The TFF Board Meeting 2014

It was time for the Annual TFF Board Meeting, which is about as far removed from a board meeting as you could possibly imagine. The only discussion about the forum is usually something along these lines….

“Forum’s doing well….”
“Aye….”

And then the tea is poured, the cake is sliced and the fishing commences.

As always it was held at Fernhill Farm in deepest Oxfordshire, a venue central to all of us, with three of us all around 2 hours away it is the fairest way of choosing a location, it just so happens that Nigel is 3 miles away….lucky git.

My June 16th Celebrations...

The glorious 16th June, never meant a lot to me before, just another summer’s day. This year it should have meant so much more having removed myself from coarse angling for 12 weeks, but alas I failed shy of the mark with only 6 of those weeks accomplished. Still something that I’m proud of, as an angler who ‘needs’ to fish and with limited time these days I think I did well lasting that long.

I’d already booked the 16th off work for the occasion so relished the chance to spend a day at my favourite local pool during a quieter week day to see if I could stalk one or two of the lovely carp that reside there. The initial plan was to arrive dead early the hope that one might slip up due to not being fully awake.



I told the wife I was going to be up very early in the morning, to which she suggested I stay at my parents so I didn’t disturb her and Jessica, that worked perfectly for me, I did visit my parents, but grabbed a chunk of crusty bread, some tackle and headed for the pond. I arrived around 8pm in the hope of finding no other anglers, oh how wrong I was.

Lazy Summer Evenings....

Joyous Christenings....

 

Isn't it wonderful using,new kit and catching your first fish on it ? This evening after putting Jessica to bed I left the house and headed for the pool to meet my pal, Steve.

I got there about 7pm and after a chinwag left to bait up a few marginal spots with crust. The rod I was using was the 11ft barbel rod I recently purchased from Mickey and my new Cardinal 66.

An Early Birthday Present...

Due to being a user of fine fishing tackle, rods of cane, vintage reels and nets constructed of ash and bamboo, I tend to lean towards favouring those smaller, more secluded pools. Reed fringed, tree lined havens with lily pads to place my quill beside and deep margins eliminating the need to cast too far. This does not make me a lazy angler, no, quite the opposite. So, with all that in mind, you can begin to realise that having a 15 acre windswept lake on my doorstep really isn’t much use at all.

Yes, its large stock of mediocre sized carp can be fun on light gear, at the right time of year you can employ various methods to catch them, but there are only so many 5lb carp one can catch before feeling the desire to catch something else, something bigger, maybe something prettier. I always knew there were other species in the lake, but with so many pitches to choose from it always seemed such a daunting affair. The smaller pools giving me the feeling I’m never too far away from my target fish.