This week’s trip nearly didn’t happen. I was absolutely knackered from the previous week’s fishing and gardening jobs, and then, on Wednesday morning, I came back from work to find a burst pipe behind the washing machine.
A quick trip to Screwfix later — £2.45 spent — and I fitted the new one, tested it out, and then headed down to the lake.
I decided to go via Meadow Lake rather than the Airfield Lake, only to find there were just two anglers fishing. Must be fate!
After going around the lake twice and taking a good look at the weather, the wind was howling into one of the bays, and it looked absolutely perfect.
I baited the area with a couple of Spombs of Jurassic Particles hemp and buckwheat, followed by a good few pouchfuls of a mixture of Nutrabaits boilies in various sizes.
For the hookbait, I would be fishing a 24mm EnerGize Harded Hooker, combined with Hobo Armour end tackle and a Castaway-PVA small mesh PVA bag filled with a mixture of Nutrabaits pellets soaked in hemp oil.
The combination produced… 2 carp, including an absolute beast of a common at 42lb 11oz.
Fate or luck does sometimes come into play with fishing. You just have to be there when it does.
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
