14lb Birch Pike – my first!!

It’s been a while since I posted on my own blog so I’ve waited till I really had something to write and here it is!!

Nick took me with him to Wales this time so I could have a go at pike fishing – never caught one before, or fished for them, so I was dying to give it a go. The weather was c**p – really windy and bursts of heavy showers, but I am not a fair weather angler – don’t get enough opportunities to pass up the chance to be honest!!
 
Big John has been piking for years and he agreed to take me under his wing and show me how to catch a pike, bless the man! He’s a true gentleman and despite his protests, is very knowledgable about predatory fish. He’d made some simple (but efficient) traces up and we used deadbaits on double hooks. I cast out about 3 rod lengths into a Force X gale and set the rod with the bale arm open. Being fairly blonde, I’m not keen on baitrunners, so that suited me just fine!!
 
Within 3 minutes, I had a take, but lost out to a snag… John told me I’d done nothing wrong, that’#s fishing, so I recast and continued. The weather got worse and we chatted amicably all day, taking a break mid-morning for a Birch breakfast and a cuppa and persevered. John said that we should expect some action around 3pm when the light started to go and he had a couple of dropped takes and then the line started to peel away on his rod. He hooked the fish, handed me the rod, saying, “Here ya go, play this pike will you?!!”
 
I quite happily took over and it did feel quite heavy, in fact the rod had a lovely bend in it, went very solid and took some line… I managed to hold on, bring the rod tip back up and began to reel in carefully. There was no way I was going to mess this one up! John stood beside me with the landing net and I did actually gasp when I saw the head come up… here’s why:
 

This lovely pike weighed in at 14lbs exactly and we were all so chuffed – 2nd biggest out this year!! Woohoo! (He who shall not be named caught a bigger pike during a carp match back in the summer….) I have to thank Chris (TheBigLongy) for taking photos of me playing it and holding this beastie. He’d landed 2 superb Birch carp (1 common, 1 simmo) before I caught my pike, so we both had a great day and nobody wanted to talk to us!! (joking!)
 
I had a blast and here’s my pike hero – Big John
 
 
And this man made the trip possible and allowed me onto the Birch – cheers, Martin!
 

We had such a laugh despite the weather and I can’t wait to go back – especially seeing Big John’s organising a Pike Fest in March 2008 on the Birch Lake.
 
We played darts and I taught them a new style of throwing and of course, there’s the (in)famous “Pike Dance”…. Thanks to all the lads who made my trip so memorable and put up with all my c**p!!!

If you notice the marks on the side of the Pike, the theory is that it was hit by a similar (or bigger) pike as I was playing it… 

Thereby hangs a tale…

… or, this is what it’s all about: Penn is a tetraplegic. He loves to go fishing but hasn’t had anyone to fish with for ages… Ian is disabled himself, but still walking wounded (at the moment). Ian is a keen angler and lives in the Torbay area of Devon. Penn also lives down there. Penn joined the Reels on Wheels Forum, looking for a Buddy to go fishing with. Ian had also joined and volunteered to go fishing with Penn… here’s what happened:

[Taken from the Buddy Stories section on the ROW Forum]

This is what it’s all about

---

I contacted Penn after he put in a post requiring a buddy in the Torbay area, to be honest I was a little worried about it once I knew Penns condition, I didn’t know what to expect, the first outing was a little tense on my part, I didn’t want to fuss around him but I also wanted Penn to ask me for things if he needed them, I think we both kept quiet on that first time, we’ve been fishing together several times now & have become good friends, Penn now asks for things & I offer things & we get on great, sometimes I wish he wasn’t so polite, when Penn wants something he’ll always start or end in “if you wouldn’t mind” I really don’t mind.Penn is amazing & must be an inspiration to many people, for those of you that don’t know Penn have a look at his website http://www.tetraplegicliving.comThis is how a days fishing goes, I turn up about 2 hours before Penn to make sure we’re on the peg we want, Penn will turn up at around midday & I’ll go over to the car park (yes Penn drives) to meet him, You should see his vehicle, it’s a mercedes minibus, Penn pushes a button & the rear doors swing open, press another button & the ramp comes down level with the floor of the vehicle, Penn reverses his chair on to the ramp & the push of a button & he’s at ground level, anyway back to the story, I grab Penns fishing tackle, bait & lunch bag & off we go to the peg, Penn decides where he wants to fish & how he wants to fish & I set the rod up for him, I strap the rod to Penns right arm & we’re fishing, I make Penn cups of coffee & give him his tablets at 3:00-3:30 & pass him his food when he needs it, I’ll throw some bait in now & then but apart from that we just fish & chat, when Penn has had enough I pack his gear away & take it back to his vehicle, there’s nothing to it, anyone can be a buddy, the other thing is you’re not just helping someone you’re gaining a friend & fishing companion. Thanks Penn for being my buddy, cheers mate.Ian[Here's what Penn had to say...]

