Sometimes a little light relief from the pressure of catching big fish resets your endorphin clock…
I JUST love my fishing, to the point where I’m happy just to wet a line. It’s no surprise, then, that you could find me anywhere from on a boat in the Atlantic to casting into a commercial pond in deepest Devon, scene of my latest fishing adventure.
Here there was no chance of a fish of a lifetime, but that didn’t matter, because what I wanted was pleasure pure and simple.
I’d made the two-hour trip west with my friend Paul Oughton to South Farm Holiday Cottages, where we’d have a couple of days’ fun on one of their three lakes open to residents – Home, Lower and Upper Ram. All these small venues hold prolific stocks, almost guaranteeing you a bite.
Such places play such an important role in helping to create future anglers. Mum and dad take their kids on holiday and the draw of water is strong for any child, especially next door to their cottage. The temptation to fish is irresistible, and so the parents are nagged until they give it a go. With luck, the odd fish will be hooked and the mobile phone forgotten as another youngster becomes an angler, all set to enjoy a lifetime of pleasure.
There’s no better sight in angling than to watch a family or individual discover fishing , and that’s why I see South Farm and hundreds of other waters like it as places to be celebrated and promoted. Paul and I are pleasure anglers at heart, and were keen to get stuck in.
Home Lake, next door to our accommodation, holds large tench, bream, golden rudd and perch. The obligatory mirrors and commons were there too, but these wouldn’t be our main quarry – we were after the roach, which run to 2lb. Quality silverfish in a lovely location in the Blackdown Hills between Honiton and Cullompton, providing stunning views while we waited for a bite – what was there not to like?
I chose to floatfish, rigging up two 13ft rods with 4lb mainline to cope with any rogue carp!
The insert waggler on both took 4BB, but one was locked in place with float stops and had the bulk weight down the line, while the other had most of its shot around the base and No8s spaced down the mainline to fish on the drop. A size 12 hook on the first rod meant worms would be the bait, while the other would present maggots and casters on a size 18 to search the water column. I plumbed up accurately so that both hookbaits just kissed the lakebed. I intended to fish just one rod at a time, alternating between them to cover all bases. Ideally, that would be roach on the drop and perch on the bottom.
I’d be sitting on a
