CHAPTER 7 - A LESSON LEARNED

When the first breath of Spring called the trees to waken from their wintry graves, and the beauty of nature is re-born, I woke and set off on my usual early morning Spring walks through fields of rippling, green grass down tiny, twisting shady lanes, away from the rigours and displeasures of town-life. The beauty I experience on that walk, the incredible morning light, early morning air cold no more, birds singing and abounding with their usual busy-ness as the joys of their house building is filling the air with sweet songs of happiness. How happy I felt embracing such natural magic!

The signs of the coming Spring are many, but the birds are the noblest sign that winter has cast off its weary droll shadow and allowed the Sun to reign again over the incredible beauty that is our Earth. Trees too, with their green magnificence give me great pleasure, for they too are beautiful, as they spread their coming summer hoods across the beautiful world that we live in.

On one recent walk I was overtaken by some fast-pedalling young lads, presumably out to sample the warmer weather, not a hundred yards from my favourite lake. I saw them turn into the gateway and heard cries of joy as they cast their eyes on the magnificence of a lake in the early Spring morning. This silver sheet nestled amidst the greenest of tall trees, was surrounded by a twisting path which wound its way around every aspect of the lake. Bikes were soon thrown into the grass and the boys dashed to the lakeside.

When I arrived at the lake, I observed their actions from the gate. They stealthily made their way along the tiny path watching every inch of water, prodding life here and there as they investigated everything that seemed interesting. I was pleased to be able to witness scenes like these in modern times, remembering well the days when I first savoured these delights as a youngster keen to fish.

“Look at that swirl in the weeds, Tommy. Must be a pike,” said Bob.

“Yeah, the lake is full of them, and they are eating the little tenches. I’ve seen ‘undreds of em in the last few years, and they’re a pesky nuisance”.

Minutes passed and more ground was covered until they arrived at a patch of growing lilies, not yet breaching the surface. As they approached the lilies their movements became much more calculated and it seemed they were looking for something, perhaps something special that they had seen before!

“Quick Bob, I can see a black thing lurking in the middle of the pads about five feet away. It’s got its fin sticking out of the water. I think it’s that bream from last year. Let’s see if we can get it onto the bank,” said Tommy.

The next couple of minutes were spent carefully positioning their landing net, under the stomach of the dark shape so that it could be yanked out. Within seconds the fish had been thrown onto the bank, and I could see from the way the net handle was bending that it was a big fish!

“Cor, ‘ell. I’ve never sin anything like it in me life. It’s gruesome.”

“Look out, it’s leaping all over the place, ‘old it down Bob”.

Meanwhile, I appeared on the scene and cast my eyes on a beautiful, armoured knight, its chain mail beautifully wrapped around the body of this beautiful creature, lying helplessly, gasping in innocence. I picked up the fish and returned it to the water as the boys looked on in stunned amazement!

I told them it was a common carp of about eight pounds, and that it was wrong of them to heave it out of the water in the way they did. They looked down at the ground and seemed upset. I told them that they should have been content to watch it from the bankside, but like all youngsters, it was a real opportunity for them to look closely at one of the great creatures from underneath the lake’s surface and is rarely seen lying on the grass!

From the expressions on their faces, it was obvious they felt sorry and were full of remorse, but happy that the carp swam away. I understood their actions and knew they had never seen anything like it before and couldn’t resist the chance to have a look at it on the bank. They did what any young lads would do under the circumstances, not knowing the harm they could have done. They had clearly not seen me!

We talked about carp for some time, their faces poised in silence absorbing everything I said. Most of what I said to them interested them and in some way, and I could see they were overwhelmed. I could see that they had a love of nature and the countryside, and they claimed that it was now their intention to catch a fish with proper gear, vowing to meet me there some time when they had got their kit together.

“We saw some chaps fishin’ ‘ere a few months back. They were after carp, but when we edged our way around to where they were fishin’, they swore at us and threw some brown stuff that smelled like dog poo at Tommy. The only thing we could think of to get our own back was to cheek ‘em and get ‘em riled. They ran after us, and we got the ‘ell out of there. To tell yer the truth gov, we’ve bin scared to come here ever since, in case we see ‘em again”.

I knew they had met a couple of regular carp anglers who never seemed to get a run and spent all the time making a nuisance of themselves as though they owned the lake, and the thought of offering a couple of keen youngsters some guidance was beyond them!

My next visit to the lake was sooner than I expected and coincided with the first visit by the lads I had met previously. We shook hands and they showed me their new rods and carp gear. What they had acquired was excellent and they could now begin to fish with a reasonable chance of catching carp.

“We’ll set up a few swims from you in case we prevent you from getting a run,” said Tommy.

There was greatness in those words. Of course, I would have nothing of the sort, and I watched as they set up next to me.

Within half an hour we had positioned our gear and were all set to begin the session. My set-up has been called many things and by the look on their faces I was in for some advanced vocabulary! “What the bloody ‘ell is that for. I’ve never seen anything like it. What’s that black thing”?

“It’s a buzzer”, there is one for each rod. Move that antenna across gently and it will buzz”.

Bob moved the antenna across and was amazed to meet the sound of a loud, deep buzz. I explained that I had also adapted a stereo extension, so I could hear the alarm if I was a little bit away from it, and when I settled down for the night, I could put the receiver in my bivvy.

All this was new to the lads, and I was sure they would never forget any of the gimmicks of a modern-day carp angler! I knew from their attitude that they would never forget those few moments of introduction to my angling gear.

All that happened some time ago, and on my last visit to the lake I was pleased to walk around to where two very ardent carp anglers were set up, the boys I had met before! A pair of twelve-footers, Mitchell 410 reels, bivvy tents, buzzers and all the gear needed by a carp fisherman. I passed the time of day, talked of recent experiences and even got some advice. When it was time for me to cast my rods, I said goodbye and walked back to my swim.

I know that similar meetings take place all over the country each summer, and as a result boys become men and the men become not only general coarse anglers, but often carp anglers. I know a great many people who have gone to great lengths to ensure that they give prudent advice to young, budding anglers, to ensure that they receive the right messages about fishing etiquette. I also know a few who consider young lads to be a pain in the neck when they visit a lake.

I hope some of these people will change their attitude in future, as the right approach to young anglers is important for the future of the sport.