Thanks Ian, that is written really nicely. This is definitely a real success. I’ve advertised for people before to go fishing and after were a couple of sessions, it hasn’t gone anywhere. I think me and Ian will be fishing for many years to come, hopefully. I have to laugh, after 21 years in a wheelchair I still forget to take my tablets, it is amazing that just after a few sessions, Ian is standing next to me at three o’clock on the dot with my tablets and a cup of coffee and I haven’t even reminded him.

Anyway, we’ve had some really good sessions, me watching him catch fish. Doesn’t bother me, just getting out is the whole point of it. And gaining a new friend is the most important thing in my opinion. We have a laugh, we sometimes sit there and don’t say anything to each other, normally when I’m asleep actually, I’m sure Ian would agree that we don’t feel that we have to be making small talk all the time.

Anyway, looking forward to a few more sessions hopefully this year with Ian. Probably won’t go much during the winter unless it’s a really mild day. But next year, look out, I’ll be on the ball.

Anyway Ian, I really appreciate all your help. You make it really easy, no fussing which is what makes life easier for me. I’ve got every confidence in setting up my rigs and whatnot. Not only did he offer his help, he also offered part of the dinner as well.

Thanks mate

[And thank you both for sharing your experiences].

The Buddy stories make my heart sing and it’s worth all the stress involved with doing all the work behind the scenes to raise awareness of Reels on Wheels and what it means to anglers – able bodied and disabled alike. I’m going to crow about each and every success we have because these days, it’s great to read something positive, isn’t it?

Able Magazine

Last week a magazine I’ve never seen before popped through the letterbox… it’s called Able. What a very interesting read! There are lots of inspiring articles and stories about disabled peeps like Nick – some of them are even as gung-ho as him!!

I loved the article about “Crips don’t get pregnant, do they?” most of all, as it really highlights the way people look at families with disabled members. (I probably could have worded that better, couldn’t I?LOL). Why shouldn’t we have kids and lead a “normal” family life? I do think sometimes that we have that awful Victorian mentality here in Britain: Sex is still ‘dirty’ and a taboo subject, disabled people should be shut in a room and not spoken about in ‘polite society’ – now there’s a misnomer if ever I saw one! Polite society?!!

Anyway, if you get a chance to read a copy of Able, I’d recommend it as educational and entertaining – also a very useful source of information for families like mine… Well done the team who put it together. *Claps*

Calling Lady Anglers!!

Hello Ladies!

This is an open invitation asking any other anglers’ wives to come along and submit a guest post to me, for publication on my blog. There must be a few of you out there who have something to say/write, so why not do it here, on an already established blog.

I want to hear your views on anything fishing-related, including how you feel about your hubby’s hobby – whether it’s positive or negative; whether you fish or not; whether you’d secretly like to learn or have a go at fishing; anything you’d like to say…

So come on, leave me a comment, send me an email: admin@reels-on-wheels.org  Get in touch and have your say!

Filing is fun…. (NOT)

Filing is soooooooooooo boring. Three hours spent filing yesterday felt like a day in a mind-funk. How people can do that for a living beats me! I also managed to lose a month’s paperwork, but compared to a year’s papers neatly stored, I’m sure I’ll cope with finding that today.

On the fishing front, my man is camped out at The Manderson Trust trying to rid their No. 5 Lake of a rogue catfish – about 5 feet long – which in all probability weighs in excess of 70lbs. It has devastated the lake’s 1500 head of bream and we think it has a ‘mild’ case of “Rod Rage” where it has been hooked frequently, but never been landed.

After sitting there since Sunday, I asked Nick if he was bored and he said No! He says it’s a challenge… They have been devising strategies and tactics over the past 2 days and trying out all sorts of elaborate rigs, etc. I am very confident that if he can only hook it, he will land it. He is a very experienced Cat-man! The last Wels he landed (with my help!), weighed 165lbs, so I’m pretty certain this one’ll be just as much fun!

