Yesterday, a post on the Canal and Rivers Trust led us to the Love Parks event which led us to the Tring Anglers. It's like a treasure hunt for fun things to do on a Monday.
That's how we found ourselves sat by the canal learning the basics of coarse fishing under expert Richard's watchful eye. The afternoon had it all : folding chairs, maggots, a very persistent duck and a nature wee in the nettles.
Safety briefing complete ("don't fall in") we were assigned our rods and a pot of colourful maggots and we took up our position on the bank, trying not to look like people who have never held a fishing rod before. We had taken our own chairs in a futile attempt to disguise our inexperience. It became clear that a thermos of tea and a hot cross bun were the must-haves. Noted for next time.
I was relieved that Richard took control of the bait situation and got us started. I'd love to say we then sat, relaxed, for hours, whiling away the afternoon but it was not to be : those fish were hungry. 90 seconds in and we had our first bite from a cheeky little perch and a level of boy-excitement roughly equivalent to getting 1000 coins on Dragon Mania Legends.
I'll skip the catch-by-catch account but in no particular order we caught 2 rudd, 10 perch, 1 mallard and 1 roach. All of which were returned to the canal to live to catch another maggot. Perch #4 did look an awful lot like Perch #8 though.
The boys loved it and are asking to go again. I'm all for it but I'll be taking a thermos.
