Janet

I woke early this morning, roused by the light streaming in through the gap in the curtains, and the medley of birdsong from my resident blackbird. Yawning and stretching, I lay there for a moment or two before finally remembering that no, I didn’t have to get up for work. This was Sunday, a day off from work, and I was going FISHING! There was a quiet knock on my bedroom door, which opened to reveal my son, bringing me a cup of coffee before he left for work. “Don’t worry about dinner Mum”, he said, “I’m finishing early, so I’ll cook tonight”. WOW! What a result, and I hadn’t even got out of bed! My son is a chef at a local pub/restaurant, but he works silly hours, so we don’t often get to eat together. I lay back and relaxed for a few moments, then quickly got myself up, showered and dressed for a day on the bank. I’d sorted all my tackle out the previous night, so all I needed to do was rustle up a couple of sandwiches, make myself a flask of tea, then head off down to the river. I’d planned this day for weeks – I was going to enjoy every minute of it! It’s a couple of miles from home to my favourite stretch of river, but it’s a nice stroll through green fields and unspoilt woodland. As I walked along the country lane, I noticed the verges were dotted with nodding daffodils and the trees were bearing opening buds. Pussy willow was in abundance, hedges were showing signs of new shoots, and I saw several squirrels running along the fences and looking at me from their perches in the trees, as if to say “What’s SHE doing here at this time in the morning?” As I approached the end of the lane and the beginning of the woodland walk, I spotted a deer moving between the trees. I stood still for several minutes, watching in silent admiration as it wandered through the woodland, oblivious to my presence. I know we have deer in our woods, but it isn’t often you get to see one. You have to be up very early, and be very quiet to be in with a chance. Moving on, I carried on down the lane, taking a bit of time to watch a fox and cubs playing by a hawthorn hedge. The mother fox was totally alert, ears twitching and eyes darting from side to side, watching for any signs of danger to her precious brood, but the cubs were totally oblivious, rolling and tumbling in their play-fighting. Unfortunately a sudden sneeze from me sent them back undercover. Arriving on the banks, I saw a lovely low sun rising over the horizon, a slight mist on the water and wished I’d remembered to pack my camera! I remembered the advice I’d been given previously, so wasn’t in a huge rush to start fishing. I walked to the top of the stretch, looking for likely spots, and at each one, threw in a bit of mashed bread, before heading back to my starting point and pouring myself a nice cuppa. I assembled my new rod (I was positively itching to try it out!), and walked up-river for a while, to the first patch that I’d seen. Positioning my rod rest in the bank, I baited my hook with a big chunk of bread crust, and cast low and long. On the first cast I managed to get snagged in the tree, but managed to break free again and cast across the river again, avoiding the overhanging branches by inches. I didn’t have to wait long. It was only a matter of minutes until the rod tip bent round savagely and I was then into a real fight with what I just KNEW was a good fish. Several times it took line, and headed for cover under the trees, trying to dive into the twisted and gnarled underwater roots, but each time I was just able to bring it back and keep it out of the snags until eventually I guided it over the rim of my net to see a beautiful chub looking a bit miffed at being caught. It weighed in at 5lb 6oz. What a good start! As I began to congratulate myself on a fabulous start to the day and bait up again for another cast, I heard a sudden noise…. Yes. You guessed it. My alarm clock….well, I did say it was a dream of a day, didn’t I? Janet

I didn't know him, but he sounds like quite a guy, who will no doubt be sorely missed by many. Maybe we should all take a bit of time to reflect on the friends we have, and appreciate them a bit more, because as you've just shown in your post, they won't always be with us. You can't take anything for granted in this life. Janet

How very well said! Janet

Hi guys, Can anyone tell me what their stand is about putting fish back alive? If they're handled correctly and carefully, what exactly is their argument? Maybe I'm being a bit naive as a newcomer to the sport, but I don't understand what they feel is wrong with this. Also, can anyone explain why, in Germany, coarse fish are supposed to be killed, and not returned? I only heard about this law the other day, and find it a bit odd. Janet

Newt, was that not a bit harsh? Do we really want to have our valued members leave in this way? If so, this is not the site I thought it was. Janet

Where on earth do you get them from? Very good! Janet

Pure class! Janet

Some nice pics there guys. Can I go to bed now? Had a lovely view of it tonight, after neighbours went to bed and turned lights off. Crystal clear sky for a change. Peter, I hope your pics come out well! Janet

