I don’t fly fish often and I don’t profess to be any good at it, mainly because I’m not, but I can get a fly out there, after a fashion, and bring it back in, either slowly, fast or in between,…………… Not much more to it is there? Choice of fly is usually (always) determined by copying someone else. So every now and then I fly fish. It’s always been so. I could claim to have been a fly fisherman for 37 years as that’s how long ago I first threw a fly on Ladybower with mate Gebby who died on his motorbike aged 18 in 1978. In reality my total outings probably number less than the number of years that have passed, still, every now and then I like to fly fish and when I do I think of Gebby at some point during the day..

Last Friday was one such occasion and I was joined by some good old boys. I think it was Chris Pearson had the idea that we should have a day on the water together so thanks to him for sorting it, and for the cooking. It was a grand day out and even I caught 8 or 9 nice trout to 3lb or so. We all had a good few and for some reason the fishing became somewhat easier after the stocking about mid-day.

Here are some pictures……..

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Its not always pretty.

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Andy Cantrill had a few, then went home.

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Chris did the cooking. Good it was .

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One might think that Chris worries about not being able to find stuff!

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Dropped owt?

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Chris Pearson, Mike Berridge, Steve (eelfisher) Richardson, Ian Hobkirk, Me, Paul Johnson. Andy Cantrill had left.

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Had a smashing day, thanks for the company chaps.

Picked my new car up the next day.

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Ok so we needed some rain but that’s quite enough for now thanks. It’s caused havoc with my work outside and my back garden resembles a quagmire at the moment. I suppose I’m in no rush whatsoever but once I have started summut I like to be on and at the moment I can’t be. So I…………..

Spent some time watching a blackbird building a nest in my log store these last few days, back and forth, he doesn’t stop for the rain and finished the job the day before yesterday. Mrs Blackbird placed her first egg this morning and will drop two or three more before she starts sitting them at the beginning of next week. Blackbirds start the incubation of their eggs all at the same time unlike owls and many other predators, whos resulting young are all of different ages, ups the survival chances of the elder in a bad year, but I suppose you knew that anyway didn’t you…….. I ramble!

Spent some time getting nostalgic via old songs on YouTube……….” Peep through the bathroom door…., did you ever,…. did you ever”?

Or, what about a bit of Noosha Fox,………. “Only you can”?

Bit of Blackfoot Sue maybe, “I’m standing in the road”?

No?…………Must have been just me back there then.

Spent some time looking for a new vehicle, couldn’t find what I wanted so gave up, will look again next week, if it rains.

Spent some time shouting at the telly…………. That bloke, forgot his name, has made another film about wild animals on the Plains of Africa where they try to portray the animals as having morals and make them more endearing to the viewing public by giving them names. His latest offering apparently focuses on “Sinitta” a Cheetah who is a struggling single mother, It compares her success in rearing her cubs against a normal Cheetah family. The bloke actually said on TV that he wanted his wildlife film to relate to our experiences of life. I almost threw the telly out of the window………………… They are animals, they don’t have names and they don’t have morals, whats more there’s a clue to the obvious difference between humans and animals in the fact that Cheetahs cant claim enhanced single parent family allowance……………. If I could ensure you never made another wildlife film I would,……….. even though I can’t remember your name, you moron!

Spent some time laughing when I was told that the Barbel Society now has only two waters left, Bransford and Sutton. It had six a few years ago. Actually its not funny, its sad and it makes me angry to think what those fools have ruined.

Spent some time wondering what goes through the head of those who think that having the “Barbel Championship” they are about to launch is a good idea. Lets hope it never gets off the ground ey.

Spent some time wishing it would stop raining so I could do something better than write the above.

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Ok so no time to write an account, just some pictures of the trip from Faye.

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A town called Jerez

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A dog in a town called Jerez.

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The Rio Tajo was very low, no rain here either this winter.

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Shot of a Whitethroat.

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Thats a (rare) Black Stork.

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Thats a (very common) Otter.

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Hoopoe in bush.

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Kite

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I liked the silhouette of this one.

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..... and if one Black Kite should accidentally fall, there'll be...........

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Of course I fished a bit, good it was.

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This is a Blue Rock Thrush, a first for me, cracking bird.

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Just a couple more Kites then.

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I will finish with some shots of Vultures……………..