Speaking of beasties… look what we had to deal with over the weekend: An ELF in the bathroom and slugs bonking in the garden – not much point gardening when they’re reproducing on my lawn, is there? (Mind, that’s an assumption as I’m no biologist…)

   Yuck! Big isn’t it? About 4″ long (10cm).

And the slugs were as thick as my middle finger… ewwwwwww!

Family Fish-In!!

We had a lot of fun today – fishing!! DD made us get up at stupid o’clock to go to ElDorado where she’d caught loads the first time she fished with a pole (whip!); we got there early, tackled up and she went to sleep in the Bus till I woke her at 9am!! Alright for some, innit?!!

She set up and started fishing but didn’t get instant bites, like the previous time and all I could hear (being in the next swim, it was hard NOT to hear her) was, “Oh dear, my swim is dead, my fish are dead, my float is dead…” Moan, moan, moan! Like a good fishing Mum, I did my best to encourage her and she did try (my patience, bless her!), so I went over and plumbed the depth where she was fishing… when I adjusted her float, she remained unconvinced – until she caught the first orfe-let!!

I think maybe she thinks I’m a ‘proper angler’ now, because I DO know what I’m doing!! Anyway she proceeded to fish for the next 4 hours, almost without a break and managed to catch 100 fish!! Okay, they were all small – around 1-2oz – but she stuck at it and thoroughly enjoyed herself… Here are a few pics of her in sequence as she chooses the best maggots for the job; baits up; watches her float diligently; unhooks her fish carefully and then poses for the camera!

     To be perfectly honest, apart from the occasional ‘Barbie’ squeal when one hit her in the face on the way in (*grins*), she was a complete star and we were both extremely proud of the way she fished – bearing in mind she’s only fished properly twice this year!

I had a lovely 8lber on my new carp rod, which was given to me as a ‘first’ carp rod of my own, by Claire and Julz (from reels on Wheels!) and my baitrunner and bite alarm – also pressies from them, were fab! I’ll put my pic up tomorrow – wouldn’t want to steal DD’s thunder now, would I?

Price hikes…

Okay, so the Environment Agency say they need more money to do what they do and continue to provide a service (which many feel is inadequate). A lot of anglers feel the increase in the price of a rod licence is unfair – especially for a lot disabled anglers, who, for the most part, can’t fish rivers as the access to most swims causes them problems… so why put the concesionary rate up? There’ll be no benefit for the less mobile or the 50,000 disabled, will there? If it’s for the good of all and all-round improvements, then get your agents to look into making some proper accessible pegs on rivers.

I’d be more than interested to hear about any new swims that are accessible if anyone knows of any on the Avon, Severn, etc. as Nick and I would love a spot of barbel fishing…

And have you noticed that the petition, signed by 3000+ anglers up in arms about the Eastern Europeans taking fish from Commercial Fisheries for food has been removed from the Home Office website? Supposedly we’re being ‘racist’. Well WTF are we supposed to call them? This is ridiculous – at present, unless your fishery holds ‘game fish’, these thieves are not breaking the law if they remove fish from your lakes – oh no, the only law they’re breaking is Trespass! The fact that they use illegal methods to catch the carp, for example (long-lining), doesn’t seem to matter.

In Wales, the problem and the ill-feeling it has generated among anglers who regularly come across this theft and abuse, is escalating to the point where things are going to come to a head very soon. There will be blood shed on the banks somewhere in the near future if the government don’t respond to the call for a change in the Law.

That will then give the Police a chance to support anglers and the Environment Agency might start responding to calls about thefts taking place – when they’re asked to.

Get off your high horse…

I get so annoyed by the petty digs from people who attack Reels on Wheels… these are so obviously related to Baldymort’s organisation and the sniping comes from P (for professor) Snipe. I’m referring to this comment left on the “Dilham Fishery” post which was written by Karen – one of the Team’s volunteers.

Although Karen isn’t a wheelchair user, or even disabled, she has fished with Nick – who is a wheelchair user – and other disabled anglers. She has a high level of awareness and has learnt about the practical needs of a less able/mobile angler. So, although not an “expert”, she is able to draw on her own experiences and offer advice. She was prompted to check out this new venue to see if Nick would be able to include it on his next venture into East Anglia.

The specs that she passed onto the owners were to help them with the measurements for a disabled toilet which they were in the process of building. I found them on the Oxford University’s website – that seems more than adequate to me… after all, I wouldn’t dream of questioning such a prestigious body’s ability to install disabled-friendly toilet facilities, as per the regs from the County’s assessor.

