Paul Arden | Tuesday, 13 December 2022
I’m heading to England just before Christmas for a month. That’s a whole month with potentially very little fishing (although I’ll fish for pike of course!). It’s longer than initially planned but return flights to the jungle before Jan 20th were listed at astronomical prices! I do have a lot of work to do and want to catch up with my family there; so it’s no bad thing. I have to build two websites and develop a Master Flycasting course that kicks the arse of the previous one here on Sexyloops. And it will; that was filmed and organised 12 years ago. That’s a long time in this world. Two major differences have happened in this time for me; one is teaching very difficult fly casting while guiding and the other is organising lesson plans for training over 6 month periods. Both of these have changed how I approach my content. And indeed the coaching and learning movement books I’ve been reading and applying, have also been tremendously insightful. What I really want to do is make thorough use of drills and training exercises.
But it’s not just England that’s cold. It’s cold here right now on the Battleship! It’s a very chilly 23C and water temps are not much higher at 28C. I suppose this cold Wet Season snap is to prepare me for what’s to come. So it’s probably a good thing. I just hope England is not much colder than this, otherwise it’s going to be ski-suit living for me. And I’ve been seeing pictures of snow but I just know that when I go to the pub wearing a ski suit people are going to ask me where’s my snowboard.
It’s interesting how the body adapts (slowly). I think we are good with about a 10 degree temperature range, as men, and something I’ve noticed about women is their bodies are different and for many of them there is no temperature range that is comfortable at all. Take my wife for example; she is either too cold or too hot. For her the transition is about 28C. Everything under this is too cold, everything over is too hot, while 28C is both too cold and too hot at the same time.
Fishing here has been excellent. December is always a good time to find Snakehead babies and I’ve been having fun. Something that both Tim and I learned from his visit, was that there is always a need to train your casting, very specifically, before arriving here, even if, like Tim, you have been here many times before. On his previous trip some 3 years ago, Tim was executing some of the finest shots I’ve seen off the front of my boat. This time however he didn’t have his clinical edge about him. Giant Snakehead is a game of very tight margins and it was a little frustrating, I could see that.
In the weeks or even months before you come here, you can and really should practise the Snakehead Shot thousands of times in training. I always try to get together via Zoom with new guests. I know quite a few of you are planning to come over this coming year and it looks like we will have a full calendar. Tim will be back in March/April. Be warned: this fishing gets under your skin and into your head! I can’t think of a guest who has only been here once. That’s says something I think. Maybe they just like my cooking… and it is pretty good. Wood curry for example – many people rave about it.
Whether I’ll manage to fish the same areas that I fished with Tim, before I fly, we shall see. I’m pretty tied up with Zoom lessons and preparing for the UK to make a 4-day trip South. But I would like to and so if I can clear the decks I will.
So I’ll be away from Malaysia for the first three weeks of January but still giving Zoom casting lessons. If you want a winter lesson in the UK then this is possible. This costs £80/hr and I really think an hour is best, but ideally you should have more than one session. We can video the session and you can have a copy. I will burn mine; this is not an elaborate blackmailing scheme. Zoom is currently 700USD for 12 lessons so a bit cheaper, and actually more effective – and with little or no travel time. If you purchase a Zoom course (I currently have three places available) then I will happily exchange a Zoom lesson or two for an in-person lesson or two.
I’ll also have a week in Hungary in January to catch up with Peter and sort some things out. There will be casting, there will be fishing, there will be Palinka (oh no) and big campfires.
Finally, if you want to try any of the Sexyloops rods then drop me a message on paul@sexyloops.com I am based in Coggeshall, Essex. I’ll have the HT4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 with me. I believe Border Force are on strike but as long as baggage handlers are working, then I’ll run the gauntlet of trying to bring hold luggage along with me – who knows where that might end up.
Have a great week!
Cheers, Paul