HAPPY DAYS WITH FRIENDS

                         

Christmas - a time to celebrate our days of joy with family and friends during these past years and to look forward to many more wildlife and fishing adventures during this next year.

Yes, we’re well aware that a virus is running riot so for now, all of us will keep ourselves isolated from our nearest and dearest and try to stay alive … and if Sue and I don’t succeed, this could serve as a goodbye!

But before we leave … and contrary to most people’s attitude to writing Christmas cards, I really enjoy the process because it means our friends are instantly on my mind and the more I write in each card, the longer I’m with them in spirit, regardless of not having seen them for years. This enables us to pass on our news and love and every card is rewarding because for a moment, they’ve been right there with us.

Sue and I are blessed to have so many to write to and I for one know it’s a privilege to share the fun of fishing with all my worm dangling friends. So I hope you enjoy sharing this selection of catches they’ve made during these past few years. And I'll start with those I fish with most, my computer guru and good pal Chris Wild, with whom I shared the excitement of stalking this beautiful 22lb common carp in the shallows of a local lake.

Next up is Steve Derby for he allows me the privilege of sharing his rig for mullet fishing in Christchurch Harbour and we had a splendid year of success, catching quite a few up to six and a bit pounds, along with some lovely roach. I know I’ve banged on about how hard mullet fight but if you’ve ever tried to land one, you’ll know that they never give up and in shallow water, the battles can be seriously exciting.

Also a fan of mullet madness is Steve’s long time friend, Brian Naylor, an ace angler who delights in making me jealous by telling stories of battles with giant sea trout in South America. We’ve shared a few scares together too as the feisty mullet try to break our line among the anchor chains.

Another fish that pulls a bit is the Indian Mahseer and I enjoyed some wonderful holidays there in winter sunshine, having been invited to join Steve, Brian and not least that ace barbel angler who helped us with our TV series ‘Catching the Impossible’, Pete Reading. 

He caught us a twelve pound barbel to order and had lots of big mahseer during our adventures and it’s such a shame that those holidays together are no longer possible because the great wildlife and birding we enjoyed was only matched by our laughter.

Another friend sharing our Indian trips was Gerry Higham. He got lucky and caught a fifty pounder that for half an hour, dragged him all over the river in his coracle. He's an all rounder so is just as keen on catching delicate crucian carp in one of our local lakes.

Gerry is a lifelong follower of Manchester United and he kindly invited close friend Chris Yates and I to enjoy a match with the club we support, Southampton. Being in ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ was dramatic, with 70,000 fans cheering their teams and it must be very odd for the players today to compete in front of empty stands.

Chris and I love our crucian fishing and have shared many memorable days trying to spot their sneaky bites ... and sometimes succeeding.

Chris also loves his perching but on this occasion he’d forgotten his rod so, shock horror, he had to fish with one of my carbon ones and I promised not to tell anyone that he’d broken his tradition never to use such a modern monstrosity.

Though I do enjoy crucian fishing, especially with Chris, my first love is roaching and I particularly like this pic of Stuart Wilson, the legendary keeper at the LAA’s Britford fishery with a sparkler. 

I have many friends who love their roaching, including Malcolm Swinfen and luckily we've shared several two pounders. We also exchange fishing stories by email and with Malcolm being a good writer, they make enjoyable reading.

Many of our friends love catching big roach - of course they do, they are the best fish - and one who has done more than most for us anglers this last year by enabling us to start fishing again after lockdown is pal and Angling Trust guru Martin Salter. I was pleased to be alongside him when he caught this great big roach from the River Test. It wasn't quite a two pounder but it looks it!

I can't mention roach without acknowledging the lifetimes work of Trevor Harrop and Budgie Price and it's partly due to them that we can now trot the Hampshire Avon for roach again and stand a reasonable chance of catching one. Here they are landing a big chub! Sorry about that but I couldn't find the one of Budgie landing a roach of nearly two pounds.

I have friends who sometimes prefer bigger fish than roach and I was so lucky to be invited to join those ace angling archivists, Keith and Sandy Armishaw for a holiday sturgeon fishing in Canada. What's more, we had such a good time I was invited again and boy, did we catch a lot of big fish. 

This monster of Keith's took him 1hr 28mins to land and I caught one close to that size. We got very wet when it flapped and being  stuck in the mud, we had an early bath - cue laughter.

We also visited Vancouver Island, fishing not far from where Prince Harry and Megan lived for a while, and the salmon fishing was a bit special, Keith landing this monster King Salmon on trotted salmon eggs and I caught several beautiful fresh run silver bars on a fly.

