My friend Ian has been fishing since he was a young lad. He started around the waters of London in the days gone by when potatoes were hook baits and the hair rig was just being born. He then moved to Hampshire and started a family. He became obsessed with the pike in a lake called The Monks Lake. It contained some very large pike and in one very cold January, his dreams came true!
The below beast bottomed out 35lb Avon scales, some 30 years back
The cruel part of the story is that the first pike bottomed out his scales! So, armed with a brand new set of 35 lb Avon’s, he was back the following week and yep he had another pike which did the same! I’m sure we can all agree that he had a fish of a lifetime back then and share his pain on that day.
But the man is back for another go and you just never know……
Ian will be sending me updates over the winter months, so you can all follow his journey/quest for yet another pike of a lifetime.
Till next time
Richard
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About richardhandel
I would like to give a brief snap shot of my life and introduce myself;
My name is Richard Handel and was born in 1965 in Suffolk. I have worked as a UK Operation & Intermodule Manager for a shipping company. I live in Hampshire now and am married with 2 young children, both girls so I am a bit outnumbered even the cat is a girl!
I have been fishing since I was about 7 years old. I started on small local rivers in Suffolk, then moved onto gravel pits and then carp fishing. My personal best is a 39.08 mirror, over recent years I have started river fishing again, on the Hampshire Avon, this is a nice break from the carp lakes.
My life has turned a big corner this year, the company I was working for relocated their Operation centre to Estonia. I was offered a job at the head office in London. This would have meant a 5 day commute and working in Stratford. As a family, we did not fancy this, as I would hardly spend any time with the children (and the Mrs). So after 22.5 years, I was given a nice redundancy package and with my wife is working full time. I became the house husband.
This has meant a complete turn around in my fishing, as I can pick and choose when I go. I have found a splendid new syndicate to fish this year, which includes 5 lakes and some 8 miles of river with only 150 members. It's an amazing change to the way I am able to fish.
I am now trying to start my own tackle business and make a bit of a name for myself in the world of fishing, as I have retired from real work.
Richard
