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

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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?

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.

It’s a sad fact…

…of life, that no matter how hard you try, you can’t please everybody. Someobody said, “You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time…” or words to that effect.

When we started Reels on Wheels we decided that we didn’t want any kind of “exclusivity” – i.e. we wouldn’t discriminate against, or exclude, anyone who wanted to be part of it. And that will always be so.

Claire’s local tackle shop owner has a 12-acre lake in France stuffed full of big fish. It holds carp to 50lb+, Wels catfish to 80lb+, larger than we see roach and tench and…. sturgeon. There’s running water and there will be toilets on site. He’s offered a week’s use of the lake to Reels on Wheels at a reduced price, so Claire and Nick are planning a “safari”! A trip of a lifetime, in short, an adventure for anyone at ROW who wants to come along.

According to Wikipedia… A safari is an overland journey. It usually refers to a trip by tourists to Africa, traditionally for a big-game hunt and in more modern times to watch and photograph big game and other wildlife as a safari holiday. There is a certain theme or style associated with the word, which includes khaki clothing, pith helmets, and animal skins — like leopard’s skin.

Now, it’s not particularly wheelchair-friendly, but there’s plenty of room for bivvies behind each of the swims, and there’s also enough space to park a campervan or Buddy Bus directly behind the swims too. It’s a beautiful location, just 2 hours’ drive from Calais and there’s even a boat at the lake, from which to fight the sturgeon!

So, like most ‘safaris’ or ‘rough guide’-style holidays, it’ll be basic and will involve us all mucking in together and plenty of fun. I’ve even volunteered to cook for all of us once a day because I really want this trip to be a success (not due to my cooking – LOL – but so that the guys who come won’t eat badly!!).

Here’s the pic that decided it for me:

So, what’s got me out of my pram? A new-ish member of the Forum, who hasn’t participated since joining, has made some overtly critical remarks and seems rather hostile to the idea of this trip. It’s possible that he’s outraged that we are going to a location that isn’t 100% disabled-friendly and he can’t (due to the nature of his disability), come with us. However, we’ve pointed out that we’ll be organising other events later this year which are totally disabled-friendly. But this trip isn’t till next Spring in any case.

He’s also criticised Nick for going “here, there and everywhere” instead of touring the whole of the UK as we had originally thought he would. What we have pointed out is that the reason he’s doing this, is dictated at present, by funding (or lack of it!). If he’s invited to a location, it means that he’ll be able to keep his running costs down. For a 2-month old organisation, that makes perfect sense to me – logical isn’t it?

We’re both always open to any positive feedback or practical suggestions from anyone who has an interest in Reels on Wheels and the Buddy System – so your input is gratefully received. At the very least, it makes us think!

So much fun… and it lasted all day!

Today was the Environment Agency’s Open Day at Bideford Angling Club and Nick was in attendance with the Buddy Bus – good PR on our local water!

I’d taken DD to the Stables at about 9.30am and took the dogs for a run through Cookworthy Forest on the way home. It was a beautiful day and I had a quick bite to eat before setting off for Bideford. 45 minutes later, I arrived at the lake and for once I didn’t have to open the gates!!

The first person I saw was Peter Guest from Freebird, who’d brought his 3 children down to have a go at fishing – the boys had a blast and his daughter had fun with her Dad. I finally saw my DH, had a brief chat with him and then went round saying hello to everyone who was there.

It was busy, the coaches were all fully employed and all the kids were catching fish (which is what it’s all about, at the end of the day!). Even some brave adults had come along to try out the sport and left quite content with themselves. I think quite a few people wanted to join the Club and took away the application forms. Well done lads!!

I met my soon-to-be angling partner (Di) for the match against our husbands and we had a chat about tactics… we’ll see how that pans out on the day. But I think we’re both looking forward to it.

Then I wandered back to have a chat with Paul, Nick’s friend from Town Parks Fishery and a Level 2 coach himself. I sat next to him on his box and received my first ever professional lesson! We discussed the merits of sliding knots and small shot, how the float should sit and then he explained exactly how to plumb my depth – in a bit more detail than my DH, and I got to fish with a Whip (!!) for the first time.

I had to be quite firm with it and was allowed to splash about for a change – ‘cos Paul told me to! – and I caught well over a dozen roach and rudd to nearly 1lb. They were absolutely gorgeous!! I’m so chuffed!!

