He is also a very keen angler, having come back to the sport in 1995 following a break of several years. In this regular column he will tell us about his progress as an angler – his thoughts about the sport, what he learns, the fishing trips he makes, the anguish, the humour, in fact everything he experiences as his angling career develops. | ||||||||||||||||||
EARTHQUAKE! BUT IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL ON THE DOVE! Based on my fishing campaigns at the moment, if I were to use the term 4.8, I’m sure you would make an educated guess that I’ve either caught a decent chub or a small barbel. Well, although I would give you credit for trying, actually you would be wrong on both counts. No, the numerical reference of 4.8 has absolutely nothing to do with fishing at all, but earthquakes!
Dreams of a 14-pounder from the Dove I’m like everyone else, and what’s on my mind as I go to sleep, more often than not features in my dreams for that evening. Consequently, I remember very clearly catching a 14 lb barbel from the Dove! Well, fresh as it was in my mind, imagine the sudden jolt I felt as I was woken from my sweet dreams by nothing less than a thirty second rumble that shook the house to its very foundations. The next day I was not surprised to discover that the very epicentre of the earthquake was just a couple of miles away in Gornal. Fortunately the quake itself was fifteen miles beneath the Earth’s surface, but imagine what would have happened had it been closer to the crust. Anyway, a quick peep at the house revealed no cracks; all was as it was the day before. And my fishing tackle was intact, not even so much as a split shot had rolled out of place, which was a minor miracle really, considering the rumble that we had experienced!
The river was low and clear The Dove was again low and clear, as per my previous visit. Checking my fishing diary – my little blue book – I realised it had been three weeks since my last session. In between we had experienced some heavy rain, but that was more than a week ago and the levels were back to what they had been before.
Within half an hour, again with the sun beaming out at full strength, I was into another barbel. This one was a very good fish indeed, and in spite of the powerful tackle I was using, I was powerless as far as controlling it was concerned. In fact it broke me, and that was in open water, not in a snag. At that moment I decided that I would fish with higher line strength on my next visit. It has been a while since I lost a Dove fish due to inadequate tackle (although bear in mind that when I use the word ‘inadequate’ I am talking about 10 lb hooklength!). On one rod I fish 15lb main line to 12 lb hooklength (this is if I am fishing close to a snag); whilst on the other rod, fishing in open water I fish 10lb main line and the same hooklength. But from now it will be the heavier option wherever I decide to fish! In addition both rods will now be 2.5 lb test curve! Drastic measures for a drastic situation! Anyway, the rest of the session proved uneventful. As the sun set it became very chilly indeed. But I had prepared well as I had dusted down my all-in-one Sundridge suit for its first appearance of the season. By the time I finished at 10pm there was a distinct winter feel in the air as I trudged back to the car. Football result made me a happy man The next night it was my other passion that begins with the letter ‘f’ which occupied my time – a trip to Molineux to watch Wolves in action. After three consecutive league defeats I was hoping that the earthquake would shake some life into the team! I needn’t have worried, as a 4-0 win sent me back home a very happy man.
No Elvis but an 8.8 barbel made up for it Well, I can report that he definitely wasn’t on the Dove when I returned the following evening. I usually see only the odd dog walker, although on this occasion there were a couple of other anglers; but none of them were wearing Las Vegas era sequinned jump suits! The river level was again very low and clear and the temperature was just 13 degrees. The Dove, I thought to myself, could really do with some rain. With the temperature down from my previous visit I didn’t put out too much bait. A few handfuls of particles, corn and pellets, with brown crumb as a binder was enough. This is why I consider a thermometer to be an essential piece of equipment – it enables the angler to document temperature trend and therefore to bait up accordingly. As the evening wore on, and I remained bite-less, I was contemplating a blank; but a couple of hours into dark, I was into a barbel. After the initial burst of energy to reach the safety of snags the fish was quickly subdued. Weighing in at 8-8-0, it’s not one of the ‘biggies’ that are found in the Dove, but still a good fish. I fished until 11.30 p.m. and then decided to call it a day. I was tired and my bed was beckoning and by the time I got home I was ready for sleep. I don’t think even an earthquake would have woke me up that night! Or even Elvis Presley singing ‘all shook up’ in the middle of it! River Dove barbel results table Dove Sessions: 8
The last PP Good, bad or indifferent, all things must come to an end one day, and this PP will be my final one. I have become very busy work-wise recently, and as far as fishing forums are concerned I have done very little in terms of personal activity this year. Of course, I’ll continue to go fishing; but in all honesty, with limited time, I’d sooner be doing it rather than writing about it! Even though I don’t like the game of cricket, the statistics say that I am declaring PP on 105 – so at least I made a century! Tight lines, and thanks for the tremendous support and encouragement that has come my way over the last two years or so. Thank you. The Reverend Stewart R Bloor |
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