Well that was 2011

2011 was a little bit of a strange year for me with too much work and not enough fishing time.

My fishing time seemed to be mostly limited to my holidays with a couple of “days off” thrown in.

The return back to Yorkshire had re-kindled my love of fly-fishing and my trotting sessions this year have made this method a very close second.

One big mistake for me was to book a 2-week holiday at one of these “angling holiday complex sites”. I had chosen to visit a well known one rear Newquay in Cornwall. 
Yes the idea of having 13 well stocked lakes to choose from sounded ideal, but the reality was that most of the lakes were regularly closed to the holidaymakers to allow for private fishing competitions and festivals.

It may be that I have been spoiled by having so many well-run fisheries close to my home, or maybe I was a little blind to the fact that some fisheries are only about the money and not the quality of the experience.

Some of the lakes were so over stocked that it was possible to get the carp to eat from your hand!! With many of the fish showing signs of stress and infecton.

Bait and methods were totally un-important and I soon found that 20 to 30 fish in a 2-hour session was just nothing special. 2 weeks with 1kg of expander pellets to 4kg of micro feed pellets made for some of the most un-interesting fishing that I have ever had.

One thing that I found strange was that a “big money” competition was held on the lake that is advertised as the beginner’s lake! Still I had to chuckle a month later seeing the winners articles in the angling press saying how they triumphed it this prestigious competition.. Well if you say so ;)

It is doubtful that I will try this type of holiday again.

So as autumn came, I was able to finally have some “real fishing” on the river Nene, where a stick float and a pint of red maggots will reward you all day with roach, perch and small chub. Now that is what fishing is all about.

So what will 2012 have in store?

One plan is to do a lot more sea and estuary fishing. I plan to try the coast around Essex in the summer. Why? !!! …….  Well to be honest it is a part of the UK that I have never been to. Looking at the maps of the area I can see lots of promising inlets, estuaries and beaches worth exploring.

I have to say that I am quite looking forward to this and have already started tying all types of saltwater flies and letting my mind wander to the shoals of bass and mullet that I hope will be waiting for me.

But that is a few months away so in the mean time I will have be content with the rivers and drains close to home ….

Well until the start of the closed season that is.