And just like that, the summer holidays are all but over. There’s just one date left in The School of Fish season (fully booked, sorry) and as all that activity comes to an end, my personal fishing will really get going at sea with the coastline currently bubbling with life. That’s one of the things I love about fishing, each season brings new adventures and new weather to enjoy. That said, this summer has been pretty disappointing, especially after a good May and June. There’s always the chance of that Holy Grail, an Indian summer!
The August fishing lesson was a full day session with guests booking 45 minute slots during the day. It was a mix of new and familiar faces. It was great watching those who have fished with me all year. In April they’d never fished before, were never going to touch a maggot and no way were they going to touch a fish, let alone hold one. But, very quickly the fears were forgotten, the curiosity and excitement took over and, as I watched they hooked those maggots, cast beautifully, brought the fish to the net and carefully unhooked them before a quick photo and then returning them to the water. Job done, you’re anglers now and the learning will never stop!
My own learning for the next few months will, hopefully, be on my little boat. I’ve messed about on boats all my life and enjoyed catching lots of different species and been fortunate to fish with some excellent skippers. From back in my youth pottering around off Dawlish to then crewing out of Exmouth fishing the English Channel wrecks to then moving to Cornwall and buying my own little boat. Before kids, I fished in my boat a lot but these days, with fishing sessions being just a couple of hours the boat doesn’t often feature. But, hopefully that’ll change and I can get out more regularly. The learning at sea simply never stops. I’ve always enjoyed catching bass but never been particularly good at it. It would be fun to improve this. Just this morning I got on the water for a few hours. The boat ran nicely and the fishing was fun. I’ve lit that fire and if the weather is good, I’ll be out there enjoying more adventures! Here’s to an exciting autumn and fingers crossed for an Indian Summer.
