Tuesday, February 19, 2013

A day with Borderlines

I am very fortunate to get the occasional request to help Borderlines with some of their teaching sessions.
On Tuesday we were on the River Eden with a group of youngsters from Carlisle. This was to be the last of a series of sessions in a project called
'Carlisle Fishing for Knowledge' which was organised and run by Borderlines thanks to funding from the Co-op. 
 
 
The sessions with this particular group started back in November and those taking part have learned about the water cycle, rivers, the fish, their environment and what they feed on. They covered fishing tackle and methods, including bait casting and fly fishing which they had a go at. Some also had a go at tying their own fly.
So they were well prepared for their day on the water and it certainly paid dividends, everyone taking part managed at least one Grayling - and some managed three !


 
 
With the many projects that they organise and run, Borderlines and others like them do a fantastic job of promoting our sport and everything associated with it, as well as giving young people the opportunity to experience and learn about the countryside.
 

Clive conducts a pre-session safety talk
 

Check out the Borderlines website - http://www.borderlines.org.uk/
 
Borderlines is a not for profit company formed in 2005 with the aim of removing as many of the barriers to participation in angling as possible for all groups of the population regardless of age, ability, race, religion or social background with particular emphasis on the disadvantaged, disabled and those requiring rehabilitation. Working with schools in England and Scotland, Borderlines education progammes compliment both national curriculum and curriculum for excellence. 



Sunday, February 3, 2013

A few hours later...

Well - I braved the elements and got out for a few hours this afternoon (see previous post) - 'I got my fix'

I also got my string pulled a few times, although, a strong and occasionally, swirling, upstream wind made bite detection difficult at times. Keeping the rod as low as possible as the bugs were led, but not dragged, through the water helped, and as far as I know, nothing was missed.

With a split dorsal and a lump out of it's tail, this Grayling looked like it had been in the wars. I wonder if this damage is a result of the very big waters we've had in the last week - with three big lifts - the river has been roaring through on occasions. The damage to the lower part of the tail looked like it was worn away, hugging bottom? All the others caught today were fine.


The Pink and the Red spot shrimps produced the goods today...



So much for my 'Old faithful' - the Orange produced nothing today apart from this hard fighting 'Rock fish'

gotta get out...

It's been two weeks since I was last out and I'm getting twitchy. Today the wind's howling and the river's carrying a touch of extra water after last weeks rain, but it's fishable, so I think I'll be having a few hours later.
The conditions on my last outing weren't much better, other than the river was very low. I was well wrapped up that day, it was bitterly cold - the windchill off a freezing easterly dropped the temperature close to zero - but I managed a few hours.
The fish didn't seem to like the conditions either, they were hugging the river bed and the going was slow. But the old faithful, my Orange bug, saved the day - four times - before I succumbed to the cold and headed home.


The old faithful...