A powerful, winding estuary runs through the marshes below my house. It was a thrilling place to play when I was a child, and the deep, salty channel made for a handy escape route in my teenage years. The ebb tide draws everything downstream past the pub in the harbour, so my brother and I would often paddle our little boat down for an evening pint.
Salmon and sea-trout ride up this estuary to spawn in the hill streams and I used to try for them with a spinner when the rain came. I never had any luck in the brackish, murky water but I did once catch an eel on a hook baited with worms. It was purely an accident but the sight of an eel squirming and tying himself in knots at the end of my line set me thinking: if the estuary would not give me salmon, then I would learn how to catch eels.
In truth, eels were easily caught in those days. I soon found out how to catch them in good numbers, simply by weighting a hook and baiting it with anything from worms and rabbit meat to the guts and brains of other eels. I developed a system where I could run several lines at once, attaching them to plastic electric fence poles, which twitched and wobbled to indicate a ‘bite’. There was one afternoon when I managed to catch 30 eels like this, running back and forth between the poles in a frenzy. So much for fishing as a sport of meditation and relaxation; I was sweating and frantic to keep up with my haul.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 22, 2020-Ausgabe von Shooting Times & Country.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 22, 2020-Ausgabe von Shooting Times & Country.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside