The Sessions - Feb 2022

A life changing moment

I finished last month’s piece having only been out for two sessions due to work and poor weather, and gave you my thoughts and experiences on sponsorship. I hoped February would be a better month but a real sliding doors moment changed all that…...

7 February 2022 – River Trent, Collingham

I completed a seven day stint at work and had a window for an overnighter so drove up the A1 hoping to start February with a bang. We’d had lots of stormy weather for the previous three days but it had calmed down and was clear and sunny with a strong southerly wind. The river level was still high, 1.5m at North Muskham so I went to a high water swim I’d been wanting to try for a number of years. I walked down for a look and it was tanking through but as I expected there was a slack area close in with a lovely crease as it met the main flow two rods lengths out. This is generally dry land so I knew it was clean loose gravel but wasn’t sure on the depth at this point, so I got the leading rod out and lowered it in to find it was 12 feet deep, that was good enough for me so I went back to the car park for the van. Although the ground seemed quite firm under foot there was no way the van would go over the flood bank, the tyres couldn’t find enough grip and kept spinning so I had to back out down a narrow track and load the barrow. In a way I was pleased it had happened then and not when I tried to get out the following morning but when I went to load the barrow I realised I’d forgotten the bloody handles……

It looked like fate was against me on this trip and I contemplated what to do next, fortunately Jerry was fishing and his friend Phil had a barrow that I could borrow so I walked down to collect it.

I was finally set up and fishing just on dark, I used three rods as there was plenty of scope for that and had two on the crease and one in a deeper depression in the slack water, all were fished on single BBB’s and pva bags with a mixture of 30 OG and BBB through the area. They were holding well with 8oz leads and I wasn’t picking up much rubbish, Jerry and Phil were struggling with 10oz and were getting wiped out pretty quickly so were having to recast regularly.

8 February 2022

The wind was really strong and had been hammering my light shelter all night, it finally dropped around 03:00, I’d been recasting every 3 hours and was fearing the worst when the right hand rod on the crease whipped over and I landed a 10-08.

At 05:20 the same rod went again with another double at 11-15 to make it worth all the effort. I had to be away quite early but stayed until 10:00 without any more takes, but I’d caught enough to make me want to try the swim again and I planned to return at the weekend.

11 February 2022

This was a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life, it’s a day that could well have changed my life forever as I don’t know how things will finish up at this point but I have a strong character, fantastic support from Julie and am getting on with trying to sort things as best as I can.

I was getting ready for a weekends fishing and looking forward to getting back on the same spot. I had a guy called Matt, who owns MTD Vehicle Services, working on my new van at the back of my house, he was lining, carpeting and sound proofing the back and putting some spot lights in and was due to finish at midday. I’d been up early, cleaned the house, been to the gym and done the food shop, all normal stuff to me on a normal day. At 12:10 I picked up my large cool bag and placed on my hob which was next to my fridge so I could load the food into it, the same routine I always follow, as I put it down I got a text from Matt to say the van was finished so I walked straight out of the house to have a look. The van looked brilliant and I was very happy with it, we shook hands and agreed how I would pay and Matt drove off.

I walked back to the house and didn’t notice a thing until I opened the back door and couldn’t get in, it didn’t register at first but I quickly realised my house was on fire in a big way, it was thick black smoke and the heat was ridiculous, I could hear the fire but there was no way I could do anything. Fortunately I still had my phone in my hand and called 999 at 12:23, in just 13 minutes my house had been devastated!!

The fire service arrived really quickly and put the fire out but the damage was extensive and when they tell you its inhabitable the feeling is indescribable, I still can’t put it into words, and just typing this is making me emotional.

It’s a moment I can’t change, I’d knocked the hob on with my bag and didn’t notice, if I’d received the text a minute before the bag would still be on the floor, or a minute after I would have noticed really quickly and the fire would not have happened, it’s a sliding door moment I can’t change but one that has changed my life completely.

The fire totally destroyed my kitchen and dining room, and the heat and smoke damage has destroyed most of the house and things that I own. It’s been a roller coaster few weeks trying to clean as much as I can as I’m well aware the insurance company will try to pull my pants down with the contents claim. I’ve had some of the inspections done and it looks like we the house won’t be fully functional for 9 months to a year……

Julie, my family, friends and neighbours have been brilliant with support and washing my clothes, some we’ve saved, some will have to go due to smoke damage. 90% of my furniture will have to be replaced and the house put back together but life has to go on. It took two days before the shock hit me and I had a couple of very emotional days where Julie looked after me so well, but being a positive person, I’m back to work pretty quickly, back in the gym and planning on some fishing to finish the river season.

If you take anything from this I would suggest you check you insurance policy, read the small print, ensure you have enough cover as they tell you nothing when you take the policy out, my buildings cover is good but my contents probably not so good so this is a harsh lesson for me that has taken an accident of this magnitude to realise.

26 February 2022 – River Trent, Collingham

Two weeks of working in the house and five days at work I needed a break, it’s hard to put into words how it feels going through your house after something like this and I needed a break, some normality and a night on the bank.

The river had been really high at 3.5m and unfishable but had started to drop quickly over the previous few days, I’d been tracking it and it was 1.6m on the morning of my planned trip so I loaded the van and drove up hoping to get the same spot. It was warm and sunny with a strong southerly wind and the river was highly coloured and steaming through but I knew I’d have a chance in my flood spot.

I arrived mid-afternoon and wasn’t surprised to see only one other car there and walked my gear up to the swim, the tides were bigger so the level higher but still just fishable so I set up and was fishing by 16:00. I had to fish slightly shorter but with the tide it was 14 feet deep and holding fine with 8oz leads. All three rods on single BBB’s with pva bags and a few OG through the swim.

The first bite came quickly at 10-14 which was what I needed and felt great. I walked up to the weir on sunset and got some great photos with these two just seconds apart, again it just shows how things can change in an instant.

Two hours later and just into dark the left hand rod went over and this fish felt much heavier and put up a strong fight, it all went to plan and I slipped the net under a good fish at 15-07.

I had two more takes between 23:00 and midnight at 9-00 and 10-15 and then it went quiet.

27 February 2022

I had nothing all night, it was very cold, clear and a hard frost so not surprising, I rebaited the rods at 07:00 and put the kettle on while the sun dried the frost off the bivvy.

Two bites before packing up at 9:00 made it worth the effort at 9-05 and 10-09. I was really happy with six fish, was getting to know the swim well and I looked forward to returning to the swim in March if the levels were high enough.

Until next month, tight lines and be lucky 😊

Big thanks to my sponsors for their continued support,

#freespirit #madbaits #jackpyke #castawaypva

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The Sessions - March 2022

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The Sessions - Jan 2022