The Pleasure Angle – 2006, The Year That Was

Mark Hodson

An angler since he can remember, Mark Hodson almost literally lives, eats and breathes fishing. A match angler in his youth, fishing for the junior Starlets, he turned to the dark side and joined the ‘floppy hat’ brigade in his college years. He worked in the tackle trade for ten years, on a part time or full time basis at Chaplains, one of Birmingham’s busiest tackle shops and managed the specialist department there for two years.

He now fishes just for fun, although the ‘floppy specialist hat’ still dominates his angling, his writing concentrates on getting the maximum enjoyment from your angling and trying something different from the norm.

2006, the year that was

Part of the cause of the identity crisis

The end of an era

This has nothing to do with angling itself, more a habit that usually accompanies angling for most. Since the cover price was in single figures I have always purchased a weekly angling newspaper. Mostly the Times, sometimes the Mail, sometimes both, whichever or whatever, I have always spent my money for nearly the last 25 years on a weekly.

For years they were read from cover to cover on their first day of purchase but as the years have progressed they stayed in the paper rack that little bit longer, pages skipped, articles skim read, sections that didn’t personally interest me totally ignored. Then about October the wife who always picked up the angling papers for me on the weekly shop enquired “Do you want your paper picking up? You still haven’t read the last couple of weeks.”

Low and behold she was right (as usual), the last two weeks had just sat there untouched since their unpacking from the weekly shop. I hadn’t even bothered to read the front page, let alone peer inside. To my amazement I uttered “No don’t bother, I can go without.”

And that is the way it has stayed since, and even to my amazement, I haven’t missed my weekly at all. To be honest I don’t think the papers had changed all that much. Yes they are much more commercialised, but we live in an ever commercially orientated society so it was bound to happen. But I think I have changed, in that what I personally required from the angling written word was no longer contained in the weeklies. Over the years I have had my fill of instruction, promotion and ego stroking and now find that I look for inspiration and enlightenment instead. The trouble with the weeklies is “there just ain’t no romance or soul there”.

A developing identity crisis

Not on my part you have to understand, I’m quite happy with who I am and what I do. But for some, my angling, that crosses all sections of our sport, has caused a little confusion, especially when I’m dawdling down the bank, gear in hand, staring dreamily at each swim as I pass. You see, the main problem is that during 2006 most of my fishing involved me taking a two rod carp holdall, a stalking style rucksack, a match holdall, a chair and usually a couple of buckets of bait dangling off the arms of my tackle barrow. None of which matched, none of which was camouflaged, but all of which was extremely practicable.

But there laid the problem, if people can’t place you in a category, they don’t like it. Creased brows accompanied long stares and the predictable question of “What you fishing for?” “Fish,” has become the standard reply, which induces more brow creasing and frowning. I certainly didn’t look like a carp/specimen angler, match angler, or pleasure angler, in fact I have become a mishmash of all three, which is what causes the confusion. 2007 may see the start of a campaign to eradicate non conformist anglers, better get some camouflage so I’m not spotted.

2007 Resolutions and things to do

Never kept one resolution yet but you have to try don’t you.

1. Buy no fishmeal baits in a small personal attempt to show an example to others how it isn’t needed, and will play a small part in conserving fish stocks, a token gesture on a global scale I know but you’ve got to make a start somewhere.
2. Fish more locally when I can, to decrease my fuel use and lessen my carbon footprint (the pond in the garden is going to take a hammering!)
3. With the money saved from not buying a weekly angling read I will buy an angling book every 12 weeks instead (must buy a new bookcase as well as there is no room on the existing one)
4. Make more of my own baits, gather more natural baits, start a new wormery and make my own items of tackle (and find the 8th day in the week to accomplish all of this)

5. A resolution to use more natural baits

   Go to bed earlier (really helps with those pre dawn starts, been trying this one every year since I can remember)

6. Introduce at least one person to fishing for the first time and witness the magic
7. Write more lists to help with my failing memory (I always forget something at the tackle shop and don’t realise it until I reach for it on the bank).
8. Keep it all in perspective and, most importantly, fun.

Still Dreaming

One thing that hasn’t changed throughout 2006 is my obsession with places I would like to fish, rather than fish I would like to catch. Latest one is in the photo,

Still Dreaming…

it has everything; medieval castle, lilies, a weir, mown banks, waterwheel, features galore. I just need to get access, get rid of all the thousands of tourists and I’m in there……

Yep still dreaming.