Booked the day off! Thanks for the reminder! Janet

Thanks for that Vagabond, although I still need all the help I can get! I hope I've learned something from it. Well, I'm sure I have! I've been out early every morning before work since, now we have these light mornings, walking the stretch of river I hope to fish this weekend. I've seen the level go up and down like a yo-yo, and I think I know where the best spots are likely to be. I've actually seen a few fish lurking under an overhanging tree and a deeply undercut bank. Whether I can actually catch one is another matter! One thing's for sure though - I'm going to have a lot more confidence this time, having seen a real expert at work, and if I don't land something, it won't be for want of trying! Janet

It was suggested to me that I should, as there are lots of members who only use one site. I've seen similar duplicate postings, so thought it was ok. OOops! Am I in the naughty corner? Janet

Thanks again for all your responses! I'm really glad you enjoyed my story. Martin is taking me out again in March, this time to inititate me into the fine art of fly fishing! Oh boy, this is going to be fun! I've always thought it looked fascinating, now I'm going to get the chance to try it for myself! I can't wait! I don't think I've ever heard of another top angler who gives his time so freely to help beginners. And I mean freely. He wouldn't take a penny, and I had to insist that he took at least a donation to his favoured charity (and I received a lovely thank you letter from them today). To cap it all, I'd commented on the line he was using, which isn't available over here. I came home tonight to find he'd sent me a spool of it. It's now on my reel and itching for the weekend to arrive! Janet

WoW! Thanks for those responses guys! I did e-mail it to Elton last night, thinking it was a bit too long to post, but my computer crashed, so I'm not sure if it got to him or not! In the end I decided to post it anyway. When you have a day like that, you just want to share it. None of my friends fish, so they just don't understand what it feels like. I'm so glad you've enjoyed reading about my day. I'm still buzzing with it. I've had a lot of help from many of you on here, and I wanted to put something back. Janet

