Saturday social

Well, I'm back home and what a great day's birding; just a shame that we'd gone to Sussex for a pike fishing trip! We all met up. on the bank, just after 06.00 hrs and that is after a 90 minute drive from Bucks (Simon), Herts (Bunny) and Kent (Benno, Luke & myself). What we found was a severe lack of water; the venue being some six, or seven, feet below normal levels and, as a result, a completely different challenge to the one we'd expected. Instead of the 12 to 15 feet, we'd hoped for, we were lucky to find 7 or 8, it was never going to be easy under these circumstances.

Luke with a bent rod, Simon doing the coaching bit and Benno waiting with the net!

As it turned out; Benno, Luke and Simon had a pike each - all jacks! Cliff and I blanked - "life's a bitch!", so unfair? It is a magnificent venue, set in some outstanding countryside, so it made sense, to me, to make the most of whatever else was on offer. I had all my camera gear with me and did my best to get some images to accompany this post.

Outrageously over-gunned! I could easily have gotten away with Duncan Kay's and centre-pins.

It was a great session, we had a laugh and talked through some ideas for future projects and venues. That we all enjoyed the day speaks volumes about the way we approach our angling, these days. No longer is it a result driven hobby - there is so much more to angling; all five of us now realize that catching big fish is only part of the experience.

As I mentioned, at the start, the birding was a nice distraction from the inaction on my gear. I managed to add Marsh Tit to my pathetic year list but there were plenty of other species around the venue. Chiffchaff, Green Sandpiper, Sparrowhawk, two Raven, upwards of a dozen Common Buzzards, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatch, large numbers of dastardly "Sinensis" Cormorants, Grey Heron and a smart little male Mandarin kept me entertained. It was exactly what we wanted - a nice Saturday Social!