The Fishing Coach

On Friday I had another student from BSS Slough and ably assisted by my new coaching assistant Paul we took him to Twynersh as usual. This lad was only eight years old but had fished a little before. I really enjoy being able to devote my attention to just one student and it is even better when I have Paul to help with the setting up of tackle and general logistics of the lesson.

The student was keen to learn and although he was frightened of perch he was soon able to hold and unhook the roach he was catching.

I hope I will be able to work with this lad again as he has great enthusiasm for the sport but is very unsure of himself and shy. After a couple more lessons he would develop skills that would help him to fit into a group of total beginners with a little edge which properly supervised might help him with his shyness and self confidence.

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Thursday demonstrated to me how difficult it is sometimes to work with children, as this group that had made such headway in the last lesson seemed to take two steps backwards this week. It was if last week’s triumph had never happened and we were almost back to square one.

The boys seemed to have forgotten all the skills they had mastered and I had to remind them of all they had learned. Hard work and very frustrating but they now have a week off for half term and hopefuly will return with their enthusiasm refreshed.

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On Wednesday I took Steve Gray from ATP (All Things Piscatorial) for a return trip to the river Kennet. I had booked him a guest ticket on the Warren Beat on the Wasing Estate and the plan was to trot the river for the roach and dace. I had not had a day fishing for myself for some time as I had been quite busy with my coaching activities and so this day, in good company, was to be something of a rest and recuperation session. I therefore chose to fish in my favourite manner, wading and trotting a float on light tackle.

Picture by Steve Gray

This is, for me, proper fishing - in tune with the tackle and the environment, totally absorbed in my chosen sport. I am not chasing a big fish that has been caught by many people and given a name, nor am I trying to fill a keep net fuller than the other anglers in a match. I am only in competition with the fish and the river and that is enough for me, no worries about targets or beating personal bests. Just enjoying practicing the skills I have aquired over the years in communion with nature.

Picture by Steve Gray

As you can see from the last picture, the swim I had chosen was shallow and quite pacy. Despite the plentiful cover provided by some tree foliage in the water at the bottom of the swim the fish were soon spooked by many of their numbers being caught and returned. It was time for a move. Steve wanted to go upstream to a peg we had fished last time where he had some trouble with pike, as he had brought some pike tackle to even the score.

We moved and whilst I tried to get the roach and dace feeding he killed his first roach and suspended it under a float on heavier tackle with a wire trace. The result was this magnificent perch that tipped the scales at exactly three pounds.

I think the Wasing Kennet Syndicate may have a new member next season.

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Tuesday was the last day of fishing for one of my groups from Slough and because they had done so well since the beggining of term their teacher and I had arranged for them to have a slightly longer day. We had been pike fishing since the first of October and this group had not yet managed to catch any pike so I got permission from John Butler, head bailiff on the Wasing Estate, to take them to the predator lake as a treat.

When we arrived my favourite swim was already taken but we still caught three pike on dead baits, the best weighing over fourteen pounds and I even managed a small one whilst demonstrating how to fish a surface lure.

It is such a shame that I’ve had to edit these pictures for child protection reasons as their smiles demonstrate what I am trying to achieve with these courses.

I will miss these two lads as I feel we were beginning to make some progress.

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One of the more important contributions I make to angling is the introduction of young anglers to pike fishing. I feel it is essential for the safety of both the anglers and the fish that potential pike anglers overcome their fear of this wonderful predator and learn to handle both their catch and the tackle they use to catch it, safely. Both pike bait rigs and lures are bristling with sharp treble hooks, often at least partially barbed to hold the bait on and on lures, fully barbed to prevent the pike throwing the bait.

Youngsters are fascinated by pike, both because they are frightening and because they are bigger than most other coarse fish. They will fish for them safely or otherwise and so I run what I call pike handling courses to try and ensure that neither the pike nor the angler is damaged in these inevitable encounters.

I held one such course on Saturday on Lake seven at Twynersh and I was ably assisted by my new assistant Paul from Slough.

The students comprised of two lads I was meeting for the first time, James and Rupert; Jack, who I started teaching this summer and Taylor who I have been teaching almost since I started coaching. We began the day by catching some small roach and perch on whips for use as livebaits although I had brought some frozen dead baits with me just in case. As the small roach were caught I put them out on a float paternoster rig so that they wouldn’t wander too far. The pike showed straight away snatching at the small roach as they were being landed on the whips and James managed to hook one in the front of the mouth away from its teeth and played it quite expertly for one so young.

A cetain amount of good natured ribbing ensued about catching the pike on the wrong rod but he took it well and was very pleased with his capture. Rupert then had a take on a live roach and landed a fine perch and received a joshing about catching the wrong species, this being a pike fishing course.

With the help of Paul I set up four spinning rods and the lads worked their way through the contents of my lure box and I explained the methods of fishing the different types of lures.

Lure fishing has two advantages in this type of course, firstly it prevents boredom in what can be an otherwise slow day and it gives the students casting practice. Add to this the chance of a few bonus fish and you can see why I always include it in my pike courses.