Last year, shortly after taking up angling at the advanced age of 48, I e-mailed Martin James at Radio Lancashire for advice on local fishing clubs, permits etc. Instead of fobbing me off, as he could so easily have done, he gave me his number to call him, which I duly did that evening. We had a lovely chat, in which he gave me lots of good advice and information, then, after discovering that I was teaching myself (not knowing anyone else who fished) he invited me to go out with him for a day's fishing. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance. Well, my fishing trip with him took place at the weekend, and I'm now home, really fed up. It didn't go as well as I expected. It went far, far better than that! We met up at a private game fishing stretch of the River Ribble near Clitheroe, in the heart of beautiful Lancashire, to be greeted by a herd of sheep and recently born lambs bleating and running towards us in the expectation of a free meal. A truly beautiful area. Martin wasn't too impressed at my bright yellow & blue Keela jacket, but it was the only one I had that is completely waterproof, rather than just showerproof, so I didn't have much choice of clothing, having been advised to be prepared for rain. The forecast said sun and showers, but fortunately we were blessed with a lovely day. It stayed reasonably warm and overcast until the end of the day. We tackled up in the fishing cabin, where Martin looked at my size 12/14/18 hooks, and promptly decided they were not up to the job, and produced a hook that would have landed Moby Dick! I believe it was a size four, although my mind's in such a whirl right now, I can't be sure. I'm still on a high! Anyway, it was BIG! I was SO nervous. I was all fingers and thumbs, but I managed to get my rod set up eventually. It was only a few hundred yards from the cabin to the river, but it was a big step for me. I was about to show all my angling inadequacies to a REAL expert. I can't begin to tell you how nervous I was! This was me, a silly middle aged woman with a man who really KNOWS how to fish. I was so worried that he'd laugh at my failings, but he was wonderful. I was surprised that Martin didn't take a rod himself, but he assured me that he was fine - he was there to help me learn, rather than to fish himself. He told me to fire away, with all the questions I had, and he answered every one with sound, sensible advice. I felt very guilty depriving him of his fishing. To stay with me, watching me lose what could've been good fish must have been pure torture for him! I think I possibly drove him slightly mad with my silly queries, but he had the utmost patience, and answered every one of my questions, interspersed with many entertaining and informative anecdotes, which I'd best not repeat! He was slightly disappointed that the river wasn't carrying more water. I'd always assumed that when a river was very high, it was unfishable, but apparently not. I've missed out on some good fishing over the winter because of that misconception. Martin is what I would call a real angler on the river, and he showed me fishing as I'd always imagined it to be. No fancy hair-rigs, boilies, complicated rigs etc for him. All we took for bait was bread, and a bit of luncheon meat for later in the day. Morrison's Extra Thick (and I can thoroughly recommend it after today's experience!) I knew from listening to his "At the Water's Edge" broadcasts on Radio Lancashire that he was very much an advocate of bread, but it's hard to believe that you can catch so much on it until you actually see it in action. The angling press would have us believe that we need their exotically flavoured (and expensive!) products, but I've learned a valuable lesson today. Simple is good. Simple works, in both technique and choice of bait. We were using LG shot to hold the line down. A bit like marbles, only slightly smaller! That was it! Five LG shot on the line, and a chunk of expertly hooked bread crust. I've never been able to keep bread on the hook before, but now I know exactly how to do it. We had bites from the very start of our session. It was only my lack of angling experience that prevented us from having a big haul of chub on the bank. On arriving at the bank, Martin proceeded to take the water temperature, explaining about how fish feed under different conditions. He then asked me to point out places where I would imagine fish to be lying up, and showed me where he expected them to be. I learned about watching the flow of the water, spotting holding places, looking for the crease etc. All the stuff I'd read about, but didn't really grasp until it was pointed out to me on the bank. It's not something you can learn from books, only from experience and being there. After baiting up for me, and showing me how to hook the crust, (we only used crust to start with, then luncheon meat in the afternoon) we cast out and waited. It wasn't long (minutes!) before Martin was shouting (politely, I may add!) at me to strike. The rod tip bent, but I was too slow and missed it. As I also missed the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that! I could have curled up and died with embarrassment. He had taken a day out to help me, and I was proving a total numpty! I missed SO many chances! This was so different to the fishing I'd done before. He must have been SO frustrated, and I'm sure he was itching to snatch the rod from my hand, but he showed admirable reserve. (He didn't swear at me once, although if I was him, I would've called me all the names under the sun, given me a quick slap and taken over the rod!) I've mainly been fishing on the canal, or our local pond, which is totally different to this. On the canal you don't need to strike so hard. Here, you needed to really stop being a cissy and give it some welly! If I'd done that on the canal, my catch would have flown over my shoulder into Yorkshire! He did grab the rod at one stage, at the start, when I was too slow, and hooked into a lovely fish, our first of the session. Like a true gentleman, he offered me the rod to land it, but no, he'd hooked it, it was his fish, and I wanted to see how he did it. If I ever learn to play a fish like he did, I'll be a very happy woman! Smooth, controlled, confident - everything I'm not (but aspire to be!) He baited up for me again, then we waited. Not for long though. He was expecting an almost instant take, and he was right. Who says fish are slow to feed in winter? Then, it happened. There was a slight twitch, then the rod tip bent round quite savagely. That was it. No more warning. As I'd learned previously, they don't give you a second chance. It was now or never! I grabbed the rod butt as if my life depended on it. When I say it bent, I mean it bent! It whanged round like it meant it! These fish mean business! Martin shouted "Strike!" I didn't need to be told a second time! I struck hard, (thankfully in time) and there was a fish on! I really had to land this one. I couldn't let him down after him giving up a day of his time for me. This was nothing like I'd experienced before. Normally I'm fishing quite close in for perch, roach and the occasional bream, on a nice calm canal. This fish was quite a way downstream. The stretch of the line and the feel of the rod was very different to what I'm used to, but Martin guided me as to how to play it. I'd hooked into it using his rod, rather than my own. It was one of his own rods that he'd designed, with a Mitchell 300 reel (apparently his angling friends say it sounds like a coffee grinder, but it sounded lovely to me!) Keep the rod bent, Guide the fish upstream. Lower the rod, reel in a bit, keep the rod bent, keep a bit of pressure on, reel in again, don't rush it. No sudden moves. Just take it gently. Keep that rod bent. Don't let it get away. Thankfully, I managed to bring it in, and Martin held the landing net as I lifted its head out of the water and guided it in over the rim of the net. Result! Not huge for the rest of you anglers, but a fantastic PB for me! I was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat! I had caught a scale perfect, beautiful 3lb 11oz chub. He'd promised to help me catch my first chub, and he did. My first, and my largest fish so far. I know (or I hope!) I'll catch larger fish in the future, but I'll always remember this one. We left it safely in the water in the landing net, then Martin went back to the cabin to get his camera for our picture. I normally hate getting my picture taken, but on this occasion I couldn't stop smiling long enough to tell him to stop! While he was away, I couldn't help but keep looking at that fish. I was absolutely stunned by it. The feeling was just great. My heart was pounding, my hands were shaking. I told Martin this, and he just said "That's the way it's supposed to feel". Carrying on, after I'd calmed down, we baited up again but after a short while without a bite, Martin decided we should move slightly down river, to a spot by a fallen tree which he was sure would hold some chub. This guy is 70 years old. He has a bus pass. He's allowed to take things easy. And did he? Not on your life! He sprinted through that wood and by the river bank like a gazelle on illicit drugs with a death wish! He carried two rods, bank sticks, landing net, and rucksack, leaving me to have both hands free. I needed them! I slithered and slipped in his wake! I was hanging onto trees, grabbing bushes and generally getting muddy, with the sure and certain knowledge that I was going to end up in the water. He never faltered. And then, unfortunately, I let him down yet again by failing to make the most of a really positive bite. I was gutted. Martin threw in a few large balls of bread to tempt the fish into feeding while we were away, then we adjourned to the cabin for a spot of late lunch and a cup of tea, (although I was far too hyper to eat - did enjoy the brew though!) then back to the river, where Martin set me up with TWO rods! Very scary. Had a bite straight away in our first spot (which I missed again!) then we moved downstream, back to the spot where I caught my first fish. There, we had another bite after a very short wait, and I hooked into it! It seemed to take forever to get it into the bank, but I'd remembered all the advice I'd been given, so it wasn't quite as bad. Just a bit smaller than my first, but still a decent size, so we didn't weigh it, but released it carefully. I'm sure it was totally oblivious to the pleasure it had given! I can't believe how much I've learned in just one short day. Keeping it simple and having confidence is vital, as is watercraft, and I've learned a lot of that today. Above all, it comes down to experience and knowledge. I don't have either yet, but I'm getting there slowly. What an amazing day, and what a lovely guy. He entertained me with stories of his past exploits all day, and I went home in awe of somebody who has overcome so much adversity to carry on with what he loves, his fishing. As we headed back at the end of the day, the sun was starting to go down, lighting up Clitheroe Castle in the distance with the most wonderful glow. (Sorry - apparently it's a keep, not a castle!) A perfect end to a perfect day. I can't wait to get back out on the river bank and put all his teaching into practice. I have so much more confidence now. I hope my experience will inspire other newcomers to this wonderful sport to get out there and fish! Janet

