Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Week three...
Out of hospital and determined I’d get back on the bank as soon as possible, did I take the obvious path and visit a commercial, or somewhere on a local canal with good parking? Of course I didn’t. I decided I was going tench fishing whatever the cost, and what a cost that turned out to be. It nearly killed me!
I’d seen a shortcut to the lake on Google Earth and thought, that’s just what I need, oblivious to the fact I’d have to cross over two railway lines via high footbridges. Check the photo. I managed to get my barrow up and over this bridge, but when I realised there was one equally high in front of me I could have wept. Getting over one bridge exhausted me. Getting over a second and then tackling both again on the return journey would have finished me off.
It was impossible, so I got on the phone to a mate who came to my rescue and helped get me and my gear back to my car.
After a good night’s sleep I was still consumed by the desire to fish, so, a commercial? No, tomorrow I’d tackle the tench lake again, only this time coming in from the opposite direction. A trolley push of 1,400m each way, but at least it would be on flat ground.
Actually, 48 hours after my failure
I was feeling much stronger and after slimming my gear down to the bare minimum the push wasn’t too bad. The only angler on the lake when I arrived was well- known Sheffield specialist, Mick Lomas. Of course he was in the very swim I was heading to, so I went to his right. This meant if the fish didn’t feed we could have a good old natter and we talked each others’ hind legs off.
The fishing was pants. One bite and one fish each. Two glorious fish, mind. It had been a long time since I last caught one and a second ‘ first’ followed when we spotted the first swallow of summer. It gets better from here, that’s for certain.