In reply to Post #133
I have walked the lanes and woods of Shropshire i have stood in a sea of blue deep, inside the woods the blue bells what a sight to see . I have walked through the wild garlic that really makes you smell, i have seen the woods in a mass of snow drops i have been in the woods when the buds were opening to welcome another year i have watched the fox in his coat of rustic red making his way forward between the trees stepping so lightly you never heard a thing stopping and lifting his head and sniffing the air making sure it was safe to carry on i have watched the badgers at play and seen them huddled together on a moon light night looking for worms in the Shropshire meadows i have been out after the rabbits rifle in hand on the darkest of nights i have poached the pheasants long ago it was all part of my life i have stood beside the the small river as it menders through the fields and country side i have cast a worm and held the rod as it trundled down under the far bank i have felt the pluck of the fish as he picked up the worms i have played him in a sea of spray and held him in my hand his flanks covered in spots another for the pot, i have cast a fly and watched it vanish beneath the surface as the trout gently takes it in his mouth and then he is away splashing in glistening water trying to get away what a wonderful feeling holding the rod as it doubled up into a hoop as you felt the power of the small fish as it dashed down the river in his bid for freedom.

I have watched the buzzard way above as it soars on the thermal i have climbed to her nest long ago and have held her eggs in my hand the white with spotted red brown i have held the chicks in my hand what more could one ask i have watched the peregrine stoop with tremendous speed and hit his prey sending a spray of feather towards the ground another pigeon has met his end, i have watched the female on her nest on a rocky ledge hight up in the old quarry for all to see, i have watched as she fed her chicks a wondrous sight to see, I loved to ferret the rabbits on a winters, day. ending the day by the fire in the local pub discussing our day.

i have took many out with me to watch the fox we have hidden in the dry ditch as the vixen makes her way to the old earth bringing a rabbit or a chicken stolen from the adjacent farm she has five healthy cubs and you watch how they fight over the food its all a game, i have watched a tug of war with a rabbit pulling it this way and that way, it was all part of there fun as they grew older i have watched them leave the earth they are gaining confidence it wont be long before they are old enough to fend for there selves not many live and are killed in the first twelve months of there lives, they are usually shot by the game keepers to protect his birds or fall victim to our roads but that is nature only the fittest survive. well that's it for now more latter

In reply to Post #134
I have already explained most lakes were private in the days of my youth the only way you could fish them was to poach if you got caught you could depending on age end up in court i did my fair share of guesting i would usually go by myself as you only had your self to blame if you got caught. But at times i have relented and let one of my friends accompany me one such lad was a boy called Gerald he loved pike fishing and was never happier than when spinning for pike we would creep down to the pool behind the keepers cottage it was very boggy and the whole place would shake like a jelly when you stood on the side of the pool, we caught loads of jack pike up to about seven pounds now in those days in the late forties and middle fifties most families would eat pike i can see Gerald now struggling across the fields with a few pike tied together with binder twine you pushed the twine through the gills and out of the mouth Gerald came from a large family so nothing was wasted i fished a few lakes with Gerald in my younger days.

I think i told you the story about him getting stung by hornets while running through the dense under growth ill tell the tale again for those that never read it in the first part of my stories, the big lake well bomere was strictly private no one in those days fished the place it was fairly over grown except for rides cut by the keepers, Gerald and i had been fishing for some time when we heard a shout looking over the lake we saw a land rover with Sgt landers he had seen us and the chase was on what we did not know although we had heard shooting, there was shoot today and there was a number of under keepers with two head keepers old bell and Gerry hayes, behind where we stood was a strip of under growth then a bit of a bank where the badger sets are now so some anglers reading this will know where i mean. we ran through the under growth Gerald ran straight into a big hornets, nest hanging like a foot ball from the lower branches of a tree he actually knocked it down with his body tripping over a piece of wood he was covered in the things he was screaming for help run Gerald and he got up and did just that i waited on the field he still had hornets on him which i soon knocked from his jacket and shirt his face was bloated and swollen he was really crying we got onto the railway line and made it to the bridge where we stood and listened i could see the landrover making its way down the lane to where were hidden. In the next feild was an old culvert big enought to crawl throught we both headed for it and vanished down this old pipe it came out a bit further along the feild we stayed there some time but gerald was in agony by the time i got him home he was really fading fast he was in terrible pain his mother and grandad got him to hospital whers he stayed for a couple of days, we had a call from sgt landers wanting to know where i had been , all i said was home i dont think he believed it for one minute but he could not prove a thing i was talking to a freind the other day and he said mr landers was still alive he must be in his nintys now i expect he has forgot the days he chased me around. well thats it for today more latter

In reply to Post #135
i;m still keeping my eye on ya pete . great stories about the old days , keep em coming .

