2009........Phew!! "Happy New Year"

It's been a very long time since I updated my blog, but I am determined that I will regularly post in 2010. What can I say about 2009, other than that on a personal level, it has been very challenging, and I found myself job hunting twice in the space of the last year. I consider myself one of the lucky ones, and recently started working again. This time I am working nights, which is something I am still getting used to, and I have stepped away from supervisory positions which will better meet my family needs.

"Little Allers Lake"

So what has been happening on the fishing front in 2009. Well with a few months being idle, apart from the almost full-time job of filling in application forms, I have taken up coarse fishing for the first time in 40 years of fishing. I mainly fished a local lake known as "Little Allers", and I have to say that my focus has been on Carp, where I enjoyed taking them off the top using the usual methods of dog biscuits and floater cake, taking my biggest of 15lb 2oz using my lure fishing gear and 6lb line. That was my PB so far, not big by Carp standards but good sport on such light gear. Unfortunately it was one of those situations where I didn't have my camera with me, but did have my newly purchased Berkley digital scales. I also had a dabble with my 8 weight fly rod that I use for my sea fly-fishing, taking them up to about 8 1/2 lbs, which is the picture below. I used a dog-biscuit deer hair imitation; this coming year I will have a go with traditional dry flies and attempt to stalk a fish out with this method, as I saw fish feeding in this manner on occasions.

PB Carp on the fly

So what does 2010 have in store? Well having started coarse fishing, I will continue in this vain alongside my sea angling, and intend to turn my attention to attempting to catch a Pike. Down here in the South West I gather I have limited places to try, Exeter canal apparently being my nearest venue as far as I can tell. I look on the blogs and webites of others, (have a look at my favourite blogs list) to further my knowledge in this area, looking at the techniques that they find successful. I will continue to pursue my lure fishing for bass, something I became addicted to, and have read of some good catches being made in the middle of winter on the north Cornwall coast, on Henry Gilbey's website, with this area of coastline being within striking distance for me. I would also like to get more involved in enabling less able individuals to go fishing. I have worked in the care sector since 2003 and have taken many people fishing, who face various challenges and seen the therapeutic benefits of this to everyone who gave it it a try. Below is a picture of an individual that I supported to go fishing a few times in 2009. He was a keen all-round angler before an accident some 10 years ago which affected his mobility. I think the broad smile on his face after catching a nice "school bass" from a local estuary mark says it all.

"Got one"