Losing the Urge?

'Can't sleep


It's happened before...

Big time from about 1996, exact date unknown such is the nature of these things, until 2010

Again in 2010, and also in 2011, after brief returns but not getting sufficiently engaged by the subject

For precisely five months from May to October last year after an excellent Highlands break made the pursuit of the angle seem insignificant...and it's happening now with the same precursor and enhanced by a heavy workload, bad shoulders and The (ailing) Lady Burton, maunge, maunge

That said there is a serious wish to get back on a small stream but no license to show for it and no inclination to make the effort to go to the nemesis of  mine that is the modern tackle shop

All a bit wierd really

Certainly the summer is not and has probably never been my favourite time to fish and a few early hours reintroducing The Old Duffer after a thirteen month surgery-enforced break did little to permanently break the cycle with a resounding blank using the same method which was monotonously emptying the canals every session only 3-4 weeks ago but from which it was time to diverge

The Old Duffer, thankfully back in the swing and as keen as ever. May 2012 saw his previous trip out...

The Old Duffer however was thrilled to be on the bank, in his case, getting bites and, although the weight of the pole got the better of him after a couple of hours, a loose fed maggot approach did the trick with perch and roach coming to the net at regular intervals

...and a re-acquaintance with roach, never a bad thing

The bird list was quite impressive for a three hour period sat in the greenery of the countryside. Occasionally twenty species are managed from the, at this time of year, often concealed perch of the peg without any wandering about but more often around fifteen. The highlight again was a kingfisher, probably the same one I photographed a few weeks back, or it's mate

To shake myself back into action I've just ordered a two-rod sleeve in order to rove with, er, two rods (could you see that coming? More stealth required obviously). Next job - licence; although I have been fortunate enough to gain access to a syndicate which allows me to fish a stillwater I used to be all-but obsessed with as a boy, though mainly in a general natural history kind of way, in fact I never caught a fish there as I recall, so that remains to be targeted once The Lady Burton is suitably recovered; that apart, there is a small river that intrigues me...