What's your earliest fishing memory?

[ayjay]

My earliest experiences were also with bent pin and bamboo at the Alexandra Palace boating lake, I suppose I must have been about ten or eleven, but I was actually more interested in the young girl I was with,are you out there somewhere Jackie Gleason.

[Waterman]

A family outing when I was 6. I remember it as though it was yesterday and my first fish a gudgeon. At the end of the day a family friend was stood on a jetty emptying his keepnet, I wanted to help but overstretched and much to everyones amusement fell in up to my chest. We did some site seeing on the way home and I had to wear the car blanket and a pair of my sisters shoes! 30 years on and I still get ribbed about it.

 

[ 27 March 2002, 08:42 AM: Message edited by: Waterman ]

[Wellcorked]

My earliest recollection is leaving home early in the morning and wandering down to a nearby stream to watch my Father long-trotting in mimimum depth water for Roach. That would have been between 1947 and 1950. Dad was a Fitter at Welbeck Colliery (Notts)and after finishing the night shift he would go off fishing before going to bed.The stream was on the edge of Sherwood Forest crossed by a bridge locally known as Robin Hood's Bridge where Father set himself up and trotted the bait down for about thirty yards before the stream hit a sharp right hand bend. The stream was rarely more than a foot/eighteen inches deep but he managed to extract some decent fish. I would stay with him until 8.45am before dashing off to the Infant School. The next memory is not mine but my Fathers. He was fishing at Welbeck Lakes - the middle lake I think. The fish couldn't have been on the boil as, allegedly, he took his kit off and went for a swim to be swiftly followed by his 3 year old son, fully clothed! Panic - NOT MUCH. The only other incident that Father spoke of is the Canadian Indians that were training in the area prior to setting off for the D-Day beaches. Apparently they dispensed with their natural hunting skills and simply tossed explosives in the lake and gathered up the stunned fish!

[Wellcorked]

A much later memory: During a fishing holiday I was fortunate enough to meet a guy called Ian Howcroft who taught me the preliminary skills required for specimen hunting. Bit strange for a lad who grew up in a match fishing environment. However, some little time later, in a hut alongside a lake in Bedfordshire, I was in the esteemed company of Ian, Fred Taylor and Richard Walker. For a gobby Tyke I was somewhat restrained - wouldn't you be in similiar circumstances. Richard Walker commented upon the fact that I didn,t say too much, my reply was something like, "It's because I'm somewhat modest." Mr Walker replied, "Yes you have plenty to be modest about!." OUCH!

 

Incidentally: If anyone has any knowledge as to where Ian Howcroft might be I would be most obliged. I know he married Fred Taylor's daughter and went to Australia but, that's where the trail runs dry.

[Gary Foster]

Earliest memory of fishing......Has to be my old man waking me up at 3am telling me we have to get there early. On down to Henly park in Pirbright(anyone fished there,1980's, love to hear from you)To catch perch. Fantastic! My first ever fish caught on Rod and Line (old hollow fibre wieghed about four hundred wieght, line about 10lb borrowed from my dads sea faring Multiplier)after that it was hard to stop me going. I even bunked off school just to fish.

 

[ 27 March 2002, 03:46 PM: Message edited by: Gary Foster ]

[adamg]

Earliest memories would be when I was about 12 or 13. I had a green 6-foot glass fibre rod and a small box with odd and sods in it. I also remember it was under pound a pint for maggots!

 

I didn’t really have too much of a clue what to do, but every weekend myself and a couple of good friends would cycle with our rods tied to the bike’s cross bars to a little spot we found on the river Ouse. We would spend hours pulling out Gudgeon and large than life stickle backs and probably even longer untangling huge birds nests before head back home late for tea. Good times.

 

Is it me? But when I look back on past fishing trips they always appear to be sunny in my mind’s eye.

 

Adam