Tracy&James | Thursday, 28 June 2018
James and I have been enjoying the gorgeous evenings by popping along to our local carp lake just a few minutes from our house. Flinging in a few dog biscuits whilst we sit drinking a cold beer watching the carp swimming just under the surface, then there’s a ‘slurp’, then another and we watch as several take the floating ‘bait’ until there’s a feeding frenzy. Then cast out a fly and hope that we get a take.
As I still have my right elbow injury, we tend to fish together so one of us flings in the biscuits and the other casts; this means I can have lots of breaks so as not to over-work my arm. So James took the rod first and after many, many missed takes he hooked a carp. After netting it for him, I took over the Sexyloops HT5, missed a take on my first cast and hooked one on my second! I was probably only out of my seat for a few minutes. I would like to say this is due to superior casting, but it was more likely due to the speed James flings the biscuits compared to me, so the fish were feeding more ardently.
One evening, we had nine fish in just two hours, although I only played two due to protecting my arm – this is my own self-imposed limit as although the casting causes me no concern the playing of these fish, frequently with side strain to ensure that they don’t get into underwater foliage, can cause me discomfort. Though I can’t complain as it’s much more enjoyable sitting in the evening sunshine watching fishing, than watching football (the only thing on TV at the moment).
Tonight however we’ll be driving up to North Wales to spend the weekend in our new home and go evening fishing on the river Dee in Corwen. Hopefully there’ll be an evening rise; targeting rises with a dry fly is my favourite type of fishing.
The following weekend we have a BFCC Meeting at Alconbury near Huntingdon, so I need to practice some casting, especially the S55g, in preparation. Though due to my injury, I tend to cast over short durations and focus on technique rather than distance. This means I can watch James casting, taking photos and monitoring his technique with the various outfits. We know each other’s casting errors so can look out for them and advise when they creep in. For me, this is often when I’m tired or distracted, the latter often occurring during a BFCC meeting. It can be hectic running an event and also competing, and can result in casting errors due to lack of focus – something I’ve also noticed in other people who help out at the meetings. Staying focused is something I need to work on when running competitions. This will be especially needed in a few weeks as we’ll be organising the Game Fair Casting competitions and I hope to make the most of casting on water to help my preparation for the Worlds.
Whatever you’re doing this weekend, even if it is watching the football, have fun.
Tracy
