This week marked the last three nights of the year on Airfield Lake, and it had to be my destination.
I was a little concerned about the weather conditions, with high pressure, winds switching to the east, clear skies and, to add to the challenge, over 90% of the bars having been covered by water within the previous seven days.
There was certainly plenty going against me, but I had to give it a go.
I stuck with my usual approach, although starting with just half the usual amount of bait to see how things developed. The first 48 hours passed without me touching the rods. They simply sat out there, waiting. This approach has worked for me on numerous occasions in the past, but unfortunately, not this time.
On the final full day, I switched hookbaits a couple of times before settling on something I hoped might bring some success during the last night. Alas, the alarms remained silent.
The final morning greeted me with mist and a gentle easterly breeze, a lovely way to bring the session, and indeed the Airfield Lake season, to a close.
I’m not going to dwell on this one too much. I’ve been due a blank, and I genuinely felt this trip could go either way. But that’s fishing. I head out two or three nights every week, regardless of the weather, and sometimes you win, and sometimes you clearly lose.
That’s all part of the game, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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