There are some disadvantages of these lure fishing sessions in that the students are often fishing with braid for the first and tend to get into tangles and lures get snagged and sometimes lost. Both can be expensive but this time only one lure was lost.

Everyone had a try at lure fishing and only Jack ended the day without a pike although he did hook one on a lure only to have it throw the lure during the fight.

Hopefully these lads will have lost their fear of pike and will have learned respect for the fish and its fragility.

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On Wednesday I had been booked by Andrew who had some experience of sea angling as a teenager but had no experience at all of freshwater angling. He told me that he would like some tuition on coarse angling as he would like to take up the pastime.

We met at Twynesh at 7 a.m. and the first thing I did was set up a large umbrella. This proved a very wise decision as shortly after we had torrential rain during a thunderstorm of biblical proportions. Because of the weather conditions it was necessary to keep the fishing as simple as possible. The last thing you want to do in a fierce electrical storm is to wave fifteen feet of carbon fibre (which conducts electricity very nicely) above your head on a regular basis. Close range float fishing was the method we chose and the bait was the new hooker and feed pellets from Sonu Baits called Skinz.

As can be seen from the photos above, the carp did not seem too bothered by the weather and both fish fed right under the rod tip and nearly doubled his previous biggest fish. His sea fishing experience stood him in good stead as he quickly learned the technique of playing fish (on the job, in fact) and his expression shows his pride in his achievement.

He caught five fish in all, four of them (the biggest four) on the float using a hook length of slightly less than six pounds breaking strain.

Hopefully we have a new convert to coarse fishing and he will continue to broaden his experience. I already have him in mind for the pike handling courses I will be starting soon.

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Last week I worked for five whole days, I might as well get a job! Three days were with BSS, the Tuesday and Thursday with my usual groups and Friday with a new group. The pike at Twynersh have realised that they are now being fished for and are becoming more wary but the silver fish and the perch are still co-operating. I had a major victiory on Thurday when one of the students who has been too scared to touch a fish was able to hold one for a photograph.

One of the members of staff joined in and was able to share in the joys of catching fish.

On Friday I had a group of two girls and two boys who were all total beginners but I was assisted by Paul who I worked with before the summer holidays. He is exploring a new role as a mentor for younger children and was a great asset, working well with the beginners. I could see he was very proud to share his knowledge and experience with them.

Working with each of these different groups provides a variety of challenges but the rewards are tremendous.

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I have had three more days coaching with Slough schools this week and we have been unlucky with the weather on two of them. The result was a garage full of wet tackle and two cars full of wet children.

The important thing is that the young people still enjoyed themselves and caught lots of fish. We have even started fishing for pike now that the summer restrictions have been lifted. Two pike were caught on Thursday, one about three pounds and the other a bit smaller, not very big but when they are your first pike and you are only eleven years old they create an enduring memory. Young lads are very excited by pike but are frightened by them at the same time. This can cause many pike fatalities due to bad handling so great care is taken to demonstrate the proper handling methods and pupils are not allowed to handle the fish except under strict supervision.

The course on Friday was with absolute beginners. One of the pupils was the son of a staff member and I was given permission to publish his picture:

Well done Duane, a very nice roach and a great achievement for your first fish.

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Earlier this month I met mother and son team Nicola and father and son team Mathew and John and Nicholas for their first lesson and enjoyed working with them very much. I taught them how to use the whip in conjunction with a pole float and they all did very well. On Saturday we met again for the second lesson and I introduced them to the waggler float and explained how to use it to defeat suface drift.

The Twynersh roach were very obliging first thing in the morning and the boys caught lots of them.

Nicholas caught a few more than Mathew because he was loose feeding more accurately and more often and he caught the best fish of the day.

This fish would have weighed about a pound and caused quite a lot of excitement in the group. The fish stopped feeding so enthusiastically as the morning wore on and as the river Bourne (which flows through the fishery) was fining down* after the previous day’s rain, I decided to introduce them to the joys of river fishing. The Bourne is a small stream that can fish well with a bit of colour in the water and was located just behind where I was holding the lesson. This meant that I was able to take one person at a time and show them how to trot a float and still keep an eyey on the others.

* Fining down means that the river is beginning to recover from a flood.

I set up a four metre whip with a pole float and after feeding with hemp and maggots for half an hour each student was taught the basics of trotting a float. All caught fish and I think I have four budding river anglers on my hands. They were surprised how the river fish fought harder in the current.

Both families have booked for a pike handling course later this month. Their enthusiasm is most infectious and this always adds to my enjoyment of coaching.

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This week I did three more days coaching with BSS Slough, two of them with the same two groups I have worked with before and one with a new group. Unfortunately I have been asked not to publish details or photographs of the students on these courses in the interests of child safety. Both groups have progressed onto rods and reels but are finding the new techniques very challenging as there is so much new to learn. Their teacher has fished a little before and has been an excellent example to them.

The feedback I have been getting from the schools is very good and serves as a source of encouragement to me.

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