In reply to Post #136
Thanks Harry very much appreciated ill do my best we have not had a talk lately on the phone we must have a chat some time in the near future i hope your well

In reply to Post #135
As i said before i learned my self to fish i only had a bamboo rod in those far off days, i remember i found a pound note on the road and went out and bought myself a rod. i was only about seven years old i did not know at the time it was the next door neighbors i got the strap for being dishonest as money was not easy to come by i soon learned i came from a loving family but they were strict and would stand no messing i had to go next door and apologies to Mr Fletcher he was a nice old boy but loved a drink he would come up the lane in his pin striped suit and black bowler hat as drunk as a skunk, i was allowed to keep the rod but mother had to give Mr Fletcher his pound back when i went to apologies he was a bit tipsy and gave me the pound back mum was not to happy, but i gave her back the money as times where very hard.

I never stole again if i found money i would always hand it in this was not my first rod just up the lane from us Mr Jarvis lived he called me in one day giving me a rod reel and all the bits to go with it i suppose that was when the bug really set in it was not the best of rods it had seen better days but it got me going this was before my mother married again and we moved to craven arms my grandad really started me fishing but he died aged 52 in in 1947 i was broken hearted i was only five years old and my grandad was my world i missed him so much as he was like a father and took the place of my dad, my dad got killed in the war i was living with grandad and granny when he passed away. I then moved in with my mother who worked at the condover blind school it was a hard life she did not have that much money so we took a land army girl in called Joan hay the money improved a bit and mum bought me odds and sods for fishing i think that was the first time i fished the condover brook as Joan worked at the home farm belonging to Mr cartwright i suppose i was really poaching as in those days most ot the water came under Mr Bell the local game keeper it was stocked with brown trout and really looked after, i really did not know what i was doing i had an old brown wood reel so i would have to pull the line which was a green silk from the spool and then give it a big chuck some times it would get stuck in the vegetation other times it would fly out my float was a porcupine quill i had got some weights and hooks but it was trial and error i had no one to show me how but over a period of months i really got better and would wonder down the brook away from the farm my bait was worms from the old muck heap at the farm i remember catching my first trout under the old bridge the float disappeared i thought i had snagged the bottom i started to wind in then felt the fish pull i managed to get it in to shallow water and pick it up i shook with excitement my first fish from that brook i killed it and took it home it was only 12oz or so mum fried it in the pan and we both enjoyed it, but that was not the last time i fished that brook i caught many more trout from there over the years and some not strictly legal all poached. well that's it for today more latter

In reply to Post #138
Just been reading the old thread called rats rats rats you may think living in the countryside and loving nature we like them i absolutely hate them why they were put on this earth god knows they are filthy animals one farmer friend died from the disease caught from them weals he was feeding or milking the cows and felt something drip from above on his face and lips it was rat urine he was dead within months his wife told us all about it and how he suffered. i remember ferreting a big estate not far from shrewsbury we netted this one warren all that came out were rats it must of been a huge colony infact the chap i was with got bitten through the fingers trying to extract his ferret from the warren he had to go straight to hospital for it to be looked at luckyly he is still with us my springer spaniel drank from a puddle beside the road which was infected ,he died six months latter even thought the vets said they could save him it was cruel to watch him fade away if ever it happened again i would have the dog put to sleep.

