May not be anything on here for a while. Got to go abroad a couple of times enjoying myself and the few days I will be at home in the next few weeks are full, a trip to the Wye scheduled too.

Be good now.

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Had a call on Wednesday and got roped in to be a steward on the Trent for the Division 1 National. Why would a lad who has never fished a match in his life have any interest in doing this? To be honest I didn’t but I’m always happy in helping out those who have helped me in the past so I wouldn’t refuse. I wasn’t too happy at having to get up at half 6 though.

It was interesting, 80% of anglers went for the roach on the float and most who opted for feeder tactics gave up within an hour. Those few who stuck it out on the feeder eventually won out with barbel and chub and kicked the arse of the roach fishers.

Everyone on my section caught and those who say there are no roach on the Trent are fools. Roach galore throughout with some nice 10lb+  bags of little redfins. Maybe not the heyday of the early 80’s roach wise but plenty of fish.

One bloke in a very good barbel peg opted to go for another rare, if you listen to some folks, fish on the Trent these days…. He fished for gudgeon on the whip in the edge and had almost 6lb of them, Christ knows how many he had in his net when I weighed them. No wonder the Trent zander and perch are doing well.

I was pleased to see that all the barbel retained in nets went back fine, no problem. A few roach perch and bream snuffed it though.

A long wet and tiring day but as they say, A change is as good as a whatsit.

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If one little fish kept abusing all the other little fish to the extent that the big fish had to give him a dressing down, and then, most of the little fish swam away anyway. Would you think it wise for the big fish to give the abusing little fish power over the few other fish that were left?……………. No, neither would I.

So, can anyone suggest any reason why, oh why, Fred Bonney has been made a moderator on the BS site………. Its so ludicrous it made me laugh out loud.

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No time to blog anything much at the moment.

Been out this week and caught some barbel and been playing with my new toy at home.

Whats all this about a “crisis” meeting at the BS?   Do I detect Pete Reading coming to the fore?…..If so, good, he’s the proper sort.

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I am as excited as an excited thing.

This morning I bought this 1972 Triumph Bonneville.

Deepest of deep joy.

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Nipped out and had a fish today, lovely, the rain stayed off and I didn’t see a soul all day, caught chub and barbel.

Still not been barbel fishing on the trent yet this season, its a tad predictable for me at the moment, by far the easiest barbel river in the land these days and you can only fill your boots so often or it means nothing.

Came home to see mayhem on the BS forum. I dont know how many left the BS this season but from those few posting it looks like many old names are gone. Its apparent to me that its really all over as I knew it. Seve Pope will hang on whilst there are enough members for it to exist but I suspect he is doing this just to keep his own profile high for guiding and ego purposes. He doesnt really care about the BS or the members, that is so obvious by his tone on the forum. He has locked 4 threads today just because they criticise his actions of the past couple of weeks, there is accusations of lies and counter lies. Bonney is disgracing himself as usual. It seems there are about 4 posters who support Pope……. a sure way to get on the Committee lads.

Didnt I say I wasn’t going to talk about the BS again?……… I must have fibbed.

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I want a motorbike, no I really do, I want a motorbike.

Yes, I know, “You’re a silly old bugger Tone who will only kill yourself in a futile attempt at regaining your youth.”……. But nevertheless, I want a motorbike!

I don’t want to go fast, I don’t want one of those modern racing type Japanese jobs. I want an old British bike, something that when you start it up the odds are 50/50 as to whether it springs into life or the kickback breaks your leg. Something unreliable that makes a lovely sound, a very important part of a motorbike the sound is. Something that needs looking after and can be lovingly polished, oh, and it has to be black too.

Vincent, Velocette, BSA, Norton, Triumph, Aerial………. All names that make me lust.

Well, come on, would you expect anything less from a cane using traditionalist who’s big on nostalgia?

We had motorbikes, of various sorts, in the woods from the age of about 12. The first was a belt driven Mobylette I believe, it used to set fire to your trousers as the belt slipped, melted, and then burst into flames. One favourite was a Villiers 200 that I bought for £1 off a lad in my class at school. At dinner time he showed me where it was and after school finished I pushed it to my mates garage for keeping (Dogs garage from the Roxy gig tale actually). I now suspect that it wasn’t actually the lads motorbike to sell but such detail mattered little in those days.

The Villiers was ridden, under cover of darkness, up and down the fairway of the 10^th, par 4, on Beauchief golf course.  It took some sorting out as it wouldn’t run at all at first but that’s how we learnt about engines. I don’t think the timing was ever quite right as flames would shoot from the exhaust. It was quite a sight in the darkness jumping bunkers. We eventually sold it on to another group of lads for a fiver. We only had it maybe a couple of months.

