Sebastian, Nemo, frogs and winning

Well readers – since we last spoke I’ve been out at a couple of  trout fisheries attempting to develop my fly fishing skills beyond beginner stage 🙂  Although I’m now successful in catching fish most of the time, I’ve never landed one on my own, always needing help with getting the net under the fish in the water. It always seems like you need 3 hands to do this??  I had never taken the hook out of the fishes mouth myself so now was the time to start! Rob had been tutoring me in a method of fly fishing that is slightly worryingly called the “booby method” which entails the use of a fly made with a little foam head that floats well on the surface and then little buzzer flies and nymphs that hang lower in the water. So, lots to learn this year!   

I did think, prior to taking up fishing, that discussing weight, size and numbers of fish caught was a male orientated activity and not one a woman would be drawn into. But last week,  on a particular pool, the unusual situation arose where I had caught three fish and Rob only one. I noticed a small but highly competitive spark leap across my brain and the unspoken contest commenced. The goal? To catch the bag limit of four fish before my husband did. 

The owner of the fishery passed by me on his way to tend to the specimen fowl in the aviaries nearby. He cordially enquired how I was doing and on hearing the “good news”  passed comment that catching more fish than my husband was not good for the “marital relationship”. However, I was sure it would be good for character building (husband’s of course!). 

It wasn’t long before the old adage “pride comes before a fall” was needed as husband bagged his fourth fish before I did, so now it all depended on the weigh in. Last year as a beginner, I was happy to catch nothing as I enjoyed learning the new skill and being out of doors.  Now the competition was definitely on and all noble thoughts of the previous season flown away.

My next catch was a cute little crayfish but more of him later. Once my fourth fish was landed, we walked nonchalantly back to the hut where the weighing scales were beckoning. I can report I had the greatest total weight (by a couple of ounces) – 8lb 2ozs – and one of my fish was heavier than any of Rob’s, weighing in at 2.75 lbs but he won the contest by telling me how proud he was of me 😉

You may be wondering about the crayfish which resembled a small lobster. A few weeks previously, at a fishery in Woolaston near the Rivers Severn and Wye , I caught a frog on my fishing line which was definitely unintentional and probably the most unsavoury fishing  experience I’ve had so far! This incident definitely needed the intervention of a husband to detach the frog carefully from the hook and return it to the pool. Catching a crayfish was also unintentional but quite interesting as it resembled Sebastian, the cute little lobster in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”. My youngest daughter spent many hours as a young child repetitively watching the film before progressing to become a Disney princess fan. The songs hung around in my brain for many months as any parent of young children will no doubt identify with! I have another daughter with a talent for performing condensed versions of animated movies with all the voices and key quotes. “Finding Nemo” is her best! So I had a soft spot for the little crayfish. which was about as big as my hand. Taking a cloth from my bag I gently held him while I removed the hook. Trying to place him back quickly in the pool, I found the little fella was clinging onto the grass for dear life with his pincers and lots of little legs!! I finally wrestled him free and returned him to the pool still clutching grass to his chest. I do hope he forgives me soon!!