Out of My Comfort Zone

[John Bailey]

We all face comfort zone challenges in our lives. Think back to your career, and how the years of advancement brought terrors as well as triumphs. What are your memories of those times when you really felt inadequate, when you really did not have a clue as to how to get to grips with the water or species before you?

Mine are obvious. The big ones anyway. The first time I fished any stillwater above a couple of acres when I was ten. My first trip to the Trent when I nine. My first faltering steps at carp fishing from the age of eleven. Those first ferox trout trips to Scotland when I was thirty. My first mahseer expedition aged thirty eight. Those first Siberian taimen disasters when I was nearly forty.

Now it is Wye pike that are killing me, even now, when pensionable age has come and gone. I have seen scores of serious stillwater pike since I caught my first twenty forty three years ago but a big river pike... whooaa... that’s my objective, my dream now.

This winter’s Passion is for a Wye thirty, and so far I seem to be a zillion miles from such a creature. Six trips. Six blanks. But like all of us who face a new challenge, I’ll get there.

I’m not proud. Tips, pointers, simple encouragement gladly welcomed.

 

[LPP]

We all face comfort zone challenges in our lives. Think back to your career, and how the years of advancement brought terrors as well as triumphs. What are your memories of those times when you really felt inadequate, when you really did not have a clue as to how to get to grips with the water or species before you?

Mine are obvious. The big ones anyway. The first time I fished any stillwater above a couple of acres when I was ten. My first trip to the Trent when I nine. My first faltering steps at carp fishing from the age of eleven. Those first ferox trout trips to Scotland when I was thirty. My first mahseer expedition aged thirty eight. Those first Siberian taimen disasters when I was nearly forty.

Now it is Wye pike that are killing me, even now, when pensionable age has come and gone. I have seen scores of serious stillwater pike since I caught my first twenty forty three years ago but a big river pike... whooaa... that’s my objective, my dream now.

This winter’s Passion is for a Wye thirty, and so far I seem to be a zillion miles from such a creature. Six trips. Six blanks. But like all of us who face a new challenge, I’ll get there.

I’m not proud. Tips, pointers, simple encouragement gladly welcomed.

Right place and right time / or right time most critically for me??
My friend has been quite successful on Norfolk stillwaters and his fishing book records 7 blanks for each good fish. Get out there Mr B and keep on it!
Tight lines...

 

[nottskev]

Those first Siberian taimen disasters! We've all been there.

I set off on my first fishing trip to Ireland full of confidence. Anyone who could bag up on the Shropshire Union would need to empty their keepnet by lunchtime from what I'd read. And the area I'd booked into was "freshly developed" - even better. What could go wrong? At 6 miles long by 2 miles wide, there was plenty of water in the main attraction. But the road never came closer than a couple of hundred metres, the margins were a bog you could sink in and the shoreline either rocky shallows or wide belts of reeds. It was pretty obvious that even if I could get to a fishable spot - and if there was one, I couldn't find it - my canal-type tackle would be hopeless. Maybe the local river would bail me out? According to the blurb of the (short-lived) angling holiday firm I'd booked with, it held millions of roach. Yes - in the spring. Just now, they were all safely back in the inaccessible lake. Not much was caught that week.

It all worked out well, longer term. I had a couple of holidays - and took a mate with me - in well-developed areas, some of which had road signs with lakes, rivers and fish species on, learnt what you needed to do to adapt to Irish fishing, and branched out into wilder waters like Lough Derg, and others off the beaten track where you worked it out for yourself. But I can still remember looking at that first giant Lough and knowing at once I was way out of my depth.

 

[john step]

The Tidal Trent. When I moved here 19 years ago my previous barbelling experience was on the Lea in Hertfordshire and some on a Thames weir pool.
I rolled up at Collingham with my trusty 10 foot quiver tip rod and upped my lead to about an ounce!
I realised I couldnt fish downstream from the rod top and was absolutely dismayed to find that even though the water didnt appear too fast that as soon as I cast in my bomb just sailed downstream uncontrollably.
All my tackle was hopelessly outgunned.

The bailiff arrived to collect my fiver which was a sign for my rod to bounce out of the rest and I just managed to grab it before it headed for the Humber.
The result was a carp of about 8lb with a funny deformed mouth probably an escapee. I have never caught another from the river. I have caught barbel since of course with appropriate tackle.