My Fishing Day with Martin JamesJanet Stansfield had the great opportunity for a day’s angling with Martin James from BBC Radio Lancashire’s “”At the Water’s Edge”” programme. What follows is her story, a beginner’s initiation into river fishing for chub. Last year, shortly after taking up angling at the advanced age of 48, I e-mailed Martin James at Radio Lancashire for advice on local fishing clubs, permits etc. Instead of fobbing me off, as he could so easily have done, he gave me his number to call him, which I duly did that evening. We had a lovely chat, in which he gave me lots of good advice and information, then, after discovering that I was teaching myself (not knowing anyone else who fished) he invited me to go out with him for a day’s fishing. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance. Well, my fishing trip with him took place yesterday, and I’m now home, really fed up. It didn’t go as well as I expected…It went far, far better than that! A bright jacket and a hook to land Moby Dick We met up at a private game fishing stretch of the River Ribble near Clitheroe, in the heart of beautiful Lancashire, to be greeted by a herd of sheep and recently born lambs bleating and running towards us in the expectation of a free meal. A truly beautiful area. Martin wasn’t too impressed at my bright yellow and blue Keela jacket, but it was the only one I had that is completely waterproof, rather than just showerproof, so I didn’t have much choice of clothing, having been advised to be prepared for rain. The forecast said sun and showers, but fortunately we were blessed with a lovely day. It stayed reasonably warm and overcast until the end of the day. We tackled up in the fishing cabin, where Martin looked at my size 12/14/18 hooks, and promptly decided they were not up to the job, and produced a hook that would have landed Moby Dick! I believe it was a size four, although my mind was in such a whirl I couldm’t be sure. I’m still on a high! Anyway, it was BIG! I was SO nervous. I was all fingers and thumbs, but I managed to get my rod set up eventually. It was only a few hundred yards from the cabin to the river, but it was a big step for me. I was about to show all my angling inadequacies to a REAL expert. I can’t begin to tell you how nervous I was! This was me, a silly middle-aged woman with a man who really knows how to fish. I was so worried that he’d laugh at my failings, but he was wonderful. I was surprised that Martin didn’t take a rod himself, but he assured me that he was fine – he was there to help me learn, rather than to fish himself. He told me to fire away, with all the questions I had, and he answered every one with sound, sensible advice. I felt very guilty depriving him of his fishing. To stay with me, watching me lose what could’ve been good fish must have been pure torture for him! I think I possibly drove him slightly mad with my silly queries, but he had the utmost patience, and answered every one of my questions, interspersed with many entertaining and informative anecdotes, which I’d best not repeat! He was slightly disappointed that the river wasn’t carrying more water. I’d always assumed that when a river was very high, it was unfishable, but apparently not. I’ve missed out on some good fishing over the winter because of that misconception. Simple is good – it works! Martin is what I would call a real angler on the river, and he showed me fishing as I’d always imagined it to be. No fancy hair-rigs, boilies, complicated rigs etc for him. All we took for bait was bread, and a bit of luncheon meat for later in the day. Morrison’s Extra Thick (and I can thoroughly recommend it after today’s experience!) I knew from listening to his “”At the Water’s Edge”” broadcasts on Radio Lancashire that he was very much an advocate of bread, but it’s hard to believe that you can catch so much on it until you actually see it in action. The angling press would have us believe that we need their exotically flavoured (and expensive!) products, but I’ve learned a valuable lesson today. Simple is good. Simple works, in both technique and choice of bait. We were using LG shot to hold the line down. A bit like marbles, only slightly smaller!