It's just sheer ignorance and lack of respect for themselves, wildlife, other people and their environment. I'm absolutely appalled by some of the mess I find. I regularly bring home a bag of someone else's rubbish. We have a small but very lovely local pond here, in the grounds of a beautiful National Trust property. There are no rubbish disposal facilities actually on site, as it's so small and isolated, but that's no excuse. The fishing is exclusive to club members. How much effort does it take to bag your rubbish up and carry it home? Each time I go up to fish, I have to spend several minutes before I can start, clearing up the mess other anglers leave behind. I don't have to, but I'd hate anyone to think that I was responsible for it. I try not to leave any sign that I've been there. I wish others would do the same. Janet

I spent yesterday fishing for chub on the River Ribble with Martin James. I can't begin to tell you what a great day I had, and how much he taught me. I haven't come back down to earth yet! He is a true gentleman, a great story teller, and a very patient teacher! Wonderful, brilliant day. Janet

Good evening all, I've just had the pleasure of listening to Martin James broadcasting "At the Water's Edge" on BBC Radio Lancashire. May I take this opportunity to advise anyone who is able to receive this programme to give it a listen? As a complete beginner (female and struggling to teach herself!) his advice over the past year has been invaluable, but the programme tonight about fishing for barbel during our warm summer (remember that?) and the use of keepnets was excellent. I learned more about fish welfare in half an hour than I think I have all year. Janet

Indeed, if your boat creates a breaking wash, no matter what spped you are doing, then you should slow down to avoid erosion of the banks. Yes, it certainly is! Our members are a lot more enlightened now, and if this thread goes only a little way to help promote understanding between different canal and river users, then that's great. Janet