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Take off

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and........soar.

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Steve Pope and Fred Boney greet members at this years BS show..

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Just a quick update on the pond creation front. I have been a busy lad this last week or two and what about all that sunshine,……….. this years tan is off to a flyer.

A couple of pictures.

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Took 12 hours to fill this.

Need to buy a pump next and get some power outside. A pond like this takes a good while to get established but before it was even full pond skaters had arrived and so had those whirligig beetles. Hows that happen? Are there loads flying round all the time looking for new bits of water. I cant ever remember seeing a flying pond skater, can you?

Big pond is 6 meters by 5 and 1.5 deep at its deepest, the small one will assist filtration and will be mainly plants.

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Bloody hard work this.

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Im off to Spain for a rest now and to do a bit of close season barbeling.

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Ventured forth today to cast a line and mark the end of the season. I admit to not putting too much effort in and my blank was always the likely outcome. To be honest I was alarmed just how low the little river was, maybe the lowest I have ever seen her and I have known her for close to 40 years now. Good friend Andy was out with me and he tried a tad harder landing two barbel and dropping one off. I was back home by 2pm.

No doubt the forums will now start the usual debate regarding the close season, maybe they already have as I have not looked for a week or two. Despite all the well reasoned arguments against the lay off, its timing and the actual benefits, or not, I am still in favour of the close, why? Because I like it, I need no other reason. If you don’t well that’s just tough titty, the law of the land agrees with me.

HPS

I told the members of the Hazelford Piscatorial Society that this was my last season as El Presidente last June, so today is my last day in charge I suppose. I simply decided it was time for someone else to have a go. The HPS was born out of a conversation between myself and Mike Berridge on the banks of the Trent almost 10 years ago. I created it and had a clear picture in my mind what I wanted it to be, I think I achieved what I wanted. I have no doubt about the enjoyment it has given the members and guests alike over the years and I lost count ages ago regarding the number of pb’s and first doubles its waters have thrown up for folks.  Very few folks have ever left the HPS and that says a lot to me. Sure, I made a mistake or two along the way but one man deciding everything always will. In short I am proud of the HPS and God bless all those who sail in her in the years to come.

So, no more emails asking for membership please, it is no longer in my gift.

Whist I am on about the end of things did I mention that I stopped smoking last Christmas, no, well I did and all’s well other than the fact that I seem to have found half a stone from somewhere.

Oh, It’s also the end of the BS having the fishing on the swale at Topcliffe, eye off ball again it seems. Steve Pope is thinking of writing a book though so not to worry eh.

Rock on the HPS!

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So myself, Hobby and Danny Collins did another week in Spain. An extra day to the normal 7 this time as flight prices made it best to go on Friday and come home on Saturday.

An uneventful trip found us hitting the bar by 9pm on the first night. As usual we were full of anticipation of what we might catch on the morrow. I think it was sometime around 11:30 when, out of the blue, Riccardo said he was closing up the bar and everyone should go to his house,…. well it would have been rude not to!

What followed was special, but is still a bit of a blur. Guitars, bongo’s and some sort of shaky thing came out, singing and dancing ensued by a roaring log fire. A Spaniard named Antonio, who goes by the name McCloud for some reason, did most of the singing accompanied by Eduardo who has the most amazing voice of gravel. Hobby was seen playing the shaky thing and Danny Collins got up and did a rendition of La Bamba. I believe he got all the words right although, as Eric said, they were not necessarily in the right order. Locally brewed “special” wine flowed and it was not long before one might have rightly described us as, “in a bit of a tangle”. It was a hell of a night that will long be remembered. The hospitality of these people continues to astound me and they don’t half know how to have a party.

I don’t remember going home but it was 5:30am apparently. I awoke at one in the afternoon, had a drink of water, and went straight back to sleep. There would be no fishing today. We did make it out in the evening but Hobby only lasted 10 mins, he then went back home to bed leaving Danny and myself to pretend to the locals that we were feeling fine.

On Sunday we went fishing.

