| March
2005
Thursday
the 4th
It
was a lovely day in Berwick with Blue skies and light winds.
The
blizzard started just before I got to Kelso!
Mind
you it had stopped at Jedburgh and the sun was back out.
Reflecting
off an inch of snow it made for a very bright day indeed.
The
water though was slightly coloured with that greyyyy-green
tinge of snow melt.
My
feet were just starting to disappear about thigh deep so hopes
were high.
I
started in one of my best spots so I felt confident.
I
never had a take.
Now
those of you who know me will be laughing now. (He hates blanks!
you will be saying!)
Well
funny enough this was not so bad.
I
had had a laugh at the footprints I made in the snow coming
across the large field.
I
trail my wading stick at my side and the marks I hade made
brought back memories of some comments my friend Paul Buchanan
made a lot of years ago.
Looking
at the back at the marks I said
in a North American Indian
Accent
..
Two
men come this way.".... "One of them on Bicycle
Ha
Ha Ha
I
know simple things please
.
Later
on in the day I was sitting on the river-bank in the snow
eating a biscuit.
After
only a minute or so I could feel the warmth of the sun on
my neck and I knew then that Spring was just around the corner.
Roll
on the TROOTS!
I
fished the Bugs and the Duo but not a take. Not a single thing
stirred, not a fly, not a fish hardly even a bird. I liked
the Duo. It was nice to be casting again instead of just lobbing.
And
I did enjoy just getting out again.
No
fish but just great to be back on the river after almost three
weeks.
I
must be getting soft in my old age.
I
will be taking a zimmer instead of a wading stick shortly..........................
.
.
.
.
.
"Five
men come this way."...."Four on Pogo Sticks!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Thursday
the 10th
Apparently
it's a fact that if you CAN swim you have more chance of drowning
than if you CANNOT swim.
Strange
but true!
How
does that work?
Well
if you are a non swimmer you keep well clear of water.
Whereas
if you can swim you take more risks with water.
It's
the same with 4WD vehicles.
(He's
gone! He's finally lost it!)
No
it's like this. If you have got a 4WD and there is a track
you go down it.
If
you have an ordinary car you park somewhere sensible.
Yes
I got stuck
I
have parked down this track a good number of times over the
last few winters.
No
Problems. Mind you with hindsight it has nearly always been
frosty
.
I
usually turn the thing around at the bottom so if it is dark
when I get back it's a straight run out.
Now
I don't have a Discovery anymore but it's still a 4WD.
Being
a single track, track so to speak I just pull the nose off
and do a 4 or 5 point turn.
An
hour and half later with skinned knuckles, mud everywhere,
bits of broken branches under the wheels, the car mats ruined
and two gallon of sweat lost I had not completed the second
of the 4 or 5.
I
went to look for a tractor.
An
hour or so later a very kind gentleman got me turned round
and I slipped him a Tenner.
He
did not want it but it made ME feel better.
Mind
you at that moment it did not take a lot.
It
was now after one but I had to go fishing if only to clean
the waders off.
Half
an hour after the first cast I was just silently saying to
myself that it was just not my day and
. Oh No
not two
blanks in a row
.
The
rod just went right over.
A
lovely 46 cm female fish. Fantastic looking with a slim but
not thin body.
It
had taken a small Baetis Nymph (Edwards)
Quick
get the new Sony underwater camera out.
****^&&****!!!!!
250
quid's worth and the batteries are flat!
Mind
you I would rather have flat batteries than a blank!.....
so there
Well
I fished another couple of hours and had one more fish about
38 cm.
It
had risen about twenty yards below me and took the nymph just
about when I reached that spot.
So
no signs of any Grayling shoaling up for spawning yet so I
might get one more day in next week before turning to the
troots.
Ah
well a day to remember.
I
think?
Life
is a learning curve but should it still be so steep at my
age?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday
the 16th
The
item below is taken from the Newcastle Journal.
Apologies
to them if I am not allowed to do this.
It's
not my usual type of thing but I hope it may be of interest.
Hardys
take over Chub in £2m deal Mar 16 2005
By Guy Anderson, The Journal
Fishing tackle company Hardys & Greys has acquired
a rival group in a deal worth almost £2m and which
will add £3m to sales.
