November Fishing Blog
November Fishing Blog
It has been a shitty month or so in the angling world in my opinion hence the lack of updates, it was with a massively heavy heart that I took the news that Coarse Angling Today was to stop after 15 years, it was no longer a viable commercial proposition. This is just so very sad and is a reflection of the times and to some extent I am to blame, not as an individual of course but as a general “mindset”.
Everyone and their three legged horse has access to the internet and with that has come a deluge of free fishing based information, nobody need ever go into a newsagents again and buy a hard copy of any magazine any longer when almost every decent angler and quite a few fuckwits have their own little websites churning out free info like it is going out of fashion.
The loss of CAT cannot in my opinion be overstated, it was with CAT after I read a piece by the late James Holgate that I decided to try my hand at writing something fishing based for the first time instead of just cutting letters out of the newspaper and prit-sticking them into some semblance of order as a means of making a few quid and having a laugh along the way.
Once I took possession of that first cheque from CAT , I put away the round edged scissors and hard white glue for a life as an occasional angling journalist with a big mouth and strong opinions, I see no point in moderating opinions.
From there I began writing for the local Angling Star, I also did a couple of articles for the Midland Angler as well as a single short clip for the ill-fated Northern Angler as well as a few bits in The Anglers mail with Alain Urrity and then Fishingmagic.com when it was still being run by the legend that is Graham Marsden. I suppose all in all I have done a good few hundred thousand words that have paid me money.
And that is the killer, somebody has to pay, money is money,it doesn’t grow on money tree’s (which is an important life lesson I wish could be taught in schools all over the world) and when Joe Bloggs opens up a web page ( like this) that costs almost nothing in comparison , the negative aspects of the market force compounded by human nature means that the inevitable will happen at some point or other.
Only one will be left standing at the end of the day.
But it is also my opinion that as with all things as one day closes another one begins, it is my opinion that something like CAT will re-emerge at some point because there is something about print that is timeless and from the ashes of that once great title will rise up a phoenix.
In the meantime whilst I am waiting I will admire my CAT Trophy I won for the second time last year with the CSG, raise a glass and wish all involved the very best of luck!!
Back to where it all began
Work has been very demanding of late with a lot of extra shifts and hours put in, so when the oportunity came to grab a swift hour or two up on the Flask I jumped at the chance to get out and try my hand at using a 5 foot rod and a multiplier reel to lob out some bits of wood and plastic at some hopefully willing pike. The Coarse fishing equivalent of fly-fishing for trout, in so much as it could be so very much bloody easier using proper bloody reels that work in a less demonic and user unfriendly manner!
It is my opinion all multiplier reels should be categorised as either “Snow” “Sand” “Rivers” ” Pyke” “Stone” and so on a so forth, only Game of Thrones fans will understand immediately what I mean by this but for those that don’t I will explain.
Multiplier reels are “bastards” and nothing more.
Everything has to be considered when dealing with “bastards”, the drum has to be thumbed, the cast has to be smooth and in my opinion a little slower than normal, in short, they are a lot of hard work to get along with, hence the reason I have on occasion dropped my lure set-up in the mud and screamed ” For the Watch!” at it.
Kelham Hall
I was once again at the Nottingham Piscatorial annual “do” at Kelham Hall and the attendees was a “who’s who” of the Trent’s good and great and me
Tommy Pickering and Terry “Theo” Theobald did the honours with the talks and very good they were too. Kelham Hall is a stunning venue and one I would love to do at some point in time, whether or not they would have me talking bollocks for an hour is a different thing altogether!
I was a little bit forwards and took a collection bucket for the USforIwan charity that I am supporting and with Tommy’s introduction and Jerry Gleeson’s rattling skills almost £200.00 was raised for an exellent charity and Notts Piscatorials can be duly proud of themselves.
Jerry and myself will be organising a fishing social and fundraiser on the Trent for the very near future and tickets will be £25 a pop which is bugger all in the grand scheme of things.
For anyone that missed Jerry’s bucket rattling here is the just giving link for Iwan Clarke
Down on the meadow
The butterfly season has come to an end, I don’t think I will see anything else now till next February or March, the last butterfly I saw last year on my meadow was a Clouded Yellow, a very nice migrant and one that was a real “find”
This year the last butterfly I saw was a Speckled Wood and the only butterfly I have missed this year on my patch has been the Small Heath…Fingers crossed for next year!!
The spiders have also disappeared for the most part…I suppose they have done a Charlotte and died on me but thier eggs will be hidden away and next Spring I will be surrounded by little orb weavers of numerous types
This one has been my own personal “charlotte” her web was in among the thistles and every day or so I fed her a cricket , she ended up grotesquely fat and possible the biggest Quadratus spider in the UK.
people get all messed up when it comes to spiders, they get irational and start fucking around with indoor footwear and rolled up newspapers…calm the hell down!!
Yes, we do have a few “biters” in the UK ( 7 I think) but none and I repeat none of them including the false widow are a serious threa unless we are either unlucky or downright stupid. for 99.99999% of the time if we leave them alone they will leave us alone and carry on doing a fantastic job of keeping the numbers of disease carrying flies down
I can never for the life of me work out why some people think they have to kill everything with eight legs!
Another wied little creature I found on the meadow was a bright orange Shield Bug, I think it was probably freshly emerged into it’s final instar but I am not sure…it may just be a radioactive mutant!
And finally….Come and see my talk!!!
I will be doing a barbel based talk at Woodseats Working Men’s Club, I have never done a show in my home town and if I am honest I am bricking it but is will be a good night, there are lots of prizes up for grabs!!
TOP SPECIMEN ANGLER, LEE SWORDS, WILL BE GIVING A TALK WITH ADVICE ON FISHING FOR BARBEL, CHUB AND OTHER SPECIES ON LOCAL WATERS INCLUDING THE RIVER TRENT, DON AND OTHERS.
LEE WILL SHOW YOU TECHNIQUES RIGS AND TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR CATCH RATE
…plus Tackle stalls, bring and buy and giant raffle…
FREE ENTRY!!
Woodseats working mens club, The dale, S8 0PS
Thursday 19th Nov 7.00pm…everyone welcome!
PLEASE SHARE ON FACEBOOK ..ITS FOR A GOOD CAUSE AND ALL MONEY RAISED WILL GO TO THE USforIwan FUND ON THE NIGHT..
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