It was tough at first, the usual spots failed to produce and the river was up and down like a brides nightie as water was released from the dams, or not. We did have a good few in the end and the fishing certainly improved as the week progressed. Danny Collins had a particularly nice day taking half a dozen to 7lb from a fast riffle on the float and myself and hobby sneaked a few out here and there. I had 8 nice fish on the Wednesday and another 7 on Thursday. It was still very cold at night and we mostly started fishing in the morning at 8c but the temp would get to 23c by 4pm, it was wall to wall sunshine every day. Some fish pics then…….

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Comizo

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Pesky Channel catfish

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Ninja and Comizo

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Big Mouth

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I saw this new sign just around the corner from my place and thought I now had a local tackle shop.

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Punto de Pesca.

What I found was this. It does have everything from line to groundbait though so may come in handy in an emergency.

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No change given.

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We were all barbeled out by Thursday eve so went carping at the local lake on the last day for a bit of a change, we caught loads and Danny broke his own personal record for number of fish lost!

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Another Carpa for hobby.

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On the last evening we had decided to have an early one in readiness for the long drive to Madrid but sometime around 11pm  Riccardo said he was locking up the bar and everyone should go to his house……………….

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South then at the kind invite of Dave Burr for a couple of days trotting chalk streams. Thank you Mr Burr. I will gloss over the 7 hour drive down by just going Grrrrrr!

Now being a Northern sort I am the first to shout about the beauty of some of our rivers up here but I have to say they can’t match the Southern chalk streams. The chalk streams have a sort of softness that I can’t describe, they almost sing at your eyes. God damn awesome is what they are.

The Test was our venue on the first day and not just any ol bit of the Test, this was Dave Steuarts bit, and it’s just as special as the man is.  Dave  Steuart is nothing short of angling royalty as far as I am concerned, “legend” isn’t a big enough word and the pleasure of being in his company is even greater than fishing his water. To fish this bit of water is like going to the place I daydreamed about in school when I should have been listening to Sir, the fish are large, quite easy to catch and the number of pools and runs demanding the attention of your float makes your head spin. I didn’t know at the time that such a place actually existed, but it does and I feel privileged to have fished it.

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Test at dusk

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This one Specki

I won’t go on about what we caught, you would only be jealous, suffice to say many fine grayling and trout were landed. I did have a couple of decent roach that deserve mention though, and dropped 3 off . Monty was on the phone to me as I caught the first one and I thought it about a pound and a half. I showed the second one to Dave and he said more like 2lb. I didn’t bother to weigh either; they were both about the same size. Dave took a picture of the second so here is a picture of a “nice” roach.

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Would a number make this roach any more beautiful?

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I also caught something that used to be a salmon but had lost so much of its body weight during the spawning that its body shape resembled a rather spotty silver eel. I should have caught it when it was heading North rather than South.

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Kelt.

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A cracking days fishing and in the evening I perused Dave Steuarts photo album over a cup of tea and we took him out for a nice meal to say ta.

Day 2 was spent on the very pretty river Wylye as the guest of Mike Perry, what a nice bloke. Grayling almost all the way here with just a few small browns showing up.  We had some rather nice grayling and they kept us busy until the sun started its downhill run and the temperature folowed suit. A very lovely day on a very lovely little river.

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With Mike Perry

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Wylye Grayling.

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There are some more pics of the weekend on “Burrs Blog”, click the link on the side if you like, he also throws a few words together, after a fashion.

On the way home I drove past Stone Henge. I had never seen it before and I have to say what a let-down, it’s tiny, I expected great towering monoliths not a circle of fish fingers someone had thrown together.

Spain is next.

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Just a quick one as I am busy and dont have owt much to say anyway at the moment.

We have new arrivals at Casa Rocca, some pics.

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We have four, two like this one.

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....... and two like this.

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Cluck.

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I know nothing about chickens but someone said they were all the same sort with the slightly smaller all brown jobs just being younger versions on the larger black ones. Black Rocks they are called apparently. Whatever, all I do know is that they lay nice eggs, five already since Saturday.

It has also been time for the pond digging. I have had a pond at every house I have lived in except this one so its time to put that right now I have the extra room. The hole dug measures 6 metres by 5 metres, may as well have a decent one if your going to have one. Some pics.

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My boy did the digging. His mate, John Wayne, (I kid you not) looked on.

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Faye had a go too.

Finished.

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I will put some pictures up once there is water in t’ole. This is no fish pond, there will be no multi coloured goldfish at this house, its just for the frogs and toads though I may put in a couple of small tench and a friend has a lot of sticklebacks in his pond and he said he could spare a few. Bit rare in these parts these days is your stickleback.