Luckily I'd been taught to cast by John Slader, an Orvis guide on the Test and stalwart of the Salmon and Trout Conservation Trust, so I was extremely fortunate to catch fish instead of trees. We had shared a grand bone fishing holiday out west and now we share roach fishing on our poles alongside the Avon and enjoy that just as much.

I have other pals that love fly fishing too, non more so than Jim Wreglesworth. He catches some gorgeous big brownies from our local rivers on the fly, loves roach fishing and shares a love of tench, catching lots of fiesty smallish ones with me one evening. He was quite happy!

I have another great friend who I've fished with for many years and he's an inspiration because he makes such a commitment to achieve success and nearly always does, Mark Woodage. Only two years ago he caught a roach of 3lb14ozs from an 'impossible' water and helped me to catch one of 3lb10ozs so we were both rather happy chappies. He loves his tenching too and we've shared many happy days in the summer sun along with blanking on frosty mornings.

One angler I always look forward to joining for our trips down memory lane is Martin Bowler. We spent four years together creating our Ch4 series 'Catching the Impossible' and amazingly, after all that pressure to catch big 'uns, we remain the best of friends. 

I helped him out with a bit of filming for one of his productions a few years back and we will never forget the day when he caught giant perch of 4lb5ozs, followed soon after by a true monster of 5lb4ozs. He is arguably the finest all round angler in the UK and a lovely bloke too so I count myself lucky to call him and his wife Jo friends.

I haven't been fishing much this last year due to a need to hide away and I've missed our journeys into the wild, not least to the Hebridian Island of Islay where nearly thirty thousand barnacle geese spend the winter, the scenery is stunning and the malt whisky from the islands' eight distillaries is delicious ... but dangerous.

Here we are with our close friends, ace wildlife cameramen Michael and Penny Richards and the legendary John Aitchison who was trying to film golden eagles catching geese! They do you know.

We go to Islay together as often as possible, along with other birding holidays but our annual New Year celebrations with Michael and Penny and Rick and Jen is cancelled this year for obvious reasons. It's sad as we've never missed the get together for the last thirty nine years. This pic of us on the West Somerset Railway makes me think of that exclamation in panto "it's behind you"!

We'll just have to be patient and wait for 'together time' when the worst of the virus is over. Finger's crossed it won't be too long, but in the meantime, Sue and I are lucky to have a lovely big garden to look after and keep us fit. Our wildflower meadow is butterfly heaven.

Our daughter Katie and partner Simon love their gardening too and are joining us for Christmas lunch from just up the road but very sensibly, our Pete decided it was too risky to come from Plymouth as he didn't want to kill the old folk!

 

We'll hopefully be seeing him in the Spring when everything is smelling of roses and our world slowly returning to normal. ... and it won't be long before summer glows with life and we're picnicking on the top of Dorset's Golden Cap. Until then, have a great Christmas and stay safe always ... and thank you to all my fishing pals for their great company and all the laughs. 

With our love and best wishes, Hugh and Sue.

 

FISHING WITH FRIENDS

Not alone on the River Wye. Chris Yates was just upstream and Martin Bowler took this beaut. picture of me barbel fishing

If you happen to read this blog because you are an angler then you might think I’ve given fishing up because I haven’t written a fishy story for ages. The reason is simple, I haven’t been fishing!

I still love the idea of being out in the countryside with a rod but our big garden has taken up all our time as we create a flower filled gravel garden for butterflies and bees. We haven’t finished it yet but to see the squadrons of buzzers already feeding there is a joy.

a silver-washed fritillary on a hebe

No fishing might mean no stories but I have many happy memories of fishing with friends, so this will be a celebration of those special days when we shared our catches and time together.

                    Fishing with Friends

Fishing alone can be an intense and rewarding experience and might even lead to catching bigger fish but for maximum enjoyment you can’t beat sharing those moments of triumph and disaster when you both cheer when one of you catches a big one and cry when the big one gets away ... or maybe you laugh when your mate loses the big one!
 
Here’s a selection of some of our catches during the good old days when we had the good sense to ignore all the horrible things going on in our world and made time to breath fresh air. These pics are  just a random ramble through the archives to celebrate the joys of angling together with friends.

First up are some happy gatherings during glorious summer days of crucian fishing at an intimate Wessex lake. We almost always caught a few, even over three pounds but we were sensible enough to simply enjoy the company and take time out for more important matters, like my wife Sue's famous cake.

close friends Chris Wild, Avon Roach Project Trev and Mr Yates getting their priorities right - tea and cake!

happy days of sunshine and golden nuggets

Please read on - there's more friends and the fish grow bigger

END OF SEASON BLUES

                

a cracking 2lb roach and now a rarity

Emotions run high when the river season ends, a mixture of regret and relief. There is nothing better in life than trotting a float down a lively river in the hope that it will cease floating and it’s sad when that pleasure is denied us. At the same time it is a relief when we don’t have to agonise over when the river will be just right for roach or whether there are still any roach to catch.

