Tried and Tested?

by John Bailey

I can hardly believe myself sometimes. It was way back some drunken evening in July or August 06 that I agreed on a trip to Canada. I don’t know who asked me. I didn’t know where or when I was going or why I was going. I just mumbled that I was up for it. Then, out of the blue, exactly seven days ago I get an itinerary and a ticket and a demand to be at Heathrow on Monday morning. I don’t know what to pack. I don’t know what the weather is going to be like. I don’t know where I’m staying. I don’t know what I’m fishing for. And I certainly don’t know what gear to take. The whole thing is a complete and utter mystery

In short, I’ve broken just about every rule in my own rule book. I spend hours pontificating to anybody who will listen about how you’ve got to do your homework and prepare in the most rigorous detail. And then what? I find myself on a trip that could take me to the moon hunting for little green men as far as I’m aware. Anyway, presuming I get on the plane and presuming the plane takes me to Canada and presuming anything happens to me, then you, Fish and Fly devotees, will be the first people to hear of it.

All this is very unlike a trip I’m making to Spain in the third week of May. This is much more carefully researched even though a huge amount of doubt and uncertainty hangs over elements of what we’re doing. I say we because I’m taking a few brave souls out there with me to indulge in the experiment.

Of course, a lot of what we’re doing is quite well laid out and tried and tested. A very pleasant hotel. Beautiful countryside. A river I’ve researched a fair bit in the past. Barbel – yes, Andalucian barbel – that can be caught on nymph, on streamer and, most intriguingly, on dry fly.

But there remain a number of question marks. Is it right that there are some very big fish in the river that so far we’ve never made contact with? Are these the monsters – or at least big fish in excess of eight pounds – that we’ve contacted and never had a hope of landing? Have these fish been there all along? Have they just appeared from up or down river? Or are we getting carried away altogether with odd, passing shadows that actually threaten more than in essence they are?

But this sort of thing seems to me to have the makings of a good trip. We know we won’t starve. We know we’ll have a pleasant welcome. We know we’ll catch some fish. We know there’ll be an edge, however, to what we do. As well as the barbel, there are a couple of black bass lakes to take into account as well. Fascinating places with enigmatic reputations. From one of them, I’ve yet to take a bass more than three inches and yet I’m reliably assured by people I know and trust that there are bass there to six pounds at least. It’s an interesting conundrum. Once again, Fish and Fly will be told next month when and if there’s anything to report. And, as an aside, I ought to point out that because a couple of the guys have had to drop out from the trip there are places up for grabs. Contacting Joy on 07866 470238 could be a worthwhile conversation.

So what else has been going on? Well, as I pen this, it’s April 16th and tomorrow I’m told (again without much certainty though) that I’m guest speaker at the Salmon and Trout Association Dinner. So frankly, I’m terrified. I can’t think what to say and, now I’m not a teacher, I can’t simply give an audience lines. The weekend just gone was an absolute scorcher. I wandered the North Norfolk coast creeks and actually saw a shoal of mullet. That’s exactly six weeks earlier than anybody can ever recollect seeing mullet here before. Blimey! What on earth is going on? There are rumours, too, that some carp have been seen spawning in a secluded pond not far away – again, weeks and weeks earlier than they should be doing.

So, all in all, a somewhat confused Word of the Week but then, if we all had all of the answers all of the time where would be the fun in that?