That was it! Five LG shot on the line, and a chunk of expertly hooked bread crust. I’ve never been able to keep bread on the hook before, but now I know exactly how to do it. We had bites from the very start of our session. It was only my lack of angling experience that prevented us from having a big haul of chub on the bank. On arriving at the bank, Martin proceeded to take the water temperature, explaining about how fish feed under different conditions. He then asked me to point out places where I would imagine fish to be lying up, and showed me where he expected them to be. I learned about watching the flow of the water, spotting holding places, looking for the crease etc. All the stuff I’d read about, but didn’t really grasp until it was pointed out to me on the bank. It’s not something you can learn from books, only from experience and being there. After baiting up for me, and showing me how to hook the crust, (we only used crust to start with, then luncheon meat in the afternoon) we cast out and waited. It wasn’t long (minutes!) before Martin was shouting (politely, I may add!) at me to strike. The rod tip bent, but I was too slow and missed it. As I also missed the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that! I could have curled up and died with embarrassment. He had taken a day out to help me, and I was proving a total numpty! I missed SO many chances! This was so different to the fishing I’d done before. He must have been SO frustrated, and I’m sure he was itching to snatch the rod from my hand, but he showed admirable reserve. (He didn’t swear at me once, although if I was him, I would’ve called me all the names under the sun, given me a quick slap and taken over the rod!) I’ve mainly been fishing on the canal, or our local pond, which is totally different to this. On the canal you don’t need to strike so hard. Here you needed to really stop being a cissy and give it some welly! If I’d done that on the canal, my catch would have flown over my shoulder into Yorkshire! He did grab the rod at one stage, at the start, when I was too slow, and hooked into a lovely fish, our first of the session. Like a true gentleman, he offered me the rod to land it, but no, he’d hooked it, it was his fish, and I wanted to see how he did it. If I ever learn to play a fish like he did, I’ll be a very happy woman! Smooth, controlled, confident – everything I’m not (but aspire to be!). Strike! – Fish on He baited up for me again, and then we waited. Not for long though. He was expecting an almost instant take, and he was right. Who says fish are slow to feed in winter? Then, it happened. There was a slight twitch, then the rod tip bent round quite savagely. That was it. No more warning. As I’d learned previously, they don’t give you a second chance. It was now or never! I grabbed the rod butt as if my life depended on it. When I say it bent, I mean it bent! It whanged round like it meant it! These fish mean business! Martin shouted, “”Strike!”” I didn’t need to be told a second time! I struck hard, (thankfully in time) and there was a fish on! I really had to land this one. I couldn’t let him down after him giving up a day of his time for me. This was nothing like I’d experienced before. Normally I’m fishing quite close in for perch, roach and the occasional bream, on a nice calm canal. This fish was quite a way downstream. The stretch of the line and the feel of the rod were very different to what I’m used to, but Martin guided me as to how to play it. I’d hooked into it using his rod, rather than my own. It was one of his own rods that he’d designed, with a Mitchell 300 reel (apparently his angling friends say it sounds like a coffee grinder, but it sounded lovely to me!).
Keep the rod bent, and then guide the fish upstream. Lower the rod, reel in a bit, keep the rod bent, keep a bit of pressure on, reel in again, and don’t rush it. No sudden moves. Just take it gently. Keep that rod bent. Don’t let it get away. Thankfully, I managed to bring it in, and Martin held the landing net as I lifted its head out of the water and guided it in over the rim of the net. Result! Not huge for the rest of you anglers, but a fantastic PB for me! “”That’s the way it’s supposed to feel”” I was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat! I had caught a scale perfect, beautiful 3lb 11oz chub. He’d promised to help me catch my first chub, and he did. My first, and my largest fish so far. I know (or I hope!) I’ll catch larger fish in the future, but I’ll always remember this one. We left it safely in the water in the landing net, and then Martin went back to the cabin to get his camera for our picture. I normally hate getting my picture taken, but on this occasion I couldn’t stop smiling long enough to tell him to stop! While he was away, I couldn’t help but keep looking at that fish. I was absolutely stunned by it. The feeling was just great. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. I told Martin this, and he just said, “”That’s the way it’s supposed to feel””. Martin – like a gazelle on illicit drugs with a death wish! We carried on, after I’d calmed down. We baited up again but after a short while without a bite, Martin decided we should move slightly down river, to a spot by a fallen tree which he was sure would hold some chub. This guy is 70 years old. He has a bus pass. He’s allowed to take things easy. And did he? Not on your life! He sprinted through that wood and by the riverbank like a gazelle on illicit drugs with a death wish! He carried two rods, bank sticks, landing net, and rucksack, leaving me to have both hands free. I needed them! I slithered and slipped in his wake! I was hanging onto trees, grabbing bushes and generally getting muddy, with the sure and certain knowledge that I was going to end up in the water. He never faltered. And then, unfortunately, I let him down yet again by failing to make the most of a really positive bite. I was gutted. Martin threw in a few large balls of bread to tempt the fish into feeding while we were away, then we adjourned to the cabin for a spot of late lunch and a cup of tea, (although I was far too hyper to eat – did enjoy the brew though!) then back to the river, where Martin set me up with TWO rods! Very scary. Had a bite straight away in our first spot (which I missed again!) then we moved downstream, back to the spot where I caught my first fish. There, we had another bite after a very short wait, and I hooked into it! It seemed to take forever to get it into the bank, but I’d remembered all the advice I’d been given, so it wasn’t quite as bad. Just a bit smaller than my first, but still a decent size, so we didn’t weigh it, but released it carefully. I’m sure it was totally oblivious to the pleasure it had given! It’s all about experience and knowledge I can’t believe how much I’ve learned in just one short day. Keeping it simple and having confidence is vital, as is watercraft, and I’ve learned a lot of that today. Above all, it comes down to experience and knowledge. I don’t have either yet, but I’m getting there slowly. What an amazing day, and what a lovely guy. He entertained me with stories of his past exploits all day, and I went home in awe of somebody who has overcome so much adversity to carry on with what he loves, his fishing. As we headed back at the end of the day, the sun was starting to go down, lighting up Clitheroe Castle in the distance with the most wonderful glow. (Sorry – apparently it’s a keep, not a castle!) A perfect end to a perfect day. I can’t wait to get back out on the riverbank and put all his teaching into practice. I have so much more confidence now. I hope my experience will inspire other newcomers to this wonderful sport to get out there and fish! |
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