Some (re)starting tackle

Not having a rod was a bit of a limiting factor for doing any fishing so we went to Dave's Tackle in Fakenham, Norfolk to take a look and see how much a small rod and reel would cost. Rob Parnell, the owner, was very helpful and recommended a short 8ft spinning rod and reel which the kids could handle. We said we were most likely just going for roach in the broads so he kitted us up with a small landing net, set of floats for trotting, weights etc. He threw in some mono filament line 5-6lbs main line and 3-4lbs hook link - I was surprised at how heavy this was having been used to 1.5lbs hook link and 4lbs main line as a kid but it seemed to be the right stuff given the range of fish and snags. A pack of size 18 barb-less hooks, bait-box and rod license (bought on line) and I was good to go. All in the kit cost me about 100 UKP - which is comparable to what it cost back when I was 13, given the intervening inflation, this is a lot cheaper now. Compared to my first glass fibre 12foot float rod, this spinning rod and reel weighed almost nothing, again the progress of composite materials technology being evident.

A holiday and unexpected fishing adventure

So we recently returned from a two week family holiday to Norfolk. This is very reminiscent of a similar trip over twenty-five years ago with my parents and siblings. Back then, I was just starting fishing and really did not know what I was doing. Back then, we had a house boat which we ran up and down the broads. I think for the whole holiday I caught perhaps two small roach (I was restricted to using bread as bait).

This time out, I was the 'adult' and I took the kids age 4 and 5 to the bank a couple of times. It was surprising how they really took to handling the bait (maggots), chucking it out, casting the rod etc. Still, there attention span was too short to really sit around for an hour. Their first bash at fishing was two years ago when we went to Devon on holiday and we took the kids to Tavistock Trout Fishery. They had a nice children's pond full of eager rainbow trout and the kids bagged some one and a half pound trout which we ate. It really was a case of cast in and pull them out though - still good fun for all.

Fast-forward two years to the summer holiday in Norfolk and I took my fishing jacket with me just in case we got 'a chance' to do a spot of fishing. And boy was I not disappointed...

Welcome and musing on the passing of time

I've created this blog to keep an electronic diary of my fishing trips. It has been probably nearly 18 years since I last fished regularly (as a kid) and it is interesting to see how the world of fishing has moved on. Most markedly, equipment is a lot cheaper or at least a lot more affordable. A summer of stacking shelves to buy a new rod is no more. Also, it surprises me that much of my fishing craft has not been lost, I still know how to tie a four turn double tucked blood knot! One trend I recall starting myself when I was just finishing fishing was moving towards using barb-less hooks - this seems to be mandatory on most commercial waters which is no bad thing all in all. Also, the 'banning' of keep nets on many of these waters is interesting and also probably better for the fish.