A humorous look at a day’s fishing
Part 1 – Preparation
It’s the first trip of the new season and last year’s failures and disappointments have been wiped from my memory, although some elements may linger, like unwanted sticky paper, in the minds of those who were unfortunate enough to witnesses a few of my more memorable adventures.
We will not talk about the unfortunate incident with the duck at this point!
Yesterday, I made my annual pilgrimage to the local fishing tackle shop in order to replace some of the more essential parts of my kit, which seemed to disappear with alarming speed into the surround trees and reed beds of my local lake during previous sessions, which begs the question as to what happens to them? The lake owners must make a fortune in second hand gear!
Things like lead (but not real lead) weights, hooks, floats and miniature swivels, all of which seem to have increased in price, are part the of restocking ritual, together with a new selection of boilies.
No, boilies are not nasty red lumps on your neck!
They are highly technical, multi sized and multi flavoured round balls of bait, made specifically for catching carp and are the subject of unbelievable debate amongst the ardent carp angler. Ranging in size from the 5mm mini to the jaw dropping 22mm, they come in a variety of flavours, including Tutti-Frutti, Halibut, Krill, Essence of Nut, and Natural, plus every variation in between. Of course, a carp has no idea about any of these, let alone the rather cannibalistic use of Halibut or Krill, so how these ever got onto the menu I will never know.
Talking of flavours, and as if the boilie was not enough, there is the added temptation of bait essence dips.
No, we are not talking about Hummus or Tzatziki, more like strawberry or banana.
These are little tubes and pots of highly concentrated liquid flavourings, each with a bright colourful label, designed to attract the unwary angler’s eye. The advertising promises that it has a secret ingredient that will enhance your bait, making it un-resistible to that record-breaking fish. It is at this point that the angler is hooked, after all it cannot do any harm to have a little extra help, can it?
Clearly the days of the bamboo rod, string and a bent safety pin hook are long gone.
As I stagger back to my garage with armfuls of bags of assorted gear. I look in awe at the two new super sleek black carp rods with matching reels, that have just been delivered courtesy of Amazon and which, are now the centre piece of my new essential kit.
With everything carefully loaded into the car in an assortment of designer fishing tackle bags and boxes, I close the boot ready for an early start the next morning.
What could possibly go wrong?