The end of December meant the Christmas holidays and more opportunities for Pike Handling courses with Berkshire Council. Despite my wrists being a little better, it was with some trepidation that I signed the contracts in earlyDecember for three days of coaching.
As the dates approached the healing process had slowed down and the preparation of the tackle was a major effort but luckily Lee Blundell came to the rescue and volunteered to help out on the courses. The management at the Wasing Estate were again generous enought to allow us to use the Predator Lake. Unfortunately we were not able to replicate our Autumn successes as the frosts had changed the feeding pattern of the pike and I had been unable to explore the water beforehand due to my inability to cast a plumbing rod or a lure.
The result was a few dropped runs and two pike. However, the weed had died down enough for me to teach some of the youngsters some lure fishing techniques and this helped to prevent boredom. The last day was extra special with some old friends from Slough. When it was realised thet we were to meet Lee at Max’s cafe at Padworth, money was found from the petty cash to buy breakfast for the young people. The sight of a very quiet and ladylike girl tucking in to a bacon and egg sandwich only slightly smaller than her head will bring a smile to my face for a long time to come.
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