Garden newbie

 I've been listening to the Man City vs Arsenal game on Radio Manchester (via the BBC sounds app) and it is 0 - 0 at half time. Outside the study there's been a new Fox at the feeding station. It is a very battle scarred individual, although doesn't appear to be struggling. Unlike the other visitors, this character is very confident and has come straight up to the bowl without any fannying around. I've grabbed enough images to ensure that all the id features have been recorded. Are the scars around the face and that open wound on its' front left leg a result of inter Fox squabbling or has it had an encounter with a domestic dog?

Still buzzing after yesterday's excitement and already planning the next visit to another stretch of the RMC where I enjoyed a good level of success twelve months ago.

Effort = success

A more apt title, for this post, might have been "Everything comes to he who waits"? A session on the Royal Military Canal, today, was the precursor for my February challenge. I'd not done much more than keep an eye on the BBC weather app, pertaining to what was occurring around the Hythe area. Wind strength/direction, sunshine/cloud cover, temperatures and moon phases don't figure in my Pike angling. The single most important factor is water quality/clarity and, for me to have any chance of success, lack of rainfall is key. Thus, I'd been keeping abreast of rainfall predictions and come to the conclusion that today would be worth a gamble. With the benefit of last winter's campaign logged clearly in my diaries, it was a very simple task to pick a section where I felt confident of some Pike action. All that was required is for the Pike to have read the same script!

There's gold at the end of them RMC rainbows.

On my way by 05.10 hrs, I was pushing my barrow along the tow-path little more than an hour later. Three baits in position less than two hours after leaving home and I was feeling confident. Three hours, and two leapfrogs, later and that confidence was definitely on the wane. It was 10.40 hrs when I rang Bev and almost immediately my right hand alarm signalled a take. What a total pig's ear I made of the situation and missed the fish completely - didn't feel a thing! Bait quickly repositioned, it was less than ten minutes later that the same rod was away again (almost certainly the same fish?) and this time, no phone involved, I went through the drill and set the hooks. Game on!

I knew it was a decent fish, the fight being dogged yet not spectacular, and within a couple of minutes it was in the net. Once unhooked, the scales revealed my prize to be a smidge under 21lbs and a very nice way to get the project started. Really thankful that I've now got that intervalometer gizmo, although there's still a long way to go before I'd say it was performing to the level required - operator error, on my part, without question. I remained on the bank for another three hours - not another bleep from the alarms. It would seem that if I'm to salvage anything from this dismal 2022/23 season then the RMC is where it will happen?

Biding my time

 The bedroom has undergone a major makeover as Bev and I attempt to get the bungalow back into some form of normality. Our living room has been rather neglected since the passing of Bev's mum, Denise. Having converted it into a bedroom, during that traumatic period, the space held too many painful memories for us both, thus we just used it as a storeroom. Time, as they say, is a great healer and we are now ready to get on with life moving forward rather than dwelling upon the past. The room is cleared, a chimney sweep booked for next Saturday, after which we will be able forget about the spiralling costs of running the central heating and enjoy the comfort of a log fire, once again. One glaring omission will be that of a sofa. We've purchased one from DFS, but have been informed there is a fourteen week delay due to each item being made to order (in China?). Still, we do have have two large recliners in which to park our arses whilst we await DFS to do their thing. All we require to then finish the job is a TV, which we won't need to wait three months for delivery

Fishing has been, very much, a secondary pursuit in recent times. Any plans I had are now consigned to the bin and I'm just going through the motions as this season meanders towards an unsatisfactory end. Thank goodness for the farm irrigation reservoirs and those "scamp" Carp which reside in the murky depths. Absolutely perfect for wasting away a few hours, safe in the knowledge that a bent fishing rod is virtually guaranteed at some point during the session.

With no pressure, or expectations, it is the perfect situation in which to simply enjoy the experience of being outdoors. I've taken to playing around with the cameras, just to see if I can capture some images which are a bit different? I've also got a new toy, an intervalometer. Never heard of it? Me neither, until I saw Ollie Davies using one on a Nash Youtube offering. Basically it is an electronic remote timer which plugs into the camera and allows me to record a series of consecutive images without needing to return to the camera. Auto focussing is certainly a huge advantage over the manual option I had to use when doing self-takes prior to this acquisition. It's obviously going to take some practice before I'm completely at ease with the process, yet first impressions seem very favourable.