1lb15 and a half of H.Avon roach - I need new scales.

Being a roach fanatic isn’t easy these days and the last two winters have been a struggle for me, the first for years when I have failed to catch a Hampshire Avon two pounder. I came close before Christmas, a cracker of 1/15 and a half encouraging me to think that it was the start of a good winters fishing but alas, it turned out that it was the largest I caught from any river this past season.

I didn’t even catch lots of roach and the suggestion from my ‘friends’ that it was because I’m rubbish might have an element of truth in it. However, I suspect it was because at almost every swim I tried a cormorant surfaced just downstream, though I won’t bang on about them in this story, just celebrate the pleasure of being by the waterside.

John Slader with lovely Test trout

My last angling adventure post ended with me being mullered by mullet, tho’ Trev and I did catch a few more before they left the estuary for the deeper water in the English Channel. Variety being the spice of life – and fishing – a stint of fluff flinging on the Test, courtesy of S&TA stalwart and fishing pal John Slader fitted the bill perfectly. It is great sport, trying to land the right fly in the right spot to fool a fish that has seen it all before. Judging by my inept attempts, ‘spotty herberts’ certainly prove a lot easier to catch than big roach.

easier to catch than roach

Minister Richard Benyon with S&TA's Paul Knight

One of the days was set aside to help MP’s catch trout … along with bending their ears about what is ailing our rivers, eloquently expressed by S&TA Director and all round good guy, Paul Knight. It is an invaluable opportunity to show anglers concerns for the environment , especially when Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon is able to attend. The river might look splendid on the surface but below it is a different story, much to the surprise of non-angling MP’s. It makes for a cracking day and even the beginners catch fish … much to their delight.

MP Jon Crudass with a good 'un

the River Test at Dave's - a little bit of heaven

the legendary Dave Steuart showing us the way

The next highlight was a trip to Dave Steuart’s beat on the River Test at Romsey with angling mate and Man.U fanatic Gerry Higham. It was a cracking day of roach and grayling in the sunshine as well as reminiscing with Dave over mugs of tea. What a host of stories Dave has … he is an important part of angling’s history and needs to be archived!

Gerry Higham with a lovely Test roach

Autumn glory on the H.Avon

Autumn for me and many of you no doubt is barbel and chub time and I managed one memorable day when I caught three chub and four barbel, the best only 7+ but a cracking days sport. On another day I thought I’d hooked something larger as a lump gave me a good scrap. It was 12lbs. but a carp, tho’ a beautiful, Billy Bunter of a common.

a really beautiful common

Roach fishing commenced and over several scattered ‘last knocking’ evenings, I had several to 1/12 plus a few chub and big bream, but the largest roach as mentioned earlier fell an agonising half ounce short of the magical mark. It was nearly Christmas so I asked for a new set of scales, ones that always make some anglers roach over two pounds!

Polar bear on melting ice in the midnight sun

will this winter never end?

There was a time when I could happily sit for days in crippling cold temperatures in the high Arctic, waiting for a polar bear to appear, but the years of mileage are making me more sensible and less inclined to sit for hours waiting for a blank to unfold. I feel the cold now too. This winter – that seems reluctant to go away – has felt cold to my old bones and with the rivers running so fast with snow melt too and few fish or blanks the norm, I have few successes to report.

outside the office window it's not much of a day for roach

a winters day at Sway and some cracking sport

getting lucky - first cast and 2/3 of perfect roach

Lakes seemed more sensible when I did venture out and I’ve already mentioned the 2/3 roach on my first cast into Sway Lakes this year. I had another day out there and caught a perch of 2/3 and roach of 1/13 but as my wife Sue said, “you only catch when you go to a pond and what’s the point of that”. Harsh!

2lb+ of Sway perch 

a proper river bream and on the float too

A last throw of the dice on the Avon produced just two roach to 10ozs and a couple of fighting fit bream – I really like fast water bream – also a host of happy memories shared with Trev and Jim. 

Trev doing what he loves best

Trev caught three roach and Jim blanked, though he did get a bite and was so surprised he swears his heart stopped.

Jim still ticking

Just to prove that at least some of his family aren’t plonkers, Jim’s sons often show him how it should be done, though to be fair, I guess he did teach them everything they know, or so he claims. But isn’t it great to see youngsters catching fish. Sadly, the pics wouldn't scan properly but Charlie caught roach and grayling to 1/8 and Ben a really fat pike of 13lbs.

celebrating seasons end - I wonder why there's camera shake

I decided the final day of the season was just too cold and bright to catch any roach so I dug the garden instead. It almost makes up for missing the last day of the season … but not quite.