Off down South in a few days to fish a special place so will be back soon, be good now.

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It must have been 81 or 82 when Sticky Bun Dave came around my house and said that his uncle had an old cane rod he was selling, it was said to carry the name of Richard Walker.  At the time my barbel fishing was done with a Hardy’s brown glass Avon and a fine rod it was, still is actually, I did though have a longing for a cane rod but was also skint. So I mentioned the possibility of acquiring this rod to my long time friend Bru who already owned a Wallis Wizard and appreciated a bit of stick. Bru hadn’t the time to go and look at it but said if it was a good James MKiv he would have it for the asking price of £50,……. I was to go and have a look at it for him,……. Mistake!

The rod was indeed a B. James MKiv Avon, as new and came in its original bag; it looked as if it had hardly been used. How could I let such a thing pass through my hands? Well, in short, I couldn’t so I bought it for myself with the mortgage money and suffered gladly the abuse from she who was never obeyed anyway.   Bru was a tad miffed it has to be said but having grown up with me should have expected nothing less. I owned my first ever cane rod and I loved it for the fine thing that it was.

For almost the next 20 years that rod caught me barbel from all over our land, all the Yorkshire rivers, the Hampshire Avon, the Kennet and the Stour, even the tidal Trent at Collingham. You won’t see many test curves under 2lb at that place these days!

Here is a young Tony one cane with the rod on Throop in the mid 80’s.

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Highbank on Throop.

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As I started to fish the Trent more and more in the late 90’s I made myself a pair of slightly heavier canes to fish with and I had of course acquired a few other cane rods by this time. My original MKiv didn’t get taken out very often, maybe just a couple of times a year, to the Wharfe for old times sake.

So we come to the year 2000 and us school mates are all turning 40. I met Bru at Clown Pond on the day of his 40th birthday and we fished floating crust, as ever, it was a favourite childhood haunt. Bru caught a two and a half pound goldfish, he always catches strange stuff, and I gave him the MKiv Avon as a birthday present..

I have only seen the rod once since that day. Bru came down to Hazelford with his son a couple of years ago and was using it. It still looked in good nick and I was pleased he seemed to be looking after it.

I then received the Christmas card below from Bru this last Christmas.

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Yes, Bru had lost the rod to a barbel in the River Nidd during a moment of absentmindedness, Bru has always been afflicted with lots of these. What’s more it later emerged that this event took place at the end of last summer and he had not been able to summon the courage to tell me,….. so he puts it in my Christmas card!

I was a touch upset upon realising the fate of my very first cane rod and I have no doubt Bru was too at the time, but I suppose if a valued rod has to die then the River Nidd is a fine river for it to rest in. It is where Bru and I spent many fine days chasing the barbel in our youth and the rod was ‘ours’ after all.

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When I lived in the home town we had large french doors in the lounge looking down the back garden and every winter I would see Goldcrests nipping aphids off the roses my Father grew, he still does actually but whether the Goldcrests still visit I know not. Anyway, its been a long time since I have seen Britains smallest bird,………. until this morning. As I made my first cuppa of the day I spied a pair of these lovely little birds through the kitchen window. As it happens Fayes camera was set up so I grabbed it and had a pop, I give you my best offerings out of about 20 goes.

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Gold.

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Crest

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Could be better but not bad through the kitchen window I don’t think and they were a fair way off.

Steve Pope latest.

Anyone read Popes latest offering on FM ? Half is about so called celebrity anglers and he introduces us to his criteria for bestowing celebrity status upon an angler. It tells the reader much about what Pope sees as important in the angling world and firmly confirms my opinion of this small minded and shallow individual. A souless man for sure. We are then offered his first ten celebrity anglers. If I had known Chris Holley was going to achieve such greatness I would have saved some of the sick he deposited next to me in that Christchurch nightclub all those years ago.

Celebrities my arse, you are in a strange world Pope.

Boney and the Frampoodle do their best to defend Popey in the comments following the article but the one called Longshaw has them bang to rights. Poor ol Fred cant even work out who it is, it aint even hard Boney. Maybe its about time I popped back on to FM, seems to be a bit more fun of late.

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