Five years of rambling thoughts

Hard to believe that five years have passed since I launched "Of Esox" into the Blogland ether (18.12.2012). Even harder to believe that I've managed to steer clear of controversy, for the majority of my offerings, especially following the legacy of "The Non-conformist" and associated nonsense which came with that package.
Bloody hell; five years where did it go? I've certainly experienced the whole gamut of emotions as time passed by. Both of my parents have passed away, yet I have also been blessed by the arrival of three more grand-children. Angling has been a crazy mix of failure and success, although the highs far outweigh the lows. There has been the excruciatingly frustrating River Stour barbel project, the quest for my first "twenty" pound pike from Scotland but also catching the first English fish, over that mark, since 1990. A winter eel project proved to me that there are still plenty more challenges to be faced, limited only by my willingness to think outside the box. My sixtieth birthday, December 2015, was to provide the spark for my current challenge - the search for a split cane captured thirty pound carp. I've experienced many wondrous moments whilst using this gear and have engaged in many fabulous conversations, with complete strangers, as a result. Birds and moths have also played their part, although both interests are very hit and miss. I would think that the most unexpected bi-product of my blogging has been the associations I have made with cyber beings, who are kind enough to pass comment on my writing and those real people, who'm I've been lucky enough to meet whilst out and about, just doing my thing.
When I set out on this latest incarnation, in cyber space, the aim was to write stuff that reflected what I was doing, be that with rod and line, a pair of binoculars, the moth trap or my camera kit, without any conscious attempt at being controversial! For the most part, I feel that this has been achieved and I'm very happy with the way the blog has evolved - long may it continue?

Ramsgate Harbour (16.12.2017) - it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Out early, silly o'clock on Sunday, for another session on The Stour. Two rods fishing by 07.15 hrs - left hander with a mackerel tail dyed red & flavoured, the right hander with a popped-up sardine. I had six occasions when the line was pulled from the clip, all due to eels! The sardines came back like they had been put through a mangle and the mackerel had the guts ripped out - the car display read -2C when I arrived and had only risen to +4C when I left. If we get any snow, over the holiday period, then I have an idea to get a photo of me, with an eel, just because I want to show that these fish are catchable in every month of the year whatever the temperature. One in the snow would be just the ticket! So I blanked, in effect, because no pike (or eels) were landed. A blank, that's a bit of a harsh description? I had a fantastic morning out on the levels by simply merging into the landscape and enjoying the sights that nature provided. Three Yellowhammers were a very pleasant addition to my angling list and I'd made a rough count of the Cormorants, flying east at dawn, coming up with a figure of 1800-ish. Martyn Wilson, however, did a proper count whilst at Grove Ferry at the same time, and got a figure of 2757 birds. So, somehow, I managed to miss a thousand birds; probably distracted by those pesky eels? Best sighting of the session went to a vixen, hunting the opposite bank in the brilliant light of the frosty dawn. I couldn't move to grab the camera, so had to just sit there and enjoy the spectacle - fabulous. Three Marsh Harriers, a Common Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, seven Skylark and a very inquisitive young Moorhen provided plenty of distractions whilst I awaited the alarms to sound. It won't be long before I go back for another attempt.