Maggots in the mouths and a lot of reminiscing

It was delightful to chat to all the visiting anglers, everyone had a tale to tell, everyone wanted to try out all the different baits I brought along, in fact it was mega busy!

I particularly enjoyed listening to some of the ‘old boys’, reminiscing on their past fishing adventures, a few of them had lovely old-time Sheffield accents, a ‘twang’ which we seem to be losing, which is a great shame.

It was intriguing to see the reactions of the non-anglers amongst the crowds when they spotted the tub of maggots on the stand... some of the ladies recoiled in horror, whilst the braver kiddies loved to get their hands in and hold on to a few of the wrigglies.

‘They are only like a caterpillar’ I kept telling everyone, ‘Except you end up with a fly instead of a butterfly!’ Not everyone believed me!

No-one took up my ‘special show offer’ of a two-for-one deal, I would give them a free maggot, and in a few days they would have a free bluebottle, what a strange ungrateful lot!

Of course the anglers took great delight in picking the maggots up - and yes - just to annoy family and friends -a couple of the fishermen put a maggot in their mouths, don’t do it boys and girls, it’s not good for you!

As a kid I would never do such a thing ... I preferred to put the maggots into my trouser pockets, always fun when mum washed my angling togs, although I remember it did hurt my ears...

I’m always experimenting, trying different things to improve the anglers’ lot, and I came up with a great idea for pole fishers, the ‘easy’ pole roost.

If you’ve got an old rod-pod lying about, make use of it by turning it into a pole roost.

Invest in a couple of foam support bars, only a few quid each, screw them into the top of the rod pod and there you are - a safe, secure and ‘easy to hand’ pole roost.

No more broken sections from cyclists, dog walkers or the inquisitive general public.

It’s great on canals and tight swims, you can position it parallel to the water or - like I usually fish it - alongside my box.

It’s lightweight, adjustable and very convenient, packing away into a canvas bag for transportation.

Give it a go - it works for me.

I’ll be at the three-day Chatsworth Country Fair on Friday 31st August, Saturday and Sunday 1st and 2nd September, if you are in the area, pop-in for a chat, I’ll be delighted to meet you.

If you have any angling news, views, match results or fishy stories, please don’t hesitate to contact me via e-mail: [email protected]

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