It’s now the first of October, and the countdown to the Airfield Lake closure has begun. With the end in sight, Ian and I had agreed this would be our last social of the year. Once November rolls around, Ian switches over to day sessions when the weather suits him. I must admit, every winter I get that little bit closer to following suit, but I’ve yet to decide if I’d actually be happier sticking to daylight hours. There’s something about a night on the bank — the stillness, the waiting — that’s hard to give up. As usual, our late-Tuesday chat stretched into Wednesday afternoon. We went over the forecast, our swim options, and broke it all down into first, second, and third choices, just as we always do. After last week’s session, where the sudden weather change completely knocked the carp off feeding until Ian’s final night, we both felt the same swim made the most sense. Without even discussing it at first, we’d both come to the same conclusion — Tower Point, fishing back into the big lake again. By mid-morning Wednesday, I arrived at the lake to find it still and quiet. A cool northeasterly breeze brushed across the surface, pushing the early autumn leaves against the margins. The swim was free — perfect. Ian rolled in shortly after, and we both set about getting camp sorted.
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
UK Carp & Coarse Fishing 