Some photos

It's not all about catching fish...

 I've been trying for a Bittern photo for over a decade then almost got one...

then they were like buses!

The Pike come along when this is blue.

Travelling

I've made the journey north literally hundreds of times, I know every bend and every bump, I drive on auto.  I know when to put the foot down and when to ease up. Even so there are times on the journey that I'm deep in thought and don't know where I am.  I'm on the right road, that is all.

A good soundtrack is essential, sometimes an audio book but normally music played LOUD.  Tonight I have the latest Red Hot Chilli Peppers disc in.  I love this band and I love the new album, I suspect it will get a good few spins this autumn but there is half a dozen other discs to choose from;  Soulwax, Eels, Led Zep, Leftfield.  On the way home I'll listen to something different, something to reflect my mood, celebration or commiseration.  These journeys have ended in ecstasy, despair and every emotion in between. 

 The weather forecast promised North Westerly wind and heavy rain but as I cruised north the sky was clear although lightning threatened in the west.  Will I make it onto the water ahead of the rain?  It will be a big bonus if I do!  Where can I put the boat in these conditions, if it gets rough I need to be as comfortable as possible on the first night.  Getting damp won't cause so much trouble on the second night.  Where will I go on the first morning?  What will the weather be doing? What are my options?  Shit!  Momentary panic, have I remembered everything?  Yes I checked off my list before I left, chill...

My musings are always interrupted on the way to Norfolk, at some point I will need to stop for a piss. A sign of age I expect but anyway as I know the route so well I have a couple of lay-bys marked down for the purpose. These are back from the road a bit so a little bit more discrete, wouldn't want an interruption from the boys in blue would I? I need to go early tonight and the closer I get to the lay by the more I need to go. By the time I see the ironic P sign I'm wincing but just as I approached the lay by a car pulled in! Fuck it, keep going! My mind tells me I can't piss, my bladder discomfort eases, it's a miracle! Funny how the mind works. Next lay by and I’m shuffling in discomfort again but bugger me another car pulls in ahead of me! Hammer down the dual carriageway and finally, just as I’m about to explode a lay by oasis appears.

Back on the road, still dry and clear but the foreboding clouds to the west can only be getting closer.  The second half of the journey is more comfortable, the peppers go round again and by the time I’m in Broadland the sky is still clear but mist is forming.  I take it easy as I approach my destination, the roads are tricky and getting stuck behind a slow vehicle won't make much difference now.  I Park in the usual place, open the door and hear the Tawney's straight away, but no time to admire as I jog to the boat and take another desperate piss!

The routine at the slip is easy now, tried and tested by hundreds of launches.  It's still clear and dry and I'm going to get out and set up without being rained on! Everything loaded and ready, I head out into the darkness...

My Pike season has begun, despite the annual onslaught from the anti autumn Piking brigade. These people hide behind a facade of "fish welfare" but it's mostly a case of; "I'm busy catching Carp/Tench/Barbel so no one should go Pike fishing before I'm ready". I've covered that on here before, fuck 'em. If anyone should need a reminder; http://fishingsgreat.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/first-frosts-cobblers.html

Now comes the frustrating time for a blogger, time to dip below the radar for a while.  I may pop up again from time to time, or maybe not.  So as I'm unable to show any Pike, here are some Cranes.

PS.  It was Leftfield on the way home, read into that what you will.