive carp water, I`m well known for my pranks and jokes, I caught a large carp, had my photo taken with it posing over it in my Monks Habit with a knife and fork in my hands. The carp was on an unhooking mat and was only kept out of the water for the time it took to take a normal photograph. I sent the photograph for publication and was amazed by the offence I had caused, in that I was taking the Pi** out of a carp. That wasnt my intention of course, as I`ve always been game for a laugh and considered it an harmless enough prank. It did however make me realise how sensitive and involved some people can become within the sport and indeed at what level of sensitivity they feel towards their quarry.

The same can apply for the genuine people who join many of the anti angling groups, they have a genuine believe that we are causing fish great pain and misery and without doubt it is diffilcut to justify sticking a large lump of metal in a fished mouth, under the name of sport and enjoyment

Life and death are of course natural determinants of our existance and indeed life cycle, and I feel the bits which join them in the middle can prove to be very difficult at times, hence a need for humour to help get us through, I do however believe our compassion can at times be misplaced and totally out of context in relation to the real issues in life. Last night I filmed a fireworks display at a wedding, it lasted 15 minutes, the cost of Im sure, it would have fed an entire refugee campsite in the Sudan. We are truely amazing creatures are we not?