A static approach

I had the good fortune to spend some time, Saturday morning, in conversation with one of the local birders, who's "patch" includes one of the drains I have been fishing this year. The last time we met was in March - so there was quite a bit of catching up to do.

He happily recalled the many highlights that he'd experienced during the recent autumn period and readily agreed with my thoughts on how localised some of the avian movements can be, especially finches. I couldn't match the majority of his records but I did out score him on one particular group - owls! Not much of a surprise given that I am at large when the vast majority of birders are back indoors with their feet up. My binoculars, a rather battered pair of Bausch & Lomb 8 x 42 "Elites", are as important as any other item of tackle that I carry, as is my notebook and pen.



Because my enjoyment, of being outdoors, is derived from so much more than a bent fishing rod; I am totally at ease with my reliance on electronic bite indication. It is this technology that allows me to explore the other wildlife opportunities, safe in the knowledge that fish (pike in particular) welfare is not put in jeopardy.

I probably see more Kingfishers than the average birder, purely because I spend more time in suitable
habitat than they do? (Digi-scoped from The David Feast Hide - Grove Ferry 10.04.2007)

So my bite alarm technology does allow a degree of freedom, but I still can't go wandering off, leaving the gear unattended. So I am, for want of a better description, engaged in some form of "Big Sit" - the birds, and other creatures, have to come to me. By sitting quietly, on the banks of an isolated fishery has, over the years, provided some superb encounters with our native fauna. I will not accrue lengthy lists of species, but might just get a better insight into the day to day behaviour of my subjects than the traditional approach allows? There's no way, for instance, I would have discovered that Beaver if I'd been simply wandering about.
Make no mistake, I still seek "above average" specimens but, as I have made mention many times, size is not everything. My venues are chosen as much for their isolated location and wildlife potential as for the fish themselves. With this simplistic format it's hard not to derive enjoyment from every outing.