All going well, I'm hopeful of getting out with the Pike kit before the weekend. Not too sure where, but it would certainly be nice to get the back-biters out of storage and shift some dead baits from the freezer. I can't go a complete Pike season without landing a double - can I?

Sorry state of affairs

Nineteen days into 2023 and I spotted my first Greenfinch of the year. Fortunately it was a spanking adult male feeding, alongside a bunch of Goldies, on one of our sunflower heart feeders in the garden. Less than twenty years ago they were so numerous as to be given little more than a casual glance, how the passing of time has changed my perception. Is there any point in lamenting the situation? What's happened in the past is done and nothing I, or anyone else, do can change that basic fact. I could just have easily used Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer or even Song Thrush to serve as an example of species which have simply disappeared from the local avian demographic, a very sorry state indeed.

My local wildlife fixes have still been able to provide much enjoyment although, lightning couldn't strike twice, as another attempt at Barn Owl photography drew a blank. On the plus side, that particular outing did produce a superb, if distant, adult male Merlin perched in a dead tree overlooking the set-a-side where the owl favours. A pair of Stonechats were flicking about some game cover and I flushed thirty-plus Common Snipe from a flooded field as I wandered around the area.

There's been three different Foxes using our feeding station. It would seem that there is some form of hierarchy as they come to the food individually and are very flighty. Certainly no chance of any of them becoming hand tame going on current behaviour! By using the camera and viewing the subsequent images it is possible to pick out facial patterns which allow me to identify the individuals involved. It would seem that it will become an ongoing project. 

Two, very distinctively marked, individuals which turned up this evening 

Talking of ongoing projects, I bumped into Franny whilst queueing at the Tesco checkout, the other day, and he asked if I would like to get involved with some Thanet moth recording? I think you might know my response, but I did say that I was happy for him to use anything posted on the blog, if he wished. We exchanged email details and have set in place some lose plans for the coming season.

Afternoon delight

A busy day spent catching up with those "just jobs" which have been put off on more than one occassion. As a result the oven looks like new, the fridge got a proper sort out and preparation for a bedroom revamp is well ahead of our weekend schedule. Much the same for tomorrow, all going well, and hopefully more wardrobe sorting prior to the living room being completely cleared in preparation for a visit from the local chimney sweep. Could  get messy? As I wasn't required to pick up Harry, my grandson, from school this afternoon, I decided to take a short stroll around the farm reservoirs in the hope of spotting the Barn Owl which I've recorded on three, of the past four, sessions down at the venue. 

I had little more than an hour of daylight remaining, as I parked the van and grabbed the camera. A lovely winter's afternoon, the heavy, overnight, frost remaining in the lea of the hedgerows where the sun had failed to reach. It was very satisfying to spot the owl, flying along an adjacent field margin, just before 16.00 hrs and I was grateful for the camera technology being able to function, so well, in the fading light. 

Not much else to report, although a calling male Grey Partridge was another addition to my meagre year list. With the weather forecast to remain very cold all week, I probably won't get the rods out again until after the weekend?

Utter madness

Not sure that it was ever in doubt? Yet today's escapades must confirm, once and for all, that I ain't too tightly wrapped! The forecast was for gale force NE winds, heavy rain and plummeting temperatures, so absolutely perfect for a session, at the farm reservoir, after the Carp - NOT !! Thankfully it is possible to get the van very close to the swims, thus getting set-up isn't a major trauma. Being well prepared, I had the Groundhog brolly in situ before getting the rest of my kit to the chosen swim. The weather gods must have taken pity on me as I was able to get both rods fishing before any heavy rain started to fall. It was Matt Hayes centrepins on the Duncan Kay's today, ably assisted by the Nash "Bushwhacker" baiting pole. My previous three sessions have seen me using my Okuma CBBF 5000's which, I must admit, have performed very well.