Canal World Only a small site compared to this, but full of very nice, friendly people. Many of us have had issues with anglers, mainly because we don't know what to do when we find you lurking behind bushes, or horror of horrors, fishing a match! I remember on our last cruise being faced with miles upon miles of anglers, most of whom just glared at us. I'm not exaggerrating. They seemed to go on forever! It went on for over two miles! It was very intimidating. We didn't want to interrupt their sport, but on the other hand, we had a schedule to keep to, and couldn't spare the time to moor up until they'd finished. If we could have, we would have, as there was a nice pub beckoning! We slowed down to just tickover, not much over a mile an hour, and kept to the middle of the channel, (we couldn't really do much else as we would have gone aground if we'd tried to keep to the near or offside bank) and it felt like a lifetime until we got past them. They scared us witless by not lifting their poles until the very last minute, or even acknowledging that they were aware we were there. One or two were considerate, and let us know that they'd seen us, and we had an occasional nod and wave, but the majority just glared. It was most uncomfortable. Now I'm a fledgling angler myself, I can see things from both sides. An indication from anglers would be good, telling us which side they'd prefer us to pass on. An ackowledgement that they'd actually seen us would also be good! And please, please, don't leave it untill the very last minute to lift your poles etc. A narrowboat doesn't steer well in tickover. We need some speed over the rudder to give us control, which is why you may sometimes feel we're going too fast, particularly on bends. If we didn't, we'd end up grounded. So guys, please keep your posts on this subject coming in. We really do appreciate it, and hopefully a lot of us will gain better understanding of each others needs. Janet I'm glad

You're right. You don't need a licence to hire a pleasure craft. Thanks for all your input lads. It's causing a lot of discussion on our forum, and many of them are now a lot more understanding of what anglers need. I knew you lot wouldn't let me down! Janet

Good evening gentlemen (and us few ladies!) I'm a member of a boating forum which is currently debating the best way to cope with anglers whilst we're out cruising on the the canals. I'm therefore posting a topic which has been put on another site by one of our members. Would you all care to add your comments? I thought our members might be able to offer some interesting opionions. Well hi folks, and allow me to introduce myself. I am not an angler, that is to say I fished when I was a lad, may still dangle a hook and drown a few maggots from time to time, but I am by no means a serious angler and have never belonged to a club or fished a competition. Now I've got kids of my own, we may occasionally do a spot of fishing for half an hour when moored up at night. Yes, that's right, moored up, meaning that I am one of that hateful species, the bane of your lives, the narrowboater. So why have I joined? Well it seems that ‘us lot’ and ‘you lot’ don't always see eye to eye, and we thought it might be interesting to look at things from your point of view. The problem seems to be that many canal anglers seem to resent us wanting to use our waterways and intruding upon your sport or pastime. Many can seem sullen, a minority can be abusive, and you are frequently in the most inappropriate places. There is hardly any commercial traffic on the canals nowadays, their time as a transport network is consigned to history and they have become a leisure facility, but boaters, anglers, cyclists and walkers should all be able to peacefully co-exist. Personally, if I see someone fishing I try to cut my engine revs to a tickover and stay in the centre of the channel, but there are times when that's not possible if there's 2-way traffic or you're hiding in the bushes, and let's face it, 12 tonnes of steel doesn't stop that quickly. So is that ‘slower and down the middle’ approach correct, or how would you prefer us to pass you? Come on, have your say, we can take it, what gets up your collective noses? Ade. Ok lads. Let's hear what you have to say! Janet

I really do think that for the sake of us newbies, you should clarify this statement before some of us get the wrong idea about certain members.... Janet PS. Not that you'd ever mention it of course, but nice catch! I empathise with your request to keep it to yourself. Wouldn't do to boast, would it?

Thanks Tony, I've already been down that route - bit too expensive for me at this stage! It's not really a huge problem, as I seem to catch every time I go out, even if nothing huge, but I'm quite happy with that. Would just be nice to have someone to chat to sometimes, and exchange ideas. Janet

I find myself in much the same position too, made worse by the fact that I'm a complete novice, and female. I don't half get some funny looks when I'm fishing on the canal! Some american tourists even referred to me as "quaint" !!!! It would be so good to find someone to go fishing with, to pick up hints and tips and have some good company. I've had loads of excellent tips from this site, but I'm sure lots of things would become clearer if I was able to watch another angler and see how they did things. Still, I'm not complaining. I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. I don't care about the size of the fish I catch. It's just the whole experience. Janet

Just seen a report on another forum that the Traveller has been found dead and partly eaten on the bank of the river. I can't find any information on the internet about it. Has anyone else heard anything about this? Let's hope it's just an ugly rumour. Janet