The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Wallys-Cast wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 9:07 pm What a brilliant day it was, I think it was the best one yet as it seemed easier to get about and chat without feeling hemmed in, maybe the isles were a bit wider.
It was great meeting up with friends old and new and isn't it wonderful putting faces to so many familiar TFF names.

Our wonderful Honorary Vice President, Malcolm Baird aka AshbyCut was there and on fine form. It was lovely seeing you again Mal and I think you must have been absolutely worn to a frazzle by the time you managed to get home.


I even came away with a lovely bottle of falling down water courtesy of Dave Burr, thanks again Dave, great meeting up with you again.

I bought a couple of nice reels for my collection thanks to more than a little help from Lea Dweller thanks again Ted and thanks again to Steve LuckLuca for the reel. Looking forward to getting a day out together Steve, I'll be in touch about the rod as it progresses..

I really owe great debt of gratitude to my friends Bob Brookes and his truly wonderful wife Glenda for a fantastic weekends stay at "Brookside Guest House" and for another days guided fishing by Bob which resulted in my first ever Zander and a really angry Pike, the results of which are me and Bob are now blood brothers.


Here's the Master at work touch ledgering for Zander, what a guy..





I know I have missed a lot of names out from Sunday but I would like to thank you all and all those involved in making it what it has become.

Amazing wit and wisdom flows around Redditch tackle fair and for anyone who has not been, it really has to be experienced.

Thanks for reading.
Wal.

Bob Brookes wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:55 am

Wallys-Cast wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 9:07 pm What a brilliant day it was, I think it was the best one yet as it seemed easier to get about and chat without feeling hemmed in, maybe the isles were a bit wider.
It was great meeting up with friends old and new and isn't it wonderful putting faces to so many familiar TFF names.

Our wonderful Honorary Vice President, Malcolm Baird aka AshbyCut was there and on fine form. It was lovely seeing you again Mal and I think you must have been absolutely worn to a frazzle by the time you managed to get home.


I even came away with a lovely bottle of falling down water courtesy of Dave Burr, thanks again Dave, great meeting up with you again.

I bought a couple of nice reels for my collection thanks to more than a little help from Lea Dweller thanks again Ted and thanks again to Steve LuckLuca for the reel. Looking forward to getting a day out together Steve, I'll be in touch about the rod as it progresses..

I really owe great debt of gratitude to my friends Bob Brookes and his truly wonderful wife Glenda for a fantastic weekends stay at "Brookside Guest House" and for another days guided fishing by Bob which resulted in my first ever Zander and a really angry Pike, the results of which are me and Bob are now blood brothers.


Here's the Master at work touch ledgering for Zander, what a guy..
It looks like Bob put you onto some nice fish Wal, plus two reels for your collection and a bottle of booze, life cannot get much better, great stuff!




I know I have missed a lot of names out from Sunday but I would like to thank you all and all those involved in making it what it has become.

Amazing wit and wisdom flows around Redditch tackle fair and for anyone who has not been, it really has to be experienced.

Thanks for reading.
Wal.

The whole weekend was an absolute joy that started when Wal and Lorraine came on Saturday and ended when they left on Tuesday morning. We ate and drank well, we laughed until it hurt and on Monday we shed copious blood together, thanks to that feisty pike.

For me the only spontaneous Redditch purchase was yet another of Andy Batchelor's fantastic catapults. That is 4 I have bought from him over the years and each time they get better. My wife said, 'Do you want it?', to which I replied, 'Yes'. 'But do you need it? To that I had to honestly reply, 'No'. I bought it anyway!

I hoped to collect the new Chris Ball book that I had on order but the 1/4 leather bounds were not yet available, so I will have to wait for the postman to deliver it. The other thing on my list was to see Garry Mills as I wanted a modification doing to one of the Wensum reels he made. I like to be able to screw up the drag tightly, but you can't do it with that reel in it's standard format. Nothing wrong with the reel, just the way I use it, so he is going to fit a stronger non-standard spring for me.

Wal has written about our day on the Trent on Monday, so I have very little to add. Just to say that he hadn't even seen a zander before, so to catch one was top of his bucket list. Although they are quite common in the river, guys who have fished the river for years have often never seen one. My guiding task was not going to be straight forward. I had a spot that we were aiming for which I thought would give us the best chance, only to hit traffic at a standstill following a fatal accident on the A1. I detoured and went for Plan B, a bay where I had caught most of my biggest ones in the past. The water level was low and the weed had not died off and after a couple of fruitless hours we moved. Plan C was a stretch where the river narrowed and there is a strong back eddy inside the crease. As you saw in the pictures that Wal posted that final move saved the day. He had another fish on which was 'probably' another zander and it felt a lot bigger. A case of, what if?

As a footnote, I blanked! Yet it was one of the most enjoyable days ever on the bank and now, 2 days later, even the wounds have healed!

Richard C wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 5:55 pm As others have said, it's well worth the trip. Lovely to catch up with friends old and new alike.
Not too erratic on the spending front this time round but then I was dragging the ol' 'ball and chain' round with me this time.
The wife is under the impression that we are all from the same mould. I'm not sure which mould she means!

She did say on the way home that Mr Burr gave excellent hugs and thought Mal was cute, Wal and Bob were gents and could she come again in May.
Oh well, suppose I better keep her happy....

TemeLAD wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:25 pm Well done Wal and top guiding Bob I had a feeling you would nail it - respect