freeline-94 - Flipbook - Page 216
MARK CURLY HATCHMAN
finished.
T h e l o n g, hot summ er of 19 76 is well remembered fo r
h av i n g g reat weather but in North Kent , the hot , d ry
c o n d i t i o n s had a very ser ious effect on the lakes a nd are we l l
re m e m b e red for the res ulting drought . By Ju ly the wa te r
l eve l s we re so low that the club were forced to su s pe n d
a n gl i n g at both Sutton and Horton Kirby. Brookla n ds
b e c a m e p acked, so I moved onto Da renth, whi ch inciden t a l ly
c o i n c i d e d with the fir st year of legal night f ishi n g. L o n g ra n g e f i s hing (50 yard s-plus!) becam e n ecessary, s o I
reve r te d back to the ground cat biscuit boi lie for mo s t o f
my f i s h i n g, and after a few hints from the late Ian Booke r, I
sw i tc h e d to a casein bait by late summer. I stil l perseve re d
w i t h t h e particles on occasion and picked up a few f i s h
o n b ro a d and butter be ans,
b u t e l s e where some friends
h a d exc e l lent success using
b l a c k- eye d beans.
B l a c k eyes were a different
t y p e o f particle beca use
a l t h o u gh they were available
i n t i n s , t hey were be st used
by b uy i n g the dry, uncooked
o n e s a n d first so aking for
2 4 h o u r s before boiling
a n d s i m mering until soft .
We a l s o added var ious
s o u p m i xes to the soak that
c e r t a i n ly added to the bait’s
a t t ra c t iveness, with tomato
FREELINE 10 6
