I’ve been holed up most of Winter with various injuries and ailments going increasingly round the bend. However last weekend I was finally fit and well enough to do something fishing related but alas the rivers were bollocksed. However we did have the opportunity to do some deadbaiting on a bit of water we have access to. Deep down we always knew it was actually a shit day to go deadbaiting here (a place that fishes best in sub zero weather) as the temps were a bit too high and it was gonna rain all day. For a man who has classed himself as a game angler for well over 20 years it felt a bit odd to go and buy 2 big fishing brollies but the day would have been outright misery without them and besides I am becoming increasingly open minded about these things. I remember when we used to joke about ending up sat on Octoplus fishing stations wearing Team Daiwa jumpsuits pegging casters out just because one of us had bought something for fly fishing that wasn’t a recognised game fishing brand. Oh how we laughed!
That’s not the half of it – I also now have a 2 wheeled fishing trolley which I bought for carting all my shit around at airshows but also with the notion it might come in handy for furtive coarse fishing outings. Ideal for lashing really awkward to carry stuff to such as chairs! And so it came to pass we did set up camp beside a gravel pit with our 2 brollies, 4 bait rods, several flasks and a trolley.
I struggled getting my rigs together as I am so rusty on fishing nowadays and coarse fishing does seem to punish you hard if you make a minor error. Also, even when I’d finally got both rods out and fishing float ledger one of them just wouldn’t sit right. It was only when I was drying my tackle out the next day that I realised the pencil float on that rod was already weighted. We fished in the rain for about 6 hours and got not one single bite between four rods despite trying mackerel, smelt and lamprey along with extra applications of stinky bait juice. Either we were in the wrong sport or they weren’t on it. Nevertheless it was a much needed day out in the fresh air and an opportunity to talk shit for several hours.