The Towpath Angler
Our monthly look at the angling scene
I HOPE you all had a really good Christmas and received all that you were wishing for by way of presents during the festive season.
My wife and I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Day tying up with all the grandchildren and their respective families at different times during the day.
Of course now that the youngest is a teenager, gone are the days when we spent hours opening presents from under the tree. They much prefer vouchers or even cash. That said it was all still good.
Over the festive period, in particular, I usually try to contact friends and acquaintances who are either on their own and/or are not experiencing the best of health.
One such person I visited this year has been struggling for 18 months following what, these days, is a very straightforward surgical procedure and now in the past month has also been diagnosed with cancer.
Thankfully he is very positive and generally seems to be taking things in his stride. Until his operation he was a very active match angler and, albeit like myself, very much in the veterans category he still enjoyed some success.
Assuming his treatment does the trick I am sure he will be on the bank again come summer. I know he cannot wait.
On a related subject I was asked last summer if I would attend a meeting at a hospice not too far from my home. Every Monday the hospice organises activities for different groups where they play games, hold quizzes and have guest speakers.
One of the groups, all gentlemen, had asked to talk about fishing hence the contact being made with myself.
We fixed one date when I just talked with members of this group and then a second date when I gave a presentation about fishing in the area.
Sadly all these gentlemen are life limited but, very clearly, still have a passion for the sport. I found it very humbling but thoroughly enjoyed it. So far two further sessions are envisaged in the first half of 2020.
Campaign success
Traditionally this time of year sees all sorts of reviews of the past 12 months. While I have no intention of looking in detail at 2019 there are a few notable items worthy of mention. Not least of these is the continued success of the Let’s Fish Campaign and, in particular, its award as the Canal & River Trust’s top well-being project.
Secondly is the growing following the Fisheries & Angling website and social media platforms are getting.
Thirdly, more or less at the conclusion of the year, was the establishing of Fisheries & Angling as a ‘constituent’ in its own right alongside the various boating and NGO (Non-Governmental Organisations) constituencies.
Going forward this will mean a guaranteed seat on the Members Council. Following the open nomination process in November I am privileged to serve on the council as the representative of the 240 CRT angling clubs.
I see it as a totally different role to that I formerly held on the council i.e., as the nominated representative of Angling Trust and in the new year I will be making direct contact with these clubs to ensure I better understand any issues they have.
Collaborative approach
No doubt like many of us I wonder what 2020 has in store. Ignoring politics and just looking at waterway-related topics I truly hope we can continue to build a better understanding of what matters to each sector of the CRT family and develop a proper collaborative approach to resolving many of the niggling issues which prevent us all from enjoying the full waterway experience.
While it is essentially a quieter time regarding competitions I have still been pretty busy recently so have not really done a great deal of fishing.
Strange weather
I think because of the sometimes strange weather sport has been similarly strange so I probably haven’t missed an awful lot. Rivers have been in spate pretty much since October so the bulk of the fishing everywhere has been on canals and stillwaters.
Based on reports from all sorts of venues it appears the fish are often tightly shoaled up, something usually just seen in true winter weather.
This means that if you drop on them you can really have a good day while the anglers either side often cannot ‘buy a bite’.
As a result of this the time-proven tactics of smallish baits and little or no feed tend to pay dividends.
Can I take this opportunity of wishing you all a year of good health and happiness and, of course, a few fish along the way.
Cheers and tight lines.