The council tip was about five miles from my house if you went up there in the evening just as it was getting dark you would see dozens the farm over from the tip was inundated with the furry things i had a friend that went to the farm at night with his air rifle and lamp he shot dozens of the things the farmers were quite glad of his or our help the adjacent hedge rows were full of holes and the vermin chap came around and poisoned most but there is a problem doing this as the poison can and does kill other animals and birds but he eradicated most of the hedge rows around the farm the farmers wife was petrified as they even got into the house but all is now good again as they are all gone, funny really i have never seen a fox with one i suppose they must eat them but i have never found there remains on any earth i have visited. The old tip was alive with foxes scavenging amongst the rubbish at one point the farmers were very worried because of there young lambs not as i like killing this old rogue of the wood but at times it becomes a necessity so we shot every Saturday morning lining the guns across the woods and in five separate morning we shot forty five full grown foxes they say they are territorial absolutely rubbish we shot ten out of one small wood. but rats i can not stand i have lived in the country side all my life and i love nature but not these furry pests. well a bit more latter

In reply to Post #139
What a day we went for a short session on the river yesterday and we both blanked well i suppose that is fishing the river is that low and desperately needs fresh water, fishing just below me were two youngsters they really did not have any idea in the direction they were casting it was way out and every cast they made went over my line, after sorting it out a few times i packed up and decided i would try and help- them out the ones dad was fishing further down but really took no notice of the lads at all, they were quite polite youngsters but there rods were really not made for ledgering both were only about seven ft long more of a spinning rod than ledger i do wish parents would buy the correct rod for the job as they could pick an eleven or twelve ft rod up quite cheaply there set up was not the best a arsley bomb tied directly to the line with a big hook and a piece of sweetcorn for bait six inches from the bomb, it took me about an hour or so to get them sorted and casting in the right direction. i also altered their rigs and hooks the one young lad started use maggot and got a bite instantly he duly landed a nice perch of around two pounds he had a great smile on his face which really made my day then it was out with the keep-net i was a bit concerned as the water was only about six inches deep by the side and suggested it would be a lot better if they did a photo and return the fish to the water out came the mobile phones photos done and fish returned with no damage the smile on there faces said it all it did not take long to show these youngsters the right way to cast and tackle up but so many of the older anglers have no time for these youngsters it a shame really as we all had to start and learn at some point.

Personally i love to see the youngsters fishing as it keeps them out of trouble they learn such a lot not only about fishing but about the wild life to, so the more i see down the river the better when i was young i had no one to show me how to fish i learned myself but there was not as many anglers around then as today i suppose i did have dear old SAM the game keeper he did put me right on a number of issues but i was fishing long before i met SAM the tackle today is far superior than it was when i was young most of the rods were bamboo i have seen them with a spliced top section of green heart but i was never lucky enough to own one myself so the day ended with us blanking but i got as much pleasure watching and helping the youngsers, i do hope they continue to take part in our lovely hobby as it has given me great pleasure over the years well a bit more latter

In reply to Post #140
Whats happened to all the bull heads lampreys and such we as lads spent hours with a net and a jar catching them but they really do seem to have gone missing in the forties we as lads would be always playing down by the streams or rivers in the school holidays we would be either swimming or fishing i spent most of my younger life down by the river i would watch the different seasons, in those days the may fly hatch would be spectacular they would be seen in there hundreds i would watch as the spent flies floated down stream to be picked of by the brown trout they certainly satisfied there hunger at that time of year. Just down the lane from where we lived was the river bridge you would see all the youngsters in a line fishing from the bridge as the bailiffs always turned a blind eye to this but go onto the adjacent land they would certainly confiscate your tackle and if old enough you would end up in court i don't think any one in those days knew what a fishing licence was for we were not old enough but some of the adults were but in all those years i never heard a bailiff ask an adult for one.

I was introduced to carp fishing, in the late forties early fifties they were hazy lazy days we seemed to have glorious summers my mate and i would cycle to the old pool rods tied to the cross bar of the bike a bag on your back with pop and sandwiches and baits and odds and sods they were great days you would be out first thing in a morning and be back for bed your parents knew you were safe sadly the youngsters cannot do that today as i have said before our tackle was really antiquated i was lucky dad got me some tank aerial rods and i did most of my fishing with them we had old wood reels but we managed i think the first good line i ever had was platal or perlon but that was not until the middle fifties i did manage to get my hands on an old, rapidex fix spooled reel latter on, the first fixed spool reel i acquired was a old green job not very good but it did the job i wanted it to, but until then we managed with the silk line and the wooden star backs as i have said before we pulled the line from the spool coiling it on the ground behind you then gave it the big chuck some times it flew straight out other it got caught in the grass and such but we never cared we would do it all again after sorting out any tangles we had no pressure in those days every day was a joy like one big holiday we would have about six to eight weeks away from school most was spent fishing or up the woods camping.