So, here’s the comment that ticked me off:

Hi All

You talk about what needs to be done to make a fishery more accessible for wheelchair users so what qualifies you to do this, there are regulations etc you need to no about, have you been on an access audit course and the information you are giving to this fishing complies with DDA (Disability Discrimination Act 1995). You cannot just give out what you think is best, You say “talked about what else could be done to make it more “wheelchair-friendly and kicker boards at the front of the platforms around 4”-6” high were suggested and they were more than happy to do this” are you correct with the measurements, what materials are you using etc.

The BDAA are the best people to discus all things to do with making fisheries accessible as they have a guide to making a fishery “Wheelchair Friendly” that complies with DDA rules etc.

Cheers

Pete

Thanks Pete!! I refer to my previous post about 100 degrees of disability – why are you so hung up on wheelchairs?? Are you in a chair yourself? I think most wheelchair-anglers would be the best judges of a fishery’s suitability for them, not some “walker” or AB do-gooder/jobsworth. It’s a sad fact that the majority of those employed as “experts” on disability regs are seldom disabled, let alone wheelchair users.

Also, we always mention the BDAA to any fishery we visit interested in Access issues – do you? Maybe you could be doing more to promote them? We link to them as an organisation on Nick’s blog and the Reels on Wheels website, both of which get good traffic and the vast majority of comments are positive or constructive… hint, hint.

So, stop having digs at ROW – which is for ALL anglers – and collect the toys you threw out of your pram as you leave my blog.

It’s all going on…

Well, there’s not much mojo here at the moment – apparently it’s very hot in Wales at Peterstone and the Team haven’t had a bite yet, so… that’s a bit depressing – though when I spoke to Nick he did say only 4 fish had been caught in 24 hours.

Had a call from Claire this morning to say she’d got her copy of the Angler’s Mail through and there was a whole half-page devoted to Nick and Reels on Wheels! Yay!! She took a great photo of it and I managed to read the entire article – fab! Thanks to Ben Weir for his ongoing support – apparently they’ve been getting feedback on the articles they write about us, so they’re making it ongoing – brilliant!

Had a call from Karen about a newish fishery she visited a while ago. She was invited over to take a look and judge its accessibility for Reels on Wheels and she’s going to write a complete review and email it to me later for the DA blog. (Complete with pics!) I’m looking forward to that, as it’s always good to feature relatively unknown places and give them a boost, especially if they care enough to try and provide as much access as possible for the less mobile among us.

We had a great result on the Buddy front this week too – thanks to Darren putting his name and phone number on the RoW poster he’d put up at Bradshaw fisheries in Lancashire… A senior citizen called Sid rang me to ask if he could join us, but he’s not online, so I mentioned Darren to him and he’d got his number written down… so to cut a long story short, they’ve arranged for Darren to ring Sid and let him know when he’s going fishing and Sid can go with him if and when he wants – which will save him a massive £40+ in taxi fares.

This Buddy System rocks, doesn’t it?

100 Degrees of Disability

There are so many disablities which are invisible to the naked eye, aren’t there? We often refer to these people who suffer not-so-obvious disability as “The Walking Wounded”. You probably know at least one of them… people with heart problems, head injuries, bowel or stomach issues, depression… the list goes on.

So, just because they don’t use a wheelchair or sticks, or crutches, it doesn’t mean they are less disabled than Nick or other wheelie anglers.

You’re probably thinking, why is she banging on about this particular subject, when her own husband is a wheelchair user? Well, because you have to appreciate that access is a minefield… Now Nick is able to transfer (from his chair) and roll about on his butt and uses his knees, if he needs to. I know there are people who can’t… and there are people who, as I said before, don’t even “look” as if there’s anything wrong with them, who struggle with tackle, swims, walking – sometimes just getting out of bed.

So, let’s not expect every fishery or venue to be able to cater for every disabled person in the world shall we? It’s like the 100 degrees of disability – some places will be easier to adapt, some places will be impossible – then there’ll be the help and support of the people who work at the fisheries which more than makes up for the imperfection of “access”.

Let’s not forget – this is all about the shared passion for angling – not the DDA, the political correctness or empire-building.

PS – Sometimes I get a bit pissed off with certain parties… (can you guess who they are?) so it’s good to vent on my blog.