The buyout of Essex carp and game fishing equipment specialist
Chub Leisure will help the Alnwick-based business drive
turnover to £20m next year, up from £10m in
2003.
It is the first acquisition since the firm formerly known
as House of Hardy - a supplier of rods and reels to Royalty
for 131 years - took over game and sea fishing company
Greys in 1999 and rebranded itself as Hardys & Greys.
Richard Sanderson, the managing director who has revived
the fortunes of the group since taking over in 2003, said:
"The purchase of Chub means we are now in a position to
do battle with the major angling companies in Europe and
the United States. That gives Hardys & Greys a new
lease of life."
Taking over Chub - which turned over £3m last year
- marks the continuation of a remarkable turnaround for
the group.
Hardys returned its first profit since 1998 last year,
and recently started recruiting staff again after axing
a third of its workforce 18 months ago. Stiff competition
from cheaper competitors took its toll, with the payroll
cut from 100 to 70 in October 2003.
The company has looked internationally to improve turnover,
with a 26pc jump in sales outside the UK last year. New
product lines were introduced to aggressively target the
United States, where revenues reached £3m in 2003.
The acquisition of Chub - which specialises in fishing
accessories from bags to rods and reels - will strengthen
the group's position internationally. Mr Sanderson said:
"Hardys & Greys has experienced a phenomenal turnaround
in the last three years, almost doubling in size. We have
achieved this by refocusing the business on new product
development and investing heavily in our sales and marketing
activities."
Hardys says it wants to retain Chub's strong market position,
but the business will trade as a division of Hardys &
Greys.
Chub was founded in Braintree, Essex, in 1997 by brothers
Jonathon and Mark f*gg. The company's sales and marketing
staff have relocated to Alnwick, while the f*gg brothers
will continue to work as consultants.
Mr Sanderson said: "Chub has built a very strong brand
and reputation for specialist coarse and carp tackle and
is well-known for its innovation - as its Hardys &
Greys - so the purchase brings with it a number of important
synergies."
It was not clear yesterday whether any jobs would be lost
at Chub.
|
| |
Sunday
the 20th
Bessy
Beck.
I
am off to try Bessy Beck I said to Margaret.
What!!!!!!!
Its
a Fishery darling not a..................
No
I wont go any farther with that.
A
small stillwater in the Lake District.
Jeremy
Lucas had invited me to fish in a three man team for the Airflo
Bank Open so I decided to have a recce.
I
have managed to persuade Dave Downie to join as the third
member of the Team and this has pleased Jeremy no end.
My
suggestion for the Team Name is "One Bowl Short!"
If
you can guess why put your answer in an e-mail.
Clue
No.1 Brown
Clue
No. 2 I haven't got one.
Further
clues are available on request.
Any
way my self and Jeremy fished on the first really warm spring
day. The sun shone all day and we both caught around the ten
fish mark.
I
had a fish first cast and I thought this is going to be easy
but we both had to work hard and it turned out to be a very
pleasant day.
Thursday
the 24th
The
Tyne at Haddington.
That's
the Haddington and the River that is near Edinburgh.
A
lovely little river.
An
8'0" Rod and 4 weight line kind of river.
I
caught nothing but I had some long walks and a good drive
around to get the lay
of
the land.
The
water was in great nick and the few stones I turned over had
lots of life on them. A lot of cased and free living caddis
as well as stoneclingers and Baetis type nymphs.
I
did also see two enormous flies flying around which looked
for all the world like Mayflies.
That's
E Danica type of mayfly but as they were silhouetted against
a very bright sky I could not be sure exactly what they were.
Not
that I would expect Mayflies in March on the Tyne!
And
I am not an expert.
Just
a bit of a dabbler.
Could
have been March Browns which you would obviously expect at
this time of year. However I am not familiar with this river
and I do not know if it even has any March Browns. The flies
I saw still looked bigger and chunkier than those we have
on the Tweed and Teviot.
This
river is supposed to be very good in the summer evenings so
I hope to be able to give a few more reports throughout the
year.
If
anybody out there knows the water and would like to share
info or arrange a trip please give me a shout.
See
you next month.
Margaret
& Robbie Bell
Game Fair
12 Marygate
Berwick upon Tweed
Northumberland
TD15 1BN
Telephone:
01289 305119
E.Mail:
robbie@gamefair-flyfishing.net
|
