"Water Under The Bridge"

This is a picture of a lake in Cheshire where my friend and I fished last weekend. If you are looking for a bridge you probably won't see one because it's a motorway bridge, you can just make out the sign in the background.
Picturesque yes, but it was also very noisy!


My first introduction into match Angling, couldn't have got off to a better start, since then, match fishing has always been my passion. Ever since the day, I won my very first open on the Leeds and Liverpool canal in Yorkshire, some thirty years ago.

This match was fished on a Saturday during the winter months,with a mild frost the night before. Seventy five Anglers took part in this event and although I had won it, back at the HQ, I was criticized for fishing it completely wrong, by one of the top local experts.

Without doubt I felt very perturbed and bemused at what was said, was this what it was always like when someone one won a match? I asked myself! However I soon discovered this was not the case and went on to make many friends since.

Still shivering with excitement from the day before, I had been told that there was another open , this time on the River Aire, a River I had not seen or even heard of, after making some inquiries where the draw was to be held ,and also having some cash in my pocket, I decided to give it a go.

A chance to prove the critics wrong I thought! a chance to prove the day before was no fluke. "Although it was in a sense", because all I had taken with me on the day was bread, I had forgot to take my other bait with me and had left this at home.

Which just goes to show that a positive single minded approach can yield results be it accidental or not. It wasn't long for Sunday to arrive and with a lack of sleep, I woke up to a very miserable day, there was snow on the ground I thought the match may be cancelled! However filled with elation and enthusiasm from the day before I turned up at the draw, to my relief the match wasn't cancelled!

To cut a long story short five hours later I was to discover I had won once again . My name appeared twice the following day in the local paper, and ever since that weekend I have been hooked on match fishing.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since those days, but it's not all about winning, you do meet a great number of people and make a lot of friends in the process. Beware though I have just invested in a new pair of glasses tight lines.