Baits in the water before 07.25 hrs, it was just ten minutes later that I missed the only bite of the session! I remained on the bank until mid-day, why? Despite the foul conditions, it was quite an enjoyable session due to the shelter provided by the Groundhog, plenty of clothing and a flask of coffee. I even managed to add another four species to my self-found list which was most surprising. Stock Dove and Common Snipe should have already been ticked, yet a pair of Goosander was unexpected and the adult Kittiwake, which was spotted swimming around the pond, completely surreal. Sadly, this bird was not in good health and had died before I left the venue. Bird Flu?

The very sorry looking adult Kittiwake

Huge numbers of Lapwings were on the flooded fields, surrounding the fishery, along with a good number of Curlew, assorted Gulls and a lone Redshank. As is so typical of any winter session, a Robin was in close attendance looking for scraps right under the rods. So close that my long lens was unable to focus and I had to use the 18-55mm option in order to get any images.

Not too much else to report, from a fishing perspective. The nocturnal feeding stations continue to provide entertainment. A vixen is now a regular visitor, although there is no pattern to the time when she comes to the garden. A lone Hedgehog was seen, at the fox bowl, a few nights ago which, on looking at my photos, had quite a large infestation of ticks. Although I've not seen it since, I'm hopeful that should it return I will be able to capture it and get it to a local charity where they will treat the animal, for these blood sucking parasites, before releasing back into the wild.

Ticks are visible just beneath the ear and there were many more on the other side.

Unexpected twists and influences

 It was over fifty years ago when I caught my very first Carp. A small Common from Pixie's Mere, just outside Hemel Hempstead, taken whilst, overnight, fishing for Tench using a bicycle lamp to illuminate the Porcupine quill which provided my bite indication. I don't remember too much about the fish but it must have made enough of an impression for me to place it in my keepnet and show it to my mates next morning. Two or three pounds, max, it was certainly a novelty to see such a fish at that time - the early 1970's!

8th November 1983 - 21 lbs 9 oz of Stanborough magic

I'm fairly sure that I've blogged previously about how fortunate I feel to have avoided the rise to mainstream angling dominance by Carp and their pursuit. I spent little more than a single winter, 1983/4, during which time Carp became my target as I strove to capture a fish in the twenty-five pound bracket. I failed in that particular quest, ending the campaign with a very laudable PB weight of 23 lbs 14 oz backed up by sixteen other doubles which included another four fish in excess of that magical "twenty" pound barrier. Serious Carp fishing for the period.

25th February 1984 - 23 lbs 14 oz 
 My Stanborough project came to an end with this fish.

Fast forward forty years and how things have evolved? Certainly far in excess of anything imaginable way back in those halcyon days of Tring Tench, Claydon Catfish, Fenland Pike & Zander and Hampshire Avon Barbel. The modern Carp scene is as far removed from my own angling as to be an alien pastime. Under no circumstances am I condemning those folk who glean huge enjoyment from their own involvement in this modern circus but, as I rapidly approach seventy years on this planet, it doesn't do it for me. 

23rd April 2017 - 23 lbs 5 oz of RMC, split cane caught, fun.

Then, just as I'm settled in my comfortable angling niche, along comes social media to completely upset the apple cart! Whilst I am captivated by the story telling prowess of Terry Hearn, gain enjoyment from the utter carnage portrayed by the guys at Ridge Monkey, Korda and Nash, it is young Alfie Russel who fires my imagination with his off the beaten track escapades. Great entertainment, some of the content is hugely educational but, by and large, certainly aimed at the mainstream Carp angling brigade. The best I can offer is being on the outside, looking in. 

July 2022 - fun fishing, pure and simple. A "scamp" off the surface
using a split cane Avon Mk IV and Match Aerial centrepin.

Then completely out of the blue I find myself watching a Nash podcast in which Dan Yeomans, a Nash employee, tells his story about the pursuit of a very special Carp which he eventually managed to coax into his landing net. What struck me about Dan's podcast wasn't how he achieved his goal but, far more interestingly, his mentality behind the journey. He described the campaign as "his personal Everest" and it certainly resonated with my own thoughts about projects I undertake. 

3rd August 2021 - 22 lbs 3 oz
Quite probably the finest Carp I've ever captured?

With this past season being an almost total write-off, I'm already looking forward to pressing the re-start button and seeking new challenges. Given the wealth of Carp angling potential around my part of East Kent, there's a few avenues which might be worthy of exploration?