31/05/25, Coaching/Carp Coaching, Hillview Lake, Todber Manor.

We could not have picked a more pleasant day for a coaching session on Hillview Lake at Todber Manor. The usually windswept venue was looking resplendent in the summer sunshine and the forecast of slight shower at 10am looked increasingly unlikely.

Today was going to be a new venture for the juniors because, for the first time, we were to incorporate ‘Proper Carp fishing’ into our coaching. I used to be a Carp angler back in the early noughties and used to work in the industry for a few years. But Carp fishing has evolved greatly since my involvement in it, so it was time to hand over to some experts…

I was feeling rather swanky as I had purchased some items from the new DDAS Juniors clothing range from Jurassic Embroidery. As it turned out, it was too warm for the zipped top. But I was happy with the shorts right up to the point when Chris pointed out what the shorts said about me. Apparently, they screamed that I was someone who once was a successful athlete who had found themselves teaching sport or PE and being mean to kids. So, they obviously suit me…

The usual coaching crew was slightly diminished due to the fact that The Captain was still awaiting treatment for ‘Misty eye syndrome’ but is better to the tune of 50% having had one eye French polished already. Lloyd was on holibobs or dog sitting or something…Maybe he was just sitting on a dog on holiday?

Jerry was off doing Wookie things with Wookie friends and came down with a dose of Mongolian throat singer’s rash known regionally as ‘Khoomei’s Tonsil’. The western world calls it Covid, but I know the truth…Who knew that watching Rugby match in Wales could be so risky?

John Bass’s solo plans to invade Ireland had been put on the back burner whilst his wife mapped out the seabed looking for likely places to come ashore. But he was back on full attack this weekend and I look forward to hearing the results of this meticulously planned exercise.

Martin was off with Josh who was playing with the big kids in a big match up north. Josh had recently and inadvertently given some good luck to friend of the juniors, Callum Dicks, in a coaching session at Ivy House this week. Only days after spending time with Josh, Callum managed to pop himself into the Fish’o’mania final and would line up against Josh’s hero, Sir Jamie Hughes of Scouse. Imagine if Cal beats Jamie…

Of the coaches attending, Nigel had dragged himself into the sunlight for the first time this year after a period of rather serious ill health. Our resident Santa had managed to lose two toes and gained some impressive scars to show the ladies during his last hospital visit. In all seriousness, it was good to see him back on the bank. If only so I could discharge some of the backlog of abuse and insults upon him…

I finally got to meet Donna, Mark, and Arlo Harrison who had been busy ‘selling boats from their garden’… They live in Dorchester, and I don’t remember either Dorchester being a hub of shipping community or reading about the tide being that high since the Jurassic period. But I’ve learned t to question a lot of things I hear these days…

Because this is a coaching session, we will have a brief skip round the participants and how they got on.

The day started in the usual way with everyone fighting to stay awake during the Lead Coach’s opening address and tutorials.

On request from a few of the juniors and parents, the focus today was on casting.

It is a tricky one because I can show them what to do and the correct way to do it, but ‘the moment of truth’ is based solely on experience and instinct. So, they would need to practice until they were at one with their equipment.

Casts were wide and varied to begin with. But, after a while, things began to take shape and the Carp and rodents living on or around the islands began to look concerned.

Arlo was sat with ‘Our Nige’ and wasn’t so much casting as dropping the feeder in off the rod tip… But it was working for him, and he was enjoying himself. He got a taste of pole fishing when he had a go with my pole catching 6 Carp in less than 12-minutes.

I think he was impressed because, despite not yet owning a rod, he was asking Donna for a pole!

Princess Mia of Yeovil was one of the catalysts for the casting day and I believe she benefitted greatly from it. At the end, she wanted to demonstrate her newly honed skills by launching a feeder into the air. I had a report at 11:53pm last night that the feeder had achieved touchdown somewhere just south of Basildon…

I think she has the hang of it…

The sky above young Alexander was devoid of all flying creatures for a period at the start as he got to grips with the task in hand. One had to admire the steely determination of the small, but now Six-year-old chap (Happy Birthday for Last Friday!!) as he thrashed the sky to ribbons. I stayed with him for a while until he really hooked one up and sent the feeder towards the unsuspecting island. Satisfied that he’d found the sweet spot, I left him to it…His energy levels dropped towards the end because he had been hitting a bouncy castle on Haribo’s for 12 straight hours the day before. But, hey, you’re only 6 once! (there may have been a rare untruth or two in there somewhere).