We had the two Vespa 90’s, that were purchased from a lad called Weasel for £5 each, for an even shorter length of time. As we were painting them round the back of my mates house (Dogs again) two rather large gentlemen appeared and the scooters were soon taken away. The policemen reckoned they were not actually Weasels to sell. Well, c’mon, how were we to know?..We just fancied a change of colour………… Weasel did eventually end up in prison by the way but not for stealing the Vespas.

Once 16 years of age was reached we all had mopeds and were road legal. I had actually been on the road for about 3 months prior to my birthday……. 1976, what a year and summer that was. A line of us, 15 to 20 long sometimes, would go out into Derbyshire for the evening. Everyone had a moped in those days and they were not restricted to 30mph as now, mine was quite fast and would do 70mph down hill with a following wind. I had one of these and loved it. A Fantic GT, £272 brand new, on the road.

Oh to be 16 again.

Time moves on, things change. Mate Gebby got killed on his Suzuki in 1978, wearing my leather as it happens, and Danny Peat ended up in a wheelchair. (As an aside Danny went on to fish for the National disabled fly fishing team). I fell off only 3 times and have the scars on my knees to show for it, I was lucky. Some of the lads never stopped riding. Dean, who also went to London to see Roxy the other week, had his final motorcycle accident only three years ago, he lost a foot and almost his life.  

I was, for a few years, sales manager for the largest motorcycle dealer in Sheffield and owned my last motorbike when I was 23 or 24. I left biking behind when I left there. Problem is it never fully left me.

So,….. I want a motorbike and am perfectly entitled to do so, age has absolutely nothing to do with it I assure you.

“Yeah right Tone”.

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Well at last Mr Pope has spoken after the multiple BS resignations of last week.  On the future of the BS he says……

“Believe me when I say the BS will be moving on, strongly as well. People do not devote a quarter of their lives to something only to walk away and let it flounder”.

Sorry Steve but many have been telling you its floundering for ages, numbers down (again) revenue down, waters lost, half the Committee gone. You dont have a clue what to do and if you really care for the BS then let someone who does take over……. now! Your battle cry words have been heard once to often.

Oh some will see this as an opportunity to get on t’committee, those you wouldn’t entertain before no doubt that see it as an easy ego massage , but is that really whats needed? The normally quieter members on the forum are now calling for change and democracy, good job us gobby ones have all gone, will you deliver? will you eck. 

As for me, Im just expressing an opinion, as is my right, as a long term ex member who is very disapointed at your utter incompetence.

And, if your going to slag me off on Freds blog please do better than this……

“Looking forward to putting the record straight at some point, as for Tony, small man, small mind with an influence that greatly exceeds his worth but hey for a ticket many will sell their soul“……..

Its poor from a bloke who is smaller than me in both departments and for your information 95% of the HPS dont give a flying fig about the BS and its going on’s. Which when you think about it is the case for most of the barbel anglers in this land……. thats the problem you have failed to solve and nothing will change now, and you know it.

Thats it from me on the BS, or rather whats left of it, its little more than a joke now.

Maybe

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Sometimes I fish with a centerpin and sometimes I dont. This decision is based upon nothing other than how I feel. It doesnt matter to me what river or how, but I always use one when float fishing. The only time I find it a little difficult is if I need to use a feeder of over 3oz, I have sliced my fingers wallis casting a big feeder accross a flooded Wye before now.

Anyway, below is an account of  friend Tony Cummings first attempt at “pin” fishing last Saturday on the Trent. I lifted it from a private forum and include it to give those of you that haven’t tried it a feel for what you are missing.

“Started off trying to cast using the ‘loops of line’ drawn off between the rod rings method but couldn’t get the feeder where I wanted it so I soon gave up on this and decided to put into practice the stuff I learned from Biggun. After a few disasters I finally got to a point where I could get it out 15 – 20 yards; it’s amazing how quickly you learn when you’ve got to.

Playing barbel on a pin is feckin AWESOME,  the degree of control you have over the fish IMHO is far superior to any other type of reel. It’s a bit of a steep learning curve though, several times I had the fingers of my right hand well and truly clattered by the handles on the pin when a barbel lunged unexpectedly and set the pin rotating at warp speed”.

Glad you enjoyed it Tone, all you need now is to pair it with a cane and you will really know how “AWSOME” catching a barbel can be.

Note; No carbelling fish haulers were harmed during the writing of this post.

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Tony2Lythes

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Happy birthday Blog.

You have given me many a chuckle.