IT IS a little-known fact that in the 1990s I ghosted Kevin Ashurst’s autobiography, and there’s a story attached to it that I’d like to tell you about.
What made the project so attractive to me in the first place was the chance to meet Kevin’s dad, Benny, who was a real hero to Northern lads of my age. I was not to be disappointed.
The project took about ten days of interviews and note jotting, and one evening I was ensconced before the fire in the family sitting room. Benny leaned towards me and said: “Winter fishing is all about getting your feeding patterns right, John lad. In my prime I could feed a canal in freezing weather with just the right pinches of hemp and caster. I could get the roach going so daft that even in a frost they’d be leaving the water to pick up the loose bits on the towpath. Right out on the bank, they were, and I could pick them up.”
I was scribbling like a lunatic till Kevin laid a hand on my arm and told me his dad was winding me up, knowing a sucker when he saw one. Still, Benny’s words came back to me on the days of October 29 and 30 this year, when Phil and I were out on a river for roach. Winter had broken overnight. Temperatures had collapsed, the wind was blowing from the east and the water was as clear as gin. The previous Saturday, roach had been everywhere, but now they had deserted me.
Like Benny said all those years ago, get your feeding right or perish. On natural still waters and rivers, these are the critical months, and over my winters of guiding I get asked the same questions over and over. Here are my considered answers, in no small part thanks to Mr Ashurst Snr.
A modest amount of maggots, but John likes to feed more of them when he can. Northern match legend Benny Ashurst had a big bearing on John's feeding thoughts.
Q What are the golden rules of winter feeding?
Esta historia es de la edición November 12, 2019 de Angler's Mail.
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Esta historia es de la edición November 12, 2019 de Angler's Mail.
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