Mud, mud, glorious mud...
It was good to be ‘back in the yolk’ again for the start of the 2025 season of junior fishing. The winter had not been kind to the Howard household, so it was nice to have something good to look forward to.
The weather had not been good however, and we all expected a rather sticky day down at Harbourbridge lakes. I had to collect some tackle during the week, and I wasn’t really prepared for just how wet it had become. It would not have been a surprise to see Charlottes Lake almost to the brim particularly as a couple of ‘puddles’ I drove through turned the car into a submarine on a couple of occasions.
The sun always shines on the righteous, and the righteous must have been very close by because there was a strangely bright ball of fire in the sky that warmed bits that hadn’t been warmed for a fair few weeks now. We had lucked into a gap in the weather, and it was very welcome.
With the car packed tighter than an overly stuffed build-a-bear, made my way to Chickerell to find a driveway that can only be described as occasional gravel betwixt puddles. I told myself that the puddles would not get any deeper today and went on tippy toe to open the gate to the trotters clean and dry.
It had just ticked past 8am and the lake looked resplendent in the early morning light. The mirror-like surface was only disturbed by the lightest of playful breezes and the occasional excited fish.
For most, today was all about getting tackle up to scratch and blowing off some winter cobwebs. For others it was about handling a fishing rod for the first time. I’m pleased to say that the ‘newbies’ way outnumbered the ‘OG’ juniors by considerable number. Fourteen juniors were booked in total, but numbers dwindled slightly by the time we started.
Taster sessions were booked in for first timers, Ethan, Sonny and Jake, who were all dipping their respective toes into the wide world of Coarse fishing for the first time.
Now, like the juniors themselves, the coaches felt the lack of game time too. To the extent that, at one point, I felt like I was running down a very steep hill with arm flailing wondering if I was going to make it to the bottom, run into the open arms of a paramedic, or simply face-plant into a freshly laid cow pat… All the above seemed extremely likely. In one of the reports, I mentioned I would be ‘Spinning plates’. This more akin to trying to spin old dustbin lids on poles made of dried spaghetti.
Even Jerry looked noticeably haggard as he begged for more assistance. I answered him in the only way I knew and spontaneously combusted right before his eyes without saying a word… I’d left Neil in a bunker smashing out Roach with a newbie, Chris was truly balletic as he struggled for balance even standing still, and I’m sure that Gentle Jon can actually float above the ground because he seemed to glide about the place with nary a wobble…Nary! The only one of us that seemed to be in control was the statuesque figure of Nice Bloke Tim, who just stood with arms folded in a formidable stance. The lead coach displayed all the grace of a one-legged Eider Goose landing on a frozen lake after a night on the fermented pears…
If you watched the line of juniors, parents, and coaches for long enough, you would observe the odd foot in the air, flapping of arms, and even hear the trouser tightening moments of people trying to stand or walk in treacle.
I’ve decided that I am not going to clean all the tackle that got muddy yesterday. After writing this, I am going to drive the car to a remote spot and burn it with the gear inside.
I hate tutorials. They terrify me. But this one went very well even if I say so myself.
I spoke about how every fish we catch is deserving of the best treatment, regardless of its species. A good angler is a responsible angler…
The session itself was a good one. Everyone caught a few fish, some of which were a good size. Kenzie took the largest of the day with a chubby belter going a good 5lbs. Trivial fact: Chubby Belter was the former wrestling name for the Lead coach. Fact or fiction, you decide… Kenzie was enjoying pushing his ‘new’ seat box on his ‘new’ trolley so much, that he completely missed the slope/now stairs to the lake. He would have been in Abbotsbury by now if I had not have turned him around.
Soon-to-be-crowned Champion, Austin arrived with a brand-new 5-legged seat box. The sixth leg had made up its mind to stay at home. He had the most fish of the day with a number of Carps and a couple of ‘Bweems’…
A slight disappointment of the day was to learn that newbie Jayce’s name is pronounced ‘JC’ not ‘Jay-ssss’. JC is cool, but I think Jay-ss Hardware is 007 cool. I think JC will stick as a nickname for now.
The winter break sometimes sees sweet kids grow in knuckle draggers over the off season. But Alexander is still super small and as cute as a button. The demands have increased though. His insistence on being shown how to cast increased to the point of tears or violence. Maybe just tearful violence. I love his enthusiasm to learn though, and I promise I’ll get round to organising a cast lesson very soon.
Alec was going for the Viking look with the new ‘do’, and very fitting it was too. I didn’t get to spend much time with him today, sadly. But I did see some nice Roaches falling for his bait. Seeing as he is the Silverfish Champ, I shouldn’t be surprised…
The only potential disaster we had was when a box malfunction happened which pitched one of our coach’s boxes into the lake along with box containing brand-new booklets that had been painstakingly written by yours truly. No real damage was done and it rated only 8 out of 10 on the blind panic scale.
Because it was so hectic, I didn’t get to watch everyone. But I will in time. We have a few issues with maggots being ‘icky’ and a change of image might help. Maybe calling them ‘Mickies’ or ‘Magwai’s’ perhaps? I’ll work on it. It will be all about pellets soon, and edible things like corn and meat. Fishing becomes a little more inviting when you do not have to handle things born in dead stuff!
I want to take a minute to wish the Harrison family a speedy recovery from all their ailments right now, and to new coach, Martin Roe, who suffers from lungs made from bubble-wrap. Feel better soon, y’all…
The first session of the year is now under our belt and from all the feedback we had, it was a good one. I confess to not being in control of it for a lot of the day (I didn’t take one single photo!), but it was the first one and I am notoriously self-critical.
My beloved coaches did carry the day though, so a big thanks to Jerry, Tim, Chris, Neil (love to Susan), and Gentle Jon Bass.. Thanks guys.
Thanks, as always, to Jimmy Roper for the use of this exceptional lake and for providing enough mud to make the skin of a Rhino look Botoxed…
The next event is a match at either Revels or back at Charlottes Lake. TBC.
I’m off to set fire to my car in a layby.
Juniors Sec…
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