Unfortunately, because there were so many kids about, I didn’t take any photos in case I got a shot of one of them by mistake. I’d hate that to happen, because I think I’d feel strange if I saw a photo of my DD on a website that I was unaware of…

I also bumped into Gary and Dave and we’re going to meet up in the next couple of weeks and have a fly-casting session at BAC, so I couldn’t be happier! I think even they’re looking forward to it.

Sharing the passion!

I thought I’d post a couple of photos from Tuesday’s fun fishing so you can see Sophie – the journalist – with Nick, present as he landed his first fish for the camera!!

And while she was chatting to me… I caught this one!

Personally, I think it’s a better-looking fish than Nick’s – but that’s just my personal opinion – hehehe! And of course, I had to take a pic of him landing the next one, from his wheelchair.

We had such a great time and although it threatened to rain, that didn’t happen till we were alone again. We decided to pack up a bit earlier than usual because we’d achieved what we wanted to AND caught some lovely fish. It was a really nice way to relax and unwind and made a pleasant change for me.

Now to get hold of Gary, who’s going to teach me to fly-fish!

Catching to order!!

We went fishing today at Bideford. Admittedly, the weather wasn’t great when we left home, but the eternal optimist that I am believed it wouldn’t rain till later today. Oh the power of positive thought and all that!

We got there about 9.15am and started setting up. I wanted to float fish and wasted an awful lot of time trying to get the nasty float to sit right. It wasn’t having any of it and as it’s what I call an “unproven” float, it went back in its box and I put a small bomb on, attached my hook line( yes, with these nails!!) and then managed to slip a band over a huge pellet – I meant business today. No playing with tiddlers, if your mouth ain’t big enough to swallow that size pellet, don’t bother sniffing round my hook.

By this time, Nick was deep in conversation with Sophie (the journalist writing a piece about R-O-W and the Buddy System for the Telegraph) and I sat contentedly watching my rod tip do absolutely nothing. I poured myself a cuppa and had a cig while I listened to them chatting with half an ear, as it were.

The photographer had managed to find his way there and had joined us by this time. He was on his way back round the lake when Nick hooked into a nice carp (around 6lbs) which he landed successfully and we had fun taking pics of it. Well, the photographer wanted a pic of me taking a pic of Nick with his fish. Luckily, because it’s 8 feet deep there and I’m only 5’2″, I managed to avoid falling in and went back to my swim.

Sophie came to sit by me and have a brief chat about things from my perspective and I managed to hook into a feisty commom carp around the 4lb mark, which was quite impressive, wasn’t it?  Just as I’m about to land it, he (Nick), steals my thunder and hooks into another carp! Well, quite honestly, it couldn’t have been better, could it? Husband and wife fishing together, both playing carp at the same time for the camera… LOL!

So, I think today has been a highly successful day from a professional point of view and I can’t wait to read Sophie’s piece w

Miserable Monday…

What an awful day! So much for flamin’ June… where’s it flamin’ gone? After an intensive meeting this morning, I feel wrung out. So much information to absorb and so many bits of paper to sign – oh woe is me!

We’re going to Bideford tomorrow to meet the journalist who’s doing a piece on Nick, Reels on Wheels and the Buddy System for the Telegraph. It looks (fingers crossed), like we may catch a tiny break in the weather. The forecast for tomorrow is cloudy, with sunny spells and scattered showers during the afternoon… so not too bad.

I’m out to catch fish and now that we’ve re-spooled the reels and put black hydro on our poles, I won’t have to worry about losing any more decent fish – if I do, then I’ve forgotten how to play my fish and it’ll be down to me!

I’m sitting here at my keyboard listening to Pink’s new album – a present from my lovely mate Leeza, who’s never too ill to care what’s going on in our lives. She and her husband Stewart are both registered disabled and she really should use her wheelchair more than she does, but she’s a stubborn girl… (could be why we get along so well!!)

She and Stewart have been super supportive since day one of the Buddy Bus Road Trip and are crazy people. They regularly give out leaflets to their family/friends and  organisations they have connections to – eg. Dreamaway – a local charity which enabled them to go on their honeymoon shortly after they married.

To meet them, you’d probably think, ‘Nice people, a bit nuts, but nice enough!’ Well, you’d be quite right – they are more than a bit nuts, but the salt of the earth: The kind of people you really want in your corner if your back’s to the wall.

Oh well, come rain, come shine, bring it on! I’m going fishing – woohoo!