At the beginning of last season I was running a float down the Trent when a bloke on the opposite bank, despite having the stretch to himself, decided to set up directly opposite me.
After some faffing with what looked like a battery of rods he chucked out his bait dropper and was instantly hooping the rod over in an attempt to free if from a snag.
Ping!
Some muffled words and a rummage around before he chucked out a newly rigged bait dropper... Into exactly the same place!
Ping!
I think he had exhausted his bait droppers as the next thing to go out, again on the same spot, was a feeder and some time elapsed before he went to reel in and yet again his rod was hooped over.
Ping!
I think he was in some sort of subdued bubbling rage by this time as he rigged up a lead rig and proceeded to thrash out the lead but only to the sound of an unnerving crack followed by a thud when his lead embedded itself into my bankside barely ten feet to my left
Following this he grabbed his gear and marched it two swims downriver before setting up in another swim where I saw him take a couple of barbel
If it wasn't so entertaining I could have gotten angry
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You certainly meet some strange types on the bank.
Two days ago on my mud sliding day an angler told me he had the biggest barbel he had ever seen resting just under his feet. It is this long ..arms wide etc.
Pike I said. No definitely barbel he said. Later he told me that it had turned out to be a pike and had taken a small chub from him!
Still, I suppose I looked strange to him with face covered in brown mud. Some sort of woad no doubt.