#12 Last days

I am not sure when it starts but it definitely finishes March the 14th  1991 with my last fish caught whilst domiciled in Devil Dog Land. Here goes then:

Slim autumn double from the Match Pit, during our waggler phase. Poly ball all the way now.

I have a black hat on my chub head. Bottom fish quite recognisable due to it's deformity

Stour, somewhere. Suffolk bank. Something defining about a border marker.

Standard fare. Dependable old chevin..

Snow caught Colne chub, on worm over red maggot..Sheepen Road stretch

Another Match Pit fish.

Mach pit dawn and dusk

Day out with Lobkin. I can remember it was freezing cold and he stood in dog shit. Some way up the Stour so a nice long journey back through a gridlocked Colchester.

Came late to fishing above Severn  Arches on the Colne. Stunning scenery looking back. One of Lord Lite's fave after dark winter venues after cold, clear days.

I was in my regal phase  at this point, As Lord Lite had it recently, from mohican to old boy countryman's hat. I do remember that day the smell of someone's line fresh laundry being put out from that farm. Still use that ET Tube today

Just got  a new flash gun and I was gonna use it ...

Stour fish.

Must be soaking up that classic Match Pit view thinking about the move up to North Norfolk...

Chosen spot for my last hurrah. Colchester North Station far right. Which I never have been.

You'ld think that the first post Devil Dog Land albums would be stuffed full of prime Wensum chub.......

#11 Army Surplus

Up to Old Skool 6  now so must be around 1990. Clearly did a lot of chub fishing. Pleased with this as a first page of an album, and obviously printed by someone who took some time. In those days chaps we had to wait about a week to get the prints back, longer for slides. You never knew what you were going to get.

The Colne, Sheepen Road. Must have traded up from the Avon scales to some Waymasters. Why are scales plural?

Came across a huge shoal of roach from the tree right back up the straight. Me and two other chap of the angle  were just mesmerised. Many, many yards in length. Colchester North Station on the brow of the hill used to have the longest continual platform in Europe,. A three station town (inc St. Botolphs and The Hythe)

Mostly on the meat. Loved my Lafuma low chair. Till my arse got too fat

Did fish else where. This being Nayland top stretch on the Stour. A broke back chuurb

And another form that swim.

On to Frating Bottom pond..

Messers Guzzagog and Sibbons match fishing

I presume Glen did fart?

For a while the dam was the spot to fish, very close in over hemp. Maintaining the meat theme. Nice evening mixed bag. Leather a good double. On the Hutchie 12  foot 1.75tc rods.

 Fishing close did mean fishing very close.

A very pretty Frating fish and obviously my Army Surplus phase.

Did lots of quick morning sessions before (Nursing) college as well. Always got stuck at the bottom of Clingoe Hill.  Seems my bois  have lifted some of these dawn shots for their avatars/home pages...can't beat the smell of a summer dawn.

Two little morning scamps

Yes, deffo Army Surplus.

Float fishing again, this time on the Match Pit. 1.02 and pic taken by Dave Lake

Alresford, bottom fish from Sandbank

And lastly some Colne fish from a little higher up Remembrance Avenue.

Flake on the Menu? The pike certainly was on flake as well. Had been trying for some decent roach undr  abridge  but chevin and esox muscled in.

Only one more Essex album to go before our decamp to God's County.

#10 Finding Nemo in amongst the Monochrome Set

Thus album was mostly one of my black and white phases..

This tench is from the first day of a season, can't remember which one and it was from the Match Pit, falling to Shanus. He always used a bit of laccy band as a hair stop.

We/I must have been on chick peas cos I have  a shot of a swan with a pea skin in its gob.
Also on there that day were two very unlikely lads, Biggles and Jack Russell. That's not an impressive bend on Biggle's rod, its a swingtip. He has got a bream on though.

Brief foray on Tynevales, behind Alresford. Me and Shanus found  a neglected fyke net stuffed with very dead eels.

Was reputed to hold crucians, think this might be a hooge brown goldfish?

Nice camera work...fill the fecking frame yer tosspot. Very pretty Alresford fish.

This one is one of the originals, a real corker.

Alresford carp and The Point.

Chalk and cheese set ups, Lobkin to the left

Was also fishing Frating a lot, feck did that tractor pump make a racket, when the diesel ran out we always cheered. Some lovely fish in there as well.

This one was clearly on chick peas...

Wasn't always so warm on Frating, this was one of the coldest days I have ever experienced without snow, a blank days perching at that.

On the river and  a banker swim on  the CPOAC stretch below Wiston.

Home to Nemo. Not obvious why called Nemo here.

On this flank though....

Caught it twice, 3.14 then another day  3,12, perhaps it could only swim in a circle with one pec so it lived in a circular beat... That field was notoriously muddy with Ski-tex  weighing about 25 kg on each foot at the end of a day.

Pretty little Pump Pit (live bait) roach

Lord Lite, then of Alresford with a couple from No 1. He also put some bait in really early that year for some Jan/Feb tench. The Walkman Years.

Wormingford Bridge

And some Portuguese mullet from Lagos harbour. Very tasty too.