Way back in the sixties we may well have been able to pitch a small tent to shelter in, but more often than not we spent the night sheltered under an umbrella. At the time I was employed by a Road Transport Company and was able to acquire old blue tarpaulin sheets that had seen service and were to be disposed of. Although they were worn and no longer suitable to be used on the lorries, they were good enough to be used as groundsheets or awnings for fishing.
My fishing mate, Mac and I used to set up our brollies alongside each other and throw a tarpaulin over the top of them. We would then peg down the sides and back through the metal eyelets to form what was effectively an open fronted shelter, which we were quite pleased with at the time. Unfortunately it was rather inadequate cover in poor weather conditions, and also afforded the local rat population the opportunity to come and go as they pleased, often after dining out on our bait which we had unwisely stored under our bed chairs. The frying pan which contained the congealed fat from the previous nights meal of fried bacon was a mass of rat foot prints that suggested that South Ockendon had become Rat City.
As a limited range of Bivvies became available, Mac decided to invest in one, and the one he chose was the ‘Tag Barnes’ model.
Now I don’t suppose there will be many of you who remember it, but it was the type that fits over a brolly and was made from very heavy material, unlike the marvellous models available today. But first you needed to ‘modify’ the brolly by bending the ends of all the ribs so that they faced downward. They were then inserted into stiff bamboo garden canes which had been cut to the correct height. Then they were slotted into sleeves stitched to the base of the bivvy and tied in halfway up the cane. Tent pegs could then be hammered into the ground to secure the canes in position allowing the centre pole of the umbrella to be removed, thereby creating a completely free space inside. It was rat proof, but a strong wind would cause it to rock and sway somewhat. It was a bit of a squeeze inside but there was just about enough room for us both and we used it many times during our tench fishing exploits in Kent in the 80’s. It served us very well indeed and eventually, after many years of use, it rotted away in Macs’ garage.
Neither of us bought another Bivvy as we gave up night fishing trips, although we didn’t actually fish at night anyway, much preferring to get a few hours sleep and be ready for any action at dawn.
Sitting in my day shelter praying that I don’t get a run.
The Bivvy revolution that took place over the next few decades has resulted in some superb models, costing anything up to £600, that provide the ultimate in comfort and protection from the elements (and the rats). This along with the progress made with bite detection equipment means that we can stay in our Bivvy all the time and only come out to reel in a fish.
This was brought home to me a few years ago when I was tench fishing. At the time I didn’t night fish at all, but arrived early morning and left late evening. I always got on well with the carp anglers and on my arrival would go and have a chat to the nearest one or two. The magic words ‘the tench are driving me mad’ was music to my ears. Then when I left I would go along and say “good luck and cheerio”.
On this particular occasion the angler next to me was all zipped up so I went along to the next one and said “see you next week, say cheerio to John for me as I think he’s asleep”. Then a voice from the zipped up bivvy said “Hi Eddie, I’m not asleep I’m watching the tele”.
I said “watching the tele?, it’s seven o clock and there’s nothing on”.
The reply came back “Yes there is, I’m watching freeview”. I must say that I was rather taken aback by that at the time but now of course we have ipods and tablets and ‘all singing and dancing’ mobile phones as well as portable televisions. Have they invented a clip on Sky dish yet I wonder? Just imagine all those films and sports channels that could be made available.
Another double – better than Freeview TV.
Then there are all the accessories that Bivvy Man needs in order to survive. A chair to go across the bedchair for sitting in and viewing the lake when there’s nothing on the tele. A guest chair as well of course for visitors. Loads of cooking gear (and food), water containers, a sleeping bag, a pillow, a pair of bivvy slippers, (useful for a mud free bivvy) a bivvy tackle table, a bivvy deluxe mat, even a screw fit heater for those colder sessions. Fancy something hot but not a meal as such ? Then why not get yourself a bivvy sandwich toaster. The list goes on. And I haven’t even mentioned any fishing gear such as rods and reels.
How on earth did we manage all those years ago with just an old well worn blue tarpaulin?
Eddie Benham
