Tracy&James | Thursday, 18 June 2020
My 2020 seems to be going from bad to worse for me currently. I slipped on the bank of the river Elwy whilst I was litter picking a couple of weeks ago, a fairly trivial slip where I lost my footing on a steep slope due to dry, dusty ground combined with inappropriate footwear. As my feet slid from under me I found myself sat on my arse heading towards the river. I doubt the distance travelled was more than 2 feet and my first sensation on coming to a stop (luckily before getting wet) was of the thistle that shot up the back of my shorts, however soon after the throb of pain in my left wrist started.
This pain hasn’t let up at all, in fact if anything it got worseduring the week after I fell. I think it’s a sprain but I’m not going to go to hospital to find out for sure the way things are at the moment. It’s also caused a ‘tennis-elbow’ symptom to appear to match the one in my right arm that has so far taken over a year to recover. There’s been a slight improvement in the last couple of days in that I’m no longer relying on Tracy cutting my food up (or preparing meals that can be eaten with a fork only) but I’m a long way off being able to go fishing – first I’d have to be able to drive.
Casting wise there is only one option for me – single handed. I actually practise this quite often as I cast the accuracy event non-hauled, however I obviously use my left hand to shorten the line between targets and this isn’t an option at the moment. As such, I’m stuck to moving a fixed length of line about and single handed distance. Non-hauled distance, for me, is all about pull-back on the back cast and loop shaping, via thrust, on the forward (as well as good tracking and line speed). So perhaps I can entertain myself by trying to beat my one-handed PB with a #5, I’m pretty sure 120ft is possible on the right day with the right line – which isn’t the MED because my carry is about 10ft shorter than required to get the best from it.
Tracy and I would normally of had our main fishing break of the year by now, we’re actually thankful that we didn’t have anything booked for this year, having anticipated booking a special trip for later in the year which won’t now happen. We’re wondering when it will actually be feasible to travel abroad as our employer has stated that if people visit a country that will require them to be quarantined for two weekson their return, then this two weeks must also be taken as leave. I guess that’s not too unreasonable, but I’m not planning on wasting my leave in such a manner.
Anyway, I hope your week is going better than mine,
James