Thursday 23 April 2009
Wednesday 22 April 2009
Monday 20 April 2009
Gone Fishin' April 2009
After much talk of it, a group of us (Hannah, Louise, Banstey, Lord and Godders) finally took the big step of going on a camping and fishing trip in the wilderness. Our plan was to camp for one night and enjoy some fishing in the great outback. After a wet week, we woke up to glorious sunshine on the Saturday morning!
Banstey and Lord just before we set off.
Much of the organisation was done via email and through the internet so we were putting a certain amount of trust into what our chosen venues claimed to be. We chose to camp at the Amerden family campsite near Maidenhead. On arrival we were all pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the spot and the excellent amenities. One small snag was that it was right next to the M4 and you could literally see the M4 Slough sign through the bush my our tent!
Having set up camp the next step was to get provisions from the supermarket and head to the Finch Farm Fishery ,a fishing site I had personally sought out from the Berkshire section of the water scape site which described itself as being 'located in the quiet countryside of rural Berkshire' and offering 'coarse fishing on two protected and sheltered lakes with a fine stock of angling fish including carp, tench, bream, roach, rudd, perch, chub and pike.'
Packed with rods, food, booze and the best intentions, imagine our surprise when we pulled into the idyllic Finch Farm Fishery...
Not to be discouraged we drove down to another fishing site we had seen further up the lane. We set up with our chairs, got a drink and then started fishing.
After a couple of hours of the boys setting up rods and fishing, a woman in a 4-wheel drive drove up and parked next to Godders, getting out the car and talking to him for a while. Not being able to hear, Hannah and I assumed she was either asking for payment for the fishing or instructing us to leave. It was neither and she had in fact said that she wouldn't charge us for fishing at that particular lake since there were hardly any fish in it (about a 1000). Had we wanted to go to the lake that actually had fish in it, she would charge.
A Chinese whisper ensued (we were quite spread out) and Lord went up to his new fishing buddy Sean*, an experienced Angler and told him that there was no fish. Sean told Lord that he had caught 3.
Soon after we saw a family of Moor Hens with the mother swimming with her small chicks in tow.
This was all very cute, however one of the chicks decided to break away from the group and swim towards us. This was a little concerning as the mother didn't come after it and she swam off with the other chicks. The little chick was now near us and appeared stranded and alone.
We were pretty concerned and a little sad. Ben guessed that perhaps the chick was dying and that's why the the mother may have left him.
What happened next was like something from a movie (don't.) The mother emerged alone into our view and was swimming towards us. Ben then got a stick and tried to push the beached chick back into the lake so that the mother could see it.
The mother and chick were chirping at eachother and then the chick swam frantically back to its mother.
They swam back off to be reunited with the rest of the family. Aaaaahhhh
That night, we caught a cab to a pub in Cookham called the Jolly Farmer. there. we got a bit drunk, and played the name game for a few hours. Notable entries were 'Richard Little' instead of Little Richard from Lord and 'Graham Gooch' was repeated several times. We also saw Jim Rosenthal who was eating dinner with his wife.
then went back to the camp site and went to bed (next to the M4 xx)
The next day, on Sean's recommendation, we went to another lake to fish. Godders seemed the most proficient at fishing showing much flair in his cast.
Soon the moment came which we had all been waiting for - the big catch!
Having caught a fish, Godder's removed the hook but then accidentally dropped the fish and we all panicked a little bit. Banstey later caught a fish but it got away.
Was a great weekend. Good times!
Banstey and Lord just before we set off.
Much of the organisation was done via email and through the internet so we were putting a certain amount of trust into what our chosen venues claimed to be. We chose to camp at the Amerden family campsite near Maidenhead. On arrival we were all pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the spot and the excellent amenities. One small snag was that it was right next to the M4 and you could literally see the M4 Slough sign through the bush my our tent!
Having set up camp the next step was to get provisions from the supermarket and head to the Finch Farm Fishery ,a fishing site I had personally sought out from the Berkshire section of the water scape site which described itself as being 'located in the quiet countryside of rural Berkshire' and offering 'coarse fishing on two protected and sheltered lakes with a fine stock of angling fish including carp, tench, bream, roach, rudd, perch, chub and pike.'
Packed with rods, food, booze and the best intentions, imagine our surprise when we pulled into the idyllic Finch Farm Fishery...
Not to be discouraged we drove down to another fishing site we had seen further up the lane. We set up with our chairs, got a drink and then started fishing.
After a couple of hours of the boys setting up rods and fishing, a woman in a 4-wheel drive drove up and parked next to Godders, getting out the car and talking to him for a while. Not being able to hear, Hannah and I assumed she was either asking for payment for the fishing or instructing us to leave. It was neither and she had in fact said that she wouldn't charge us for fishing at that particular lake since there were hardly any fish in it (about a 1000). Had we wanted to go to the lake that actually had fish in it, she would charge.
A Chinese whisper ensued (we were quite spread out) and Lord went up to his new fishing buddy Sean*, an experienced Angler and told him that there was no fish. Sean told Lord that he had caught 3.
Soon after we saw a family of Moor Hens with the mother swimming with her small chicks in tow.
This was all very cute, however one of the chicks decided to break away from the group and swim towards us. This was a little concerning as the mother didn't come after it and she swam off with the other chicks. The little chick was now near us and appeared stranded and alone.
We were pretty concerned and a little sad. Ben guessed that perhaps the chick was dying and that's why the the mother may have left him.
What happened next was like something from a movie (don't.) The mother emerged alone into our view and was swimming towards us. Ben then got a stick and tried to push the beached chick back into the lake so that the mother could see it.
The mother and chick were chirping at eachother and then the chick swam frantically back to its mother.
They swam back off to be reunited with the rest of the family. Aaaaahhhh
That night, we caught a cab to a pub in Cookham called the Jolly Farmer. there. we got a bit drunk, and played the name game for a few hours. Notable entries were 'Richard Little' instead of Little Richard from Lord and 'Graham Gooch' was repeated several times. We also saw Jim Rosenthal who was eating dinner with his wife.
then went back to the camp site and went to bed (next to the M4 xx)
The next day, on Sean's recommendation, we went to another lake to fish. Godders seemed the most proficient at fishing showing much flair in his cast.
Soon the moment came which we had all been waiting for - the big catch!
Having caught a fish, Godder's removed the hook but then accidentally dropped the fish and we all panicked a little bit. Banstey later caught a fish but it got away.
Was a great weekend. Good times!
Friday 13 February 2009
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