| JEFF WOODHOUSE | |
Jeff caught his first fish at the age of five, a mackerel from a Torquay fishing boat. That was the starting point 53 years ago and the sight of that living silvery image coming up from the invisible depths had him hooked for life. Since then he has practised virtually every type of fishing, although not always successfully. He doesn’t just like fish, he has a love affair with them, in his living room, in his garden and at times, in his freezer. Lately he has spent more time either running clubs or assisting them to become successful. Now he admits to being too old to chase monsters, he’s happier getting as much fun as possible out of what’s before him. In this monthly series Jeff indulges the rebel within himself, often controversial and always trying to think differently about the usual trends in fishing. |
THE MAGIC BEGINS! I don’t know how many of you started fishing when you were just a kid, I did. Like it says in my introduction above, I was just 5 years old when I caught my first, but I didn’t understand the sport properly until I got to around 12. Then I met a couple of other kids and we found we shared this mutual interest and off we went. It was garden canes at first with the eyes off safety pins taped on and some sort of makeshift bobbin for a reel. Although dad had caught me those first fish, mackerel and stuff, and had taken me on several boats when we went on holidays, he wasn’t really an angler. So for my mates and me it was school holidays around Stamford Park boating lake or on the local canal trying to catch a few gudgeon and if we should be lucky enough to catch a perch, wow! How times have changed in many ways. We are more affluent now and youngsters these days have their X-boxes and Playstations and Ipods and every other damned contraption they could wish for. So when you take a youngster fishing now a couple of garden canes just will not do. When asked to take my 11 year old step-grandson (I guess that’s the relationship) fishing I bought him a rather nice starter rod and gave him a nice Dam reel I had. Crikey, what we youngsters would have given for that sort of gear back in the 50s? Never mind the 50s, many anglers just 10 or 15 years ago would have given their eye-teeth for that quality of tackle. I got him one of the new Abu Enticer 12 foot rods (thinking 12 foot would be a little easier for him to handle) and they are now a full 100% carbon rod and brilliant value for money! So good that I’m thinking of buying the 10 foot one for myself for use in the boat and as a stalking float rod. Enough of the plugs, but I do recommend them. It’s not often we get to see Connor since he lives with his mum and only spends every other weekend with Mike, my son-in-law. Then, of course, Mike wants to spend time with him so opportunities for fishing have been few and far between. However, he did come over to Mike’s this Easter and as he was there all week, we managed to snatch one day in March just before the old licence ran out. I took him on one of our club’s small lakes where there are lots of small rudd, roach, tench, crucians and a few common carp. We floatfished sweetcorn, with his new rod and the Dam reel, and within no time at all he had caught a small rudd. This was followed by another small rudd and another and then a very small common carp. As the day progressed the fish, thankfully, got bigger and bigger, although still nothing monstrous by grown-up’s standards. By the end he’d caught 13 fish and the biggest was 2lbs. Not bad at all I reckoned and what we kids would have done for fish like that back in the 50s, but Stamford Park had nothing like those. You must think that youngsters are spoilt these days, but the trick comes down to going with someone who knows a little about fishing and where to keep youngsters entertained. This is why I will not criticize these little commercial fisheries, I think they are great, but I just don’t like to see people depending on them. Well the photographs were loaded on the PC and duly spread via Email to all the relations and Connor had really enjoyed himself. He must have, because the other weekend we got roped into looking after our daughter and Mike’s two dogs whilst they were to fly off to America on a part business, part social trip, Mike being an American (well no-one’s perfect!) and wanted to visit his brother. The other request rather surprised us; could Connor stay for the weekend? At the bottom of it was the possibility that we might go fishing again, this boy’s as cunning as me! Well yes, was the response and I wanted him to improve, if he could, on his previous catch so a quick call and plea to my very good and very generous friends, Stuart and Stephen Heard, who are part owners of a nice little lake, and they agreed to let us on. In the close season the club that normally runs the lake can’t fish it and it is left to the owners and their guests. So, we agreed to meet up with Stu and Stephen (and one enormous Newfoundland puppy) at the lake at 10 am. The first swim we picked, at Stephen’s suggestion, didn’t produce anything although some fish were seen wallowing about in it. The spring wind was also blowing straight at us and I could see that Connor was getting colder and with nothing to interest him, he would very soon get bored. Youngsters want activity, they want to be catching.
I suggested a move to the other side of this spit of land where the wind would be on our backs and I could put an umbrella up. Say no more, Stephan and Stu produced and enormous Fox brolly with storm sides and we quickly got that set up. Now Connor and I were nice and warm and Stephen and Stu had to put their one-piece suits on and used my umbrella when it started raining. Thanks guys. We tried for a little longer on the float, this was fished into the margins with stewed wheat for an attractor and chick peas as the hookbait. Still nothing although there were some pulls, but probably from small rudd unable to grab the full bait. At this point, 31/2 hours in, I was desperate to get him a fish and the lake normally obliges by now. So out came – the carp rod and alarm! Well, you have to steer these youngsters over to the ‘dark side’ of carp fishing as soon as you can (oh, the Monk would be proud of me). It’s a very light rod of 11/2 lbs test curve and I set up a swinger arm and tied on a bolt rig with a ‘Source’ boilie and out it went with nothing else around it. Now boilies and braid are not normally allowed on the lake by the controlling club, but like I said, the club don’t control it during the close season and part of me wanted to prove a point. Presumably they have something against boilies like ‘they overfeed the fish’, but they are a first class food for carp and provide them with lots of nutrition. They banned braid last year after a few fish were found with mouth damage, but as I keep insisting, that is caused mostly by bullying fish to the nets rather the playing them in a more gentle fashion. Anyway, we didn’t have to wait too long before the alarm was screaming and a small tench came to the net. A little while later and another fell to the same boilie, not a new boilie. Then the carp started to find that boilie and one by one, they continued to come to the net. Not a lot, just 8 fish in all, but all on THE SAME BOILIE! So much for boilies overfeeding the fish, we hadn’t given them one (crikey, I could become a honorary Yorkshireman with these tight-fisted tendencies).
I think it was the 7th fish that was his biggest at 5lbs 6ozs. We weighed and photographed it and I promised to enter it for the Improve Your Coarse Fishing Mission carp badge. He should get a bronze for it being over 5lbs, but it all adds to the encouragement. I keep trying to remind him that it isn’t always easy as the first few hours of the session proved so. Some of the time he was playing with Stuart’s Newfoundland, who was ever so well behaved I must add, but as soon as the alarm went off he was back to the rod. My point was also proven, each and every fish was hooked in the front of the lip and the line, a braided hooklink, was nowhere near the mouth to cause any damage whatsoever. I do believe that hair-rigging the bait helps the hook to the front of the lip and it’s very rare to find the hook inside of the mouth, but no doubt you will have comments on this in the forum. I’m convinced anyway and it’s another reason why I hate rules that are made up for rules sake. Education is always the best way to resolve a problem. At 5 o’clock we thanked Stu and Stephen (and Bruce, their dog) and bid them farewell. Connor texted his dad who’d just about landed in the USA and I think he was very pleased with the day, despite the slow start. Stuart has invited us again before the season begins and if we get the chance I’m sure Connor will be delighted to go again. It won’t always be easy is what I keep telling him, but with waters like this that can attract young anglers it’s a great encouragement. For us, back in the 50s, we could only dream of fishing like this, for Connor the magic has begun! |
