THE JOY OF FISHING
WITH MARTIN BOWLER
If you don’t enjoy yourself, what on Earth is the point? It should be all about you and the fish, never mind what anyone else is doing…
WHAT do I love the most about my fishing? A wealth of venues, a wide variety of species and ever-present challenges make it special, and ensure I never get bored. With so much to do, as long as I have a rod in my hand I’m happy!
Unlike carp or barbeI fanatics, I couldn’t ever limit myself to just the one species. That’s no surprise, given that I was so strongly influenced by John Wilson, and it’s a great shame more anglers aren’t all-rounders.
So, with a range of options at my disposal for the week, what would I pick first? The choice might surprise you!
I’m no different to anyone else, in that a big fish is always welcome, but I’m also a sucker for a bite – which is why pleasure fishing fascinates me.
The thought of the quivertip pulling round on a local venue was appealing, and although I knew I wouldn't catch any specimens, just practising the art of fishing was my idea of the perfect afternoon.
The kit I chose was headed up by a classic Tricast 4x4 rod with a 1½oz tip, enough to combat any tow. Eight-pound mainline would carry a lead and paternoster set-up, with a size 14 to a 5lb hooklength. On to this would go a dendra worm and red maggot cocktail. Without a feeder it’d be far easier to cast accurately in the crosswind, and to feed I’d use a Dot Spod, starting with four payloads and occasionally sending another one out to keep the swim topped up.
Inside would be red maggots, chopped dendrobaenas and some Scopex squid pellets soaked in Nash Wormcell – a right old combination, I grant you, but one I hoped the bream would find appealing. The key would be accuracy, and for this I’d rely on a hybrid approach, using wrap sticks to ensure the end tackle landed in the same place every time. I’d use the line clip on both rods, as well as a Sensas marker pen on the quivertip should I need to unclip when hooking fish A bit of a chore, yes, but definitely worth the effort because ‘chuck it and chance it’ rarely pays off.
I didn’t expect a bite quickly, and nor did I get it, but sitting in the sun rather than the rain for a change was reward enough.
Distracted by the natural world around me, I have to admit I missed the first bite – the rod hooped round and the fish was already hooked before I noticed!
Fortunately, that didn’t matter and the rod bent to the will of a 5lb bream – not a big fish and not a spectacular fight, but a great indicator of sport to come, because bream don’t move around on their own. Many line bites confirmed this, and I had to be careful not to strike randomly. The old
