A COACH TRIP BUT NO WAY A SMOOTH RIDE!
I’VE GOT a new-found respect for angling coaches, especially those who work with juniors, following a session I had last week.
My son has recently enjoyed watching the latest season of Monster Carp and has been asking for me to take him carp fishing.
He’s been with me on numerous occasions in the past but has never shown that much interest in casting out and playing the fish. He was happy to be on ‘netting duty’ and to just have a look at anything we caught. But not any more. He now fancies himself as the next Tom Dove or Neil Spooner!
So, after the previous issue had been sent to the printers, I logged off and chucked a couple of 10ft carp rods, along with a few bits of tackle and bait, into the car and we headed round to our local lake. Typically after being a glorious, sunny summer’s day, just as I put the second rod together the heavens opened! And it didn’t look like just a passing shower. Undeterred, I flicked one rod out with a PVA mesh bag and then set about teaching my son how to cast with the other. This, I quickly found, is something which is much trickier than it sounds!
But after a few attempts when the lead ended up by his feet after he let go of the line too early, and a few mishaps with the line wrapping round the tip or under the reel spool, he soon had his technique sorted, and I could see how chuffed he was each time the lead sailed out smoothly.
By this point we were both soaked and, since we’d had no indications on the other rod (which was hardly suprising, given the disturbance from the repeated casting), we decided to leave the fish-playing lesson for another day.
So, to all the coaches and volunteers who will be helping junior anglers master the basics this summer, I salute you!