Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Widening and strengthening the<br />
north bank in preparation for the<br />
new otter-proof fencing.<br />
in fact in more recent times we’ve even held<br />
a wedding reception at Springwood for my<br />
long-term � shing pal Phil Marsh. � ese socials<br />
normally kick o� about 7.00 p.m. on the<br />
Saturday evening, and I haven’t known one yet<br />
that’s � nished before 8.00 a.m. the following<br />
morning!! Yes, we love to see the ‘Springwood<br />
Sunrise’, it’s all part of the culture down here!<br />
Mind you, I’m not suggesting for one minute<br />
that there’s any sensible dialogue taking place<br />
by this time!<br />
SURFACE-CAUGHT RIVER 40!<br />
Amongst the hard work and the hangovers,<br />
there has to be some sanity and in April 2004<br />
Lee and I were heading to Belgium for our<br />
annual ‘River Carping’ trip. � e previous year<br />
we managed to � nd a remote part of the river<br />
that we fell in love with, and I have to say,<br />
it’s the most fantastic place we’ve ever � shed.<br />
Not full of big � sh, but there are undoubtedly<br />
some whackers in there, and some of them are<br />
real stunners. I can honestly say that I’m far<br />
happier catching unknown and uncaught 20s<br />
and 30s from a remote stretch of a river than<br />
catching o� en-caught 50s, 60s and 70s from<br />
commercial venues that see relentless pressure<br />
week a� er week.<br />
Another thing that excites me about the<br />
river systems is that they provide a whole<br />
new set of challenges to overcome, and I love<br />
thinking my way around certain problems.<br />
It keeps the old grey matter ticking over.<br />
However, the � rst problem I encountered<br />
on this particular trip was a little bit more<br />
than I could handle. It culminated in a huge,<br />
multi-thousand ton barge picking up all three<br />
of my lines as it charged down the river!! To<br />
be honest, it took me by complete surprise<br />
because I was � shing the deeper midwater<br />
channel of the river, and the barge had to be<br />
carrying an extraordinary amount of cargo<br />
and travelling at quite a speed to pick up the<br />
rigs in that depth. All three Delkims let out an<br />
almighty scream at exactly the same time and<br />
the reel spools were just a complete blur. I � ew<br />
out of my bivvy and literally dived over the<br />
steep, rocky margins and ‘rugby tackled’ the<br />
rods in a fashion that the great Jonah Lomu<br />
Paradise found! A remote<br />
part of the river system and<br />
a place we’ve come to love.<br />
All ready for the 200 tons<br />
of clay to be deposited.<br />
himself would have been proud of ! I managed<br />
to save the rods but decided that it wasn’t<br />
a good idea to try hand-lining the barge, so<br />
I just lay there helplessly as the giant barge<br />
stripped o� all three spools at a rate of knots<br />
– it was frightening really, but worse was still<br />
to come.<br />
A� er the danger had passed I tried to get up<br />
but was met with the most excruciating pain<br />
that I’d ever encountered at the base of my<br />
spine. It was absolute agony and I just couldn’t<br />
move. � ose who su� er with bad backs will<br />
know exactly what I mean – not pleasant.<br />
Fortunately for me, Lee was close at hand,<br />
Life and Carp Life <strong>Mike</strong> <strong>Willmott</strong><br />
27