Back on the Bank (Albeit Briefly)

A short family break in Oxfordshire presented me with a fleeting opportunity to finally, finally get back to doing some fishing after a lengthy break.

We were staying Monday to Friday in a caravan in real big fish country close to the well regarded Linear Fisheries, an area scattered with pits, lakes and ponds and also close to the rivers Windrush and Thames.

Several walks around the large pit where we were staying failed to fire my enthusiasm as I saw no indications of fish activity whatsoever, therefore when the chance to go fishing presented itself on Wednesday morning I took what I thought was the safe option and invested in a day ticket for Newlands Angling Club.

The three pits run by this club consist of a large specimen water and two smaller pits with a commercial feel, it was one of the smaller waters I found myself on. However, the mixed bag of fish I had imagined never materialised in fact each cast with floatfished maggot was snaffled on the drop by small roach while larger baits went untouched. After a short session I headed off a little disapointed.

Dutifully I visited the local attractions with the family, we went to Witney market and it's four stalls, Bourton-on-the-Water Model Village which is just like Bourton-on-the-Water only smaller (you can achieve the same effect by standing on the bridge in the centre of the village and looking down the wrong end of your binoculars.) and Millets Farm Centre where you need to take out a second mortgage in order to buy lunch. I was close at hand while the kids paddled in the lake and while they played on various apparatus in the campsite park, we spent a couple of evenings sitting outside the bar drinking cold beer and enjoyed a lovely family meal at the local pub but throughout all this I was picturing myself on a reed fringed lake at dawn catching some proper fish.

At dusk on the Thursday evening I decided to take a last walk around the lake in order to take a few photos and it was then I saw them. Sizable fish were priming in a distant corner and my angling instincts were instantly on full alert, a plan for a last ditch session was formed and I retreated to our caravan to set up a rod.

The alarm went off at three thirty and by four I was at the lakeside, I was banking on an open end feeder set up with lobworm hookbait for this ultra short session and luckily enough it was to pay off in the form of a pair of pristine Tench weighing five pounds eight and five ten which were kindly photographed by a local angler who informed me they were about average for the area as eight pounders are caught fairly reguarly. I could well be back then !