At mid-night on Sunday, 14th March, the "traditional" close season will kick in on the entire drain network of the East Kent marshes just as it always has done. However, due to the travel restrictions, imposed by the current lockdown, I don't have the option to visit other venues which are not subject to this annual break. Therefore, the ability to go fishing will cease for me - short term! I've already promised Bev that I won't fish again, after Sunday, until I retire and I'm okay with that prospect. Six weeks (maximum?) ain't that long to wait. Right back at the start of my angling adventure, close season was just that, everyone had to endure a thirteen week break from the hobby. (March 15th - June 15th inclusive)
No point me complaining, everyone, once again, is in the same boat. My pike fishing was absolutely flying, with this season's target of twenty doubles (three twenties) looking to be a very realistic goal. Even a week before the Christmas break, I was still confident the plans made were sufficient to see me achieve a positive result. I had the venue, the methods and had secured a stock of "alternative" dead baits which would provide the edge I required. Then "BOOM" - no fishing, no travel, no Christmas!!!
The Angling Trust did a superb job in restoring angling as a legitimate form of "exercise" - you sure? - thus was grateful that I could still get out with the rods as a direct result of their hard work. What I couldn't do, however, is drive the thirty-odd miles down to the Royal Military Canal and claim I was staying local? The wheels came off the pike challenge and I was, once again, at a lose end. Fortunately work dealt the ace card, as unlimited overtime became part of the routine and provided the distraction required. If I couldn't go fishing then at least I could earn an extra few quid to ensure I'd have choices when the lockdown eventually comes to an end. Yet, as it happens, due to internal politics, bullying and intimidation compounded by management ineptitude, it will be un-employment, not lockdown, that curtails this particular sideshow and so a new chapter in "The Adventures of Dyl & Bev" will begin. Knowing that, although not wealthy, we will be able to pay our way quite comfortably, it is a situation which I am now looking forward to. Setting new benchmarks for what I'd like to achieve with my life, at a very personal level, plus doing my utmost to keep family values at the heart of what I hold most dear.
So with just five days until the "close season" takes effect the weather has decided to put a major spanner in the plans. High winds, heavy rail, hail and thunderstorms have been forecast right through to Saturday - well "whoopee - do!" I've got Friday off, so I'll be going fishing whatever the bloody forecast, but can't see me enduring a three day effort, with all that it would entail, if conditions are against me. Plenty of other stuff to keep me occupied, so another wet fish isn't of the utmost importance however much I'd like to finish the season on a high note. The BWKm0 project has taken a back seat, of late, although I've managed to add to my tally this evening
No. 48 - Teal - naked noc-mig - heard as I was sorting out the hedgehog feeding station.
Just to add to this; there was a bunch of Greylags calling as they passed over Newlands Farm at 21.00 hrs - very strange? I've seen several hedgehogs at the feeding station during the past few nights, just haven't been able to get a photo. Maybe my inability to go fishing might result in the opportunity I want to capture that March image?
Dyl, I found after all the stresses that were dealt out to me, that going back to basics helped enormously. Stage one. Breathe. Keep that going and accept the rest of the deal as extras.
ReplyDeleteAny activities I do are open ended for a reason. That way I don't create a win/lose situation. Instead I adopt a set of principles and if those principles happen to be correct, then time will deliver a positive result. The aim then should be to discover the most effect principles.
And principles leads me to the aspect of one self. For me, becoming a better version of myself is what I'm about. That's an open ended challenge and always a work in progress. Yes! I've still some way to go on that one.
Ric, I don't expect everyone to see the world as I do. My use of targets and deadlines is not in order to create a success or failure situation but, moreover, to provide drive and focus as I strive to achieve my goals. I'd like to think that what I desire is a realistic and achievable outcome, yet can't know without trying.
DeleteAll the best - Dyl
It's ok Dyl, once again, something I write, like the last comment. Comes across as resembling a ton of bricks. If I have any aim at all, it's to support your leadership. Which it is.
ReplyDeleteLeaders. There aren't many of those. But you're one.
So, more power to your keyboard.
Ric
Ric, There is no need to apologise or explain your stance. Above all other factors, alternative opinions are part of healthy dialogue and offer an insight into the priorities of others, however much they differ from my own. I see myself as nothing more than an individual, who has stayed true to the beliefs which have steered me down this meandering pathway of life. I certainly don't see myself as a leader, or role model, just a simple bloke who, via the medium of blogging, enjoys sharing my perspective on the world. If, as a bi-product, I am able to encourage others to pick up a fishing rod or pair of binoculars then it is worth my effort. - Dyl
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