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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.
Pilgrim’s Progress – read it everyThursday!
Slow On The Sow….The M6…..Meisje And Beitje…..Roadkills….Swimming Bull…..And Father Christmas
Following on from my recent Pilgrim’s Progress where I wrote aboutmy trips to the River Sow, I have continued to visit the river. Isuppose the fact that I caught two 4lb chub affected my decision inno small way. The session I had on the river immediately followingthe brace of 4’s was one that was not for the faint hearted. Theweather was atrocious. Gusts in excess of 40 miles per hour madefishing very difficult. Still, fellow anglers will appreciate that itbeats sitting by the fire any day watching television. Doesn’t it?Come on, make me feel good and agree with me.
In my last article about the Sow, I wrote about my improvisationwith a forked stick for a rod rest. I suppose in these days ofspecialised fishing it’s much easier to forget various items oftackle and leave them at home. My previous trip had been after barbelso the contents of my rucksack had to be arranged from scratch. Iremember the days, as a boy, when every item of tackle I owned fittedneatly into my creel. But not any longer.
Set off for the Sow…..with no bait!
However, setting off for the Sow, doing my usual mental run downto see if I had forgotten anything, suddenly I realised I hadn’tbrought the bait. Now it’s possible to improvise with a rod rest, butbait is another kettle of fish, so to speak. Fortunately I was only200 metres from home so there was no real inconvenience caused. Isuppose we all have tales to tell along the lines of arriving at thevenue only to discover we forgot to bring essential items such as arod, reel, bait, landing net etc. I’m sure it happens to the best ofus.
As I have already mentioned, the weather was abominable. I had toposition the rod in such a way as to minimise the effect that thewind had upon the tip. It was difficult, but where there’s a will,there’s a way. I was grateful for the opportunity to flit betweenthree swims, as this enabled me to keep warm. Or perhaps I shouldsay, it meant that I wasn’t as cold as I would have been rooted inone spot. A case of damage limitation really.
If the cap fits
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As Pilgrim’s Progress is very much up to date (We have the wondersof the web site and digital cameras to thank for that) you may havenoticed in the last couple of months that all my fish holding photoshave me wearing an insulated fleece hat. Whilst I’m very happy towear both my FISHINGmagic and BAA caps (the two that I alternatebetween) during warmer times, I’m afraid during the winter months,they’re left to gather dust on the shelf at home. Particularly whenthe wind chill factor makes it minus 6.
So how did this session go? Although I wasn’t overly confident, Imanaged to catch a chub of 2-10-0. It’s definitely better thanblanking, that’s for sure. Caught on bread, it was a nice lookingfish. I had no more bites, and as the wind increased, not to mentionthe driving rain, it was one of those sessions that you’re happy tocall an end to.
Travel help is at hand
The Sow is about 20 miles from where I live, so I consider it alocal water. Although it’s a few miles on the trip, the quickestroute is the M6. Joining at junction 10, I head northbound, exitingat junction 13. However, I know enough about the M6 to actually drivearound the motorway island first before joining it, so I can get aglimpse of the traffic situation. I once made the mistake of drivingstraight onto the motorway (you can’t see it until you’re drivingdown the slip road and by then it’s too late) and being stuck intraffic for what seemed like an eternity.
However, every visit I have made to the Sow so far (setting offmid-afternoon) I have had deep sympathy for those travelling southbound. At junction 10, the traffic is already backed up and itdoesn’t clear sometimes until junction 12, at which time I’m gettingready to exit myself. I’m sure there are those reading this thatregularly get stuck on the stretch of motorway I have described. Don’t worry, help is at hand.
The Birmingham Northern Relief Road is under construction. I know it’s opposed by environmentalists and NIMBY’s (Not In My Back Yarders) but I’m sure for the motorists who will benefit, it will be a godsend. However, what will probably happen is that it too will reach over capacity and the M6 will still be the same. We shall have to wait and see. The reality is that, as anglers, and particularly when we live in urban areas, we have to take traffic into account when planning our fishing trips.
Looking out for road kills
However, on the way back from the Sow I take a much more leisurelyroute, through the country lanes, connecting with the A449 atPenkridge. It’s the most direct route, but I do so for anotherreason. I’m on the lookout for road kills. OK, let me explain. I havetwo pet ferrets called Meisje and Beitje (pronounced May-sha andBay-cha. They’re Dutch names by the way. Any Netherlands visitors toFISHINGmagic – goede morgen, middacht of avond !!) and there’snothing they like more than a rabbit. I do get some funny looksthough, stopping the car, picking up a dead animal and putting it inthe boot.
No bull (oh yes there was!) and a blank
My next trip on the Sow produced a blank. And boy, was it cold.Talk about Wigan’s Chosen Few (For all you old Soulies out there), itwas more like a case of Stafford’s Frozen Few. Well, Stafford’sFrozen One, actually. I was the only one crazy enough to be out. Idid have a good bite though. But the fish slipped the hook. I knew Iwouldn’t get too many bites at the cherry, and I didn’t.
But I did witness a bull swim across the river to reach the farbank. Unfortunately, by the time I got the camera out and got it setup ready to snap away, it had completed its short journey. At first Ithought the creature had fallen in, but then I realised it wasintentional. You’ve heard of Sitting Bull, well this one was calledSwimming Bull.
A pike saved the day
It was a case of blankety blank again on my next visit to theRiver Sow. Well, actually, that’s not quite strictly true. What Imean is that I blanked while after chub, but I spent the morning andafternoon pike fishing, before switching species as the sun set. I’llfeature the predator in my next pike Pilgrim’s Progress write up, butit was a nice looking fish, just a shade under 12 lb. So it rescuedme really, from the slippery slide of a run of blanks.
But you’ll never guess what? What, I hear you ask. Well, I sawSwimming Bull again. Although this time, due to a combination ofwhere he crossed the river and the fact that the levels were low, itwas a case of Wading Bull. And on this occasion, I managed to get aphotograph of him in action.
Claus in a coach
And finally for something really topical. Driving to the Sow,through Stafford itself, I actually saw Father Christmas – driving abus. Yes, driving a bus. Not a reindeer in sight. The person inquestion had obviously taken the festive season to heart and hadturned up for work in full Santa costume, beard and all. He must havegot his inspiration from Les Battersby. Sorry I didn’t manage to geta photograph though.
Well, that’s me done for anotheryear. But I’ll be back next week as I take a personal look back over2001 and a peek into the future as I share my plans for 2002. In themeantime, have a great New Year and I’ll see you next Thursday whenthe title of Pilgrim’s Progress is ‘Cast Out The Old…..Reel InThe New’.
The Reverend Stewart R Bloor
Sedgley International Christian Ministries
PO Box 1216, Dudley. DY3 1GW.
Telephone : 01384 – 828033
Web site : www.sicm.org
e-mail : missionscentre@sicm.org
