10/09/2018 - A Birthday Wish
Chub for Birthday Boy
A Birthday Wish
A few weeks ago I got a call from Rawden Kerr saying “It’s my 70th birthday in a couple of weeks’ time could I book a day’s fishing” I had no hesitation is saying “Yes the cost was a donation of his choosing to Ribble Valley Crossroad Care” we chatted for a while, then agreed on a date. A few days later I got a call asking if his boyhood friend Stephen could join, again the answer was yes. On Monday they met me at around 1000 hrs, in the cabin I put on the kettle to make Stephen a brew, Rawden declined preferring his water. As we chatted about the day I put together rod, reel, landing net along with a small tackle bag containing scales, hooks and plasticine for making weights.
Kingfishers
Stephen had never seen a kingfisher but they both did today on several occasions, after baiting with a large piece of luncheon meat it was cast out into the river so it could roll downstream coming to rest close to a sunken tree trunk, a known chub haunt. In the morning session three good pulls were missed, which didn’t surprise knowing how chub will pick up the bait in their lips then move off.
Lunch Break
All to soon it was time for lunch where we were joined by David who had been salmon fishing, after making tea for Stephen and myself, coffee for David, we enjoyed a relaxing lunch discussing everything from gun dogs to poaching, the predation from cormorant and goosanders, the ineffective EA and problems of salmon.
Chub for Birthday Boy
I started off in a different swim where we had one bite, on retrieving the tackle we could see the meat had been chopped in half right alongside the hook shank, after an hour we moved off to the swim we fished in the morning. This time a nice chub was hooked, Rawden having never fished before played the fish perfectly, he done everything I asked him to do until I eventually netted a chub I estimated at between 3.5lbs and 4lbs. On the scales it weighed 3lb 12 ounces, he had a grin a mile wide which stayed with him for the rest of the day. We tried to get Stephen hooked up to a chub, but sadly it didn’t happen even though we had several good pulls. Such is fishing but they both went off home happy after a day we all enjoyed, we were winners as were Crossroad Care.
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