freeline93 - Flipbook - Page 106
EXCLUSIVE
s u rface briefly flash ing i ts
r i ght-hand flank at me a n d
w i th a cluster of beau t i f u l
g o lden scales and pinky b l u e
g r ey side and shoulders. A t
t h is time a member the p u b l i c
w alking past stopped a n d
a s ked if I needed hel p; I s a i d
y e s please and asked if t h e y
c o uld grab my net and pl ac e i t
that scaley leviathan had just
d o n e. A l t h o u g h i t b e i n g m y
own fault for putting too much
p r e s s u r e o n t o t h e h o o k h o l d,
looking back, I think the fish
I lost was a carp I never got
to see on the bank, im sure it
was the carp called the Peach
due to its heavily scaled body
o n t h e s i d e. A f i s h t h a t t o m y
i n the wat er to my lef t, wh i c h
t h e young fellow did. Th e f i s h
t h en kept its depth, how e v e r
I p ut too much pressu re o n a s
i t hit the surface once m o r e.
T hen ping twang. My h o o k
p r omptly pulled out o f i t s
m outh at a rate of kno ts a n d
c a me down with a lo ud f u d
i n front of me. B****** s, s * * t ,
F * *k, we all know th at em p t y
f e eling an d helples sn ess a n d
f i n ality of its over, gon e, do n e !
N o weighing, no p ict u r e,
n o holding it aloft i n y o u r
h a nds, your hard faug ht o v e r
t r ophy was gone; the lad wi t h
t h e net pulled it ou t of t h e
w ater saying unlucky and l e f t
q u ickly leaving me ju st l i k e
k n o wl e d g e w a s l a s t c a u g h t
in the autumn of 1989 by a
l a d c a l l e d Ri c h a r d B o x , w h o I
later met on my travels in the
L e e Va l l e y. R i c h a r d w a s a v e r y
good all-round angler and
what they call now a thinking
a n g l e r. A l s o o n t h i s w a t e r i
m e t t h e Wi l k i n so n b r o t h e r s ;
b u t t h a t s f o r a n o t h e r st o r y !
The next character I came
a c r o s s wa s a g u y c a l l e d Te r r y
B u tc h e r. H e w a s a q u i e t m i l d mannered
p e r so n . A l w a y s
seemed to have a sadness
about him. He was a bit distant
t o b e g i n wi th , h o w e v e r w e h a d
g o o d c h a t ’s b u t i f e l t h e d i d n ’t
g i v e u p t o o m u c h . A n y w a y, h i s
set up was incredible to mine
BigCarp 104
