Winding the Clock Back ... and back...and back ...

MarkV · #1

Dad started me off, on the Bham Worcs cut, between Lifford Drawbridge and the Brandwood Tunnel.

We used to walk there on Sunday afternoons, sometimes I’d be on the crossbar of his bike.

I really loved it there. Shared his tackle, and after a while had my own rod to carry. Very grown up and important I was with that.

We used to catch roach, just past the nearside weed beds. Or sometimes we didn’t.

I loved the smell of the cut, especially as we approached. Not reeking, just bloody gorgeous.

Canals don’t smell like that to me now, anywhere.

On days when it was really tough, he’d hook one on for me when I wasn’t looking or had been tricked into distraction.

As times moved on we afforded a brolly and I’d share his basket underneath if it tipped it down.

Posh eh.

It was the stories that really hooked me though. Tales of how big the fish were in the canal as walked to our pegs. All kids should have that.

Bream ‘as big as dustbin lids’ he used to say. And roach as big as ‘that’. Wow.

Dreams that made an angler for life.

With Sunday afternoons being the best time for a chance of fishing, I became a bit tiresome. Nagging him to take me.

Watching through the window for the weather. Rain was a disaster.

He wasn’t as keen as me and often preferred to watch the black and white Sunday afternoon films, but I was longing for the end credits, to have another go.

Mom wasn’t keen on us going and that didn’t help. But when you want it bad, you want it bad and I often kept on too much.

A common get out for him was “we’ve got no maggots” so I took to buying some on the way home from school and hiding them in the coal shed.

Only got me in more trouble, and facing the question of how I’d got the money.

Even more trouble came from explaining how I’d walked home all week to save the bus fare.

Got away with it once or twice but after that, they weren’t best pleased.

On summer evenings, if we’d got the money, we’d buy crisps from the off licence in Brandwood Road, returning home in the dark.

It seemed such a treat and they tasted much better than at any other time.

Walkers ready salted.

(Circa 1960's)

#2

Brill MarkV - brill

Look forward to more winding of that clock back

#3

Still waiting for the next chapter of this nostalgia trip............

#4

Me and my brother used to go on trips with my dad down the local canal same as Mr V

One of my favourites was when three or four times for a few seasons during the 70,s our dad would take us to the local Bridgewater canal , these trips were different to the norm though. We would set off in the car just up the road to Dane road basin in Sale at 3 am to fish far bank swims (opposite bank) a rod length out under torch light until around 7 am when the fish became impossible to catch during daylight. There was always some weed cover which held carp , big bream and tench plus an odd big crucian ..... fish you never saw or heard ever got caught during daylight hours. My dad used to set us up with a simple quill fixed with a rubber either end fished "flat" with just one big dropper touching bottom a 14s hook with three or four maggots and rope for line !

..... The bites from this set up were fantastic , little dinks followed by the float sitting upright then sailing away. Between us we caught around a dozen carp 4lb to 6lb and around 8 to 10 lb and lots of big bream over a couple seasons "sessions"........ fabulous exciting fishing you would never experience during daylight hours and best of all the excitement before and during each trip was something i will never forget.
The lights being gradually turned on in the terrace houses on the towpath side of the canal always gave the time away as dawn approached

#5

My dad steff johansen started me and my brother pete off on the canals around stoke and at aston stone burston and so on used to catch loads of gudgeon roach, had roach up to 1.5 pounds on 3m whips sitting on a piece of foam with a tub of pinkies and groundbait. Can remember one time at weston sitting under a now dismantled bridge and catching 3 big hybrids for about 8 or 9 pounds on maggots to the bridge wall and catching a 3lb eel at norbury on rod and line brill times oh if you see me dad ask him about the werewolf at sandon