Features

The continuing adventures of Donald and Damien..

My name is Mick Holdaway and I am the owner of Pondwood Fisheries. I purchased Pondwood as a derelict farm in 1986. My love of fishing was trout and fly fishing.

Simon Cooper looks at recent improvement work on the River Test and wonders 'When is a restoration not a restoration?'

The Swim-Finder 'Stinker' will appear from time to time - and it won't be easy! Indeed (and for obvious reasons) it'll be damn impossible for most. But the venues will vary geographically so most viewers will be in with a shout at some time.

Damien wasn't often lost for words, but this was one situation that left him speechless. Donald had been pottering around in the garage for some time, and Damien's curiosity had finally got the better of him, but the sight that met his eyes had literally stopped him in his tracks.

For me, it simply goes against every instinct, every principle and every reason for night fishing to set two or three traps then to purposefully turn-in for the night. The very act of leaving your precious rods unattended outside the zipped-up bivvy while you slip into oblivion and deliberately miss what the dark hours have to offer is, to me, an admission of disinterest...a statement of indifference to the night's natural drama and one of the main reasons for being a fisherman.

My first memories date back to when I was very young indeed. It started when I was with my mum and dad, brothers and sisters and a few cousins. We were just a typical family group out and about enjoying ourselves in the warm sun one fine Spring day.

One of the striking aspects of starling flocks is the lack of rhythm in their flight. It looks all metropolitan bustle and hurry, but as I emerge on the track by the marsh I can hear the air rush through all those wings. Then there comes that eternal rash of brittle notes that is the essence of starling palaver.

It's about time we had another caption competition isn't it? Get your brain-boxes into gear, Fishing Magicians - we've a few more SUPERB FM baseball caps up for grabs...

I don't know exactly when it all started. There had apparently been rumours and strange goings on for many years before I was born and stories had been passed down the generations from family to family, father to son, mother to daughter, generation to generation. But no one could fully explain what ' the happenings' were all about. They were a mystery as life itself is a mystery.