Alfie being a little older, taller, and stronger than some of the others, coped with the casting fairly quickly. He spent a lot of the day honing pole skills with his ‘new’ pole purchased from Jezza. I don’t think it will be long before Alfie is barking with the big dogs with armfuls of silverware. Had it been a match, I am certain that I would have been recording a weight of over 250lbs today…

Alec turned up looking quite chipper for a non-morning-person, and simply just could not contain his enthusiasm when I told him he could sit next to where my gear was set up. A grunting sound that I heard as ‘S’pose’ was as good as it was going to get, and I accepted that. Turning up to a coaching session which was themed as a casting event with no rods and just a pole was going to be a draw back of sorts. The fact that Ian tried to plumb the depth using his leg was made worse by Alec’s top kit trying to break his fall.

Alec bravely fished on for a while, but the sun became too much for him, and they left before the end. I appreciated them coming because I actually talked them into being there. Carp aren’t really Alec’s favourite species, but they came anyway…

At half time Chris did an interesting demo about using winding or distance sticks to measure out the position of a line clip for Carp rods. I’ve never used them before, so I pushed some juniors out of the way to get a front seat. I wish he hadn’t ignored me when he asked for questions at the end. I had my arm up for ages making all the right impatient noises, and it was really aching. I don’t think 152 questions in 10 minutes was too many, I don’t care who says it was…

Thanks for a great demo, Chris…

Freddie was another having a great day on the feeder. I didn’t witness his casting prowess, but if he was as improved as the others, he was doing ok. I gave him a little instruction about playing Carp and how to avoid a ‘flat rod’ when they are close in, and then he had a go on my seat box to bag 5 shallow Carp in 10-minutes.

Jayce had arrived directly from the bivvy. He and dad Jake had packed up from a session somewhere I can’t remember and driven to Todber. So, they were already warmed up for catching Carp, even if they were a little smaller in size. It’s fair to say Jayce’s interest is focused on Carp fishing by the way he handled the equipment. It is also fair to stay that their unhooking mat did not have the chance to dry out at any point during the day…

George Ellis was next, and he was having a go at a bit of everything. George has a smile that brings sunshine to the rainiest of days, even though the sun did not need any help today. George was on the pole when I witnessed the longest lash since I fished the River Shannon in Ireland in the late 80’s! Rig preservation was the reason, and I can concur with that. Not for the cost of a new rig, but because I can’t be bothered to tie new ones these days!

Dad, Ed, was facing some serious explaining when got home because of the large handprint on his left butt cheek. He claimed it was his own Carp slimed hand, but I don’t know… At least we know who does the laundry in the Ellis household! Use a towel man! Poor Carly….

Last was the Prince of all birds’ nests, Harry Willmer…

There is something slightly soul destroying about seeing a reel feel so unwell that it tries to puke its entire line capacity through the first rod ring in less 2 seconds… But at least it gave a rather fatigued Chris Painter a chance to find some peaceful solace as he tried to untangle the colossal mess that used to be neatly wound line.

Harry was in his element with Carp fishing, and I feel he is more at home doing this than most other disciplines. But bless him, he will try them all.

All in all, it was a successful day with everyone going home happy and reasonably contented. The feedback from the coaches was quite positive seeing as it was our first go at Carp fishing. Todber’s Hillview Lake was never going to be an ideal venue for Carp fishing in its purest sense, but at least the juniors were guaranteed to get plenty of bites and loads of fish to take pictures with. But I do look forward to taking the juniors to a less productive water with some larger fish for a more authentic experience.

Todber Manor has always been one of the favourite places to visit, and rightly so. A fantastic shop, superb facilities, and immaculate lakes all go towards making the venue one of the best in the country. Thank you to John and the staff for always making us feel so welcome.

Thanks to our ever-faithful coaches who gave us their spare time, experience and endless patience (?) No words could ever express the gratitude you all deserve.

Chris Painter, Tim Broughton, Nigel Kemp, John Evans, and Si Wagner.

The next junior event is this coming weekend on the 7th at Revels…

For whatever reason, Revels is not on form at the moment. The fishing is difficult, and like the wintertime, you may need some Pinkies! I will get an updated report after the Tuesday match…

See you soon.

Juniors Sec…