My old teacher Mrs Thomas knew i fished and she would always encourage me to go in fact she came with me once but i think it was to get a free meal of a trout but she was a lovely person i have still got a book she gave to me about the country side god it dates back to the forties she has long ago passed over but i have a lot to thank her for if i had the cane for playing truant or fighting she would always come and see me after and soak my hands in cold water she said it would take the swelling bruising away in those days you had to look after your self if you did not you would be bullied by the other lads but they were good days it was in latter years that mrs Thomas asked me to get her a pheasent or two she knew i poached but never ever said it was wrong she knew poeple needed the food as a lot was still rationed we as kids all had idendity cards as the war had not finished that long a lot of the sons of our neibours never came home they had been killed in action we as lads never gave it much thought untill you saw them crying it was very sad. well a bit more latter

In reply to Post #141
When i lived at craven arms there were a number of lakes that were strictly private you would never get permission to fish them as the estates were all shooting that's what brought the money in so the only way to fish them was to poach most of my friends at the time were to frightened to go anywhere near as there were big signs saying you will be shot on sight shot on sight if caught, or private keep out watch for the dogs, most of it was a load of tosh i have been on a few estates when younger and did not see many dogs only springer's and labs certainly not Alsatians that some game keepers use today for there protection mostly ex police dogs. I would creep down my chosen lake taking my float tackle with me and fish by the big Lillie beds, one such lake was onibury court i think it is still private it belonged to the Holcrofts at the time and was quite heavily keeperd they certainly had a few big shoots there the one lake was covered in lilies i would hide my bike in the under growth beside the road, i would fish from the cover of the reeds and under growth around the side the lake, it was full of big Rudd beautiful fish red fins they were broad and deep with golden flanks you would catch the tench as well the biggest i had was about three to four pounds but to an eleven year old that was a big fish.

I nearly got caught this one day i rolled up to fish i had been fishing about half an hour when i saw all these gentlemen and ladies standing out in the surrounding field it was a shoot day the keepers were driving out the ducks from the lake and the pheasants from the surrounding wood that ran around around the lake side i was petrified i would get caught there must have been about twenty beaters so i climbed the nearest tree an old fir hiding my rod first, i watched as the beaters passed right under the tree i was hiding in but no one gave the tree a second glance as soon as they past i was down and watched from a distance as pheasants tumbled out of the sky some very near to where i was hidden it was all to much for me and i picked three or four before the dogs found them i hid them in the hedge where my bike was i could hear the guns shout bird down keeper its over there you would watch as the dogs tried to find the birds no scent the keeper would say or it must be a runner little did he know that i was having them i had some great times down the lakes on that estate and caught some nice fish i was not discovered once although i had some near misses the pheasants were always welcome at home and by our neighbors as times were still quite hard as the year was 1953. well that's it for now . more latter

In reply to Post #142
One thing that really helped me when i was a youngster was Mr crabtree goes fishing i had one of the first additions it was printed in 1949 i would lie in bed with a old bicycle lamp reading how many times i read that book i don't know but it was like a bible to me a fishing bible i learned so much from that little book it was bought for me one Christmas but i followed it religiously or tried i would be away down stokesay pool it was a little pool in front of the castle and would float fish in the holes between the weed beds i really did not know the significance of those Rudd we caught they were great big fish there fins bright red with beautiful golden flanks two farming brothers owned the pool the marshes. I would drop small pieces of bread in the holes between the weed beds and watch the Rudd taking it there was some very big fish indeed the brothers that owned the lake did not mind the youngsters fishing there you might see as many as twelve young lads there at a time some only had a piece of cane with line tied to the top of the cane they would just drop it in front of where they were fishing in to one of the holes in the weed and they would catch it also had some lovely pike and they grew to quite a size with all the food in there us lads really cut our teeth on this pool it was about six foot deep at the most but graham and i in the latter years caught some spectacular Rudd some going near four pounds the average weight was around two pounds it appeared in angling times way back in the sixties a chap called SOS valentine had a page in angling times he rented the pool from the marshes but it did not last long and they kicked him off why i never discovered i suspect it was because the youngsters always fished there and this chap had stopped them.

They were lovely days and i learned to trot a float on that small river onny i would spin for the trout but also caught some beautiful perch i never had any scales in those days so thinking back they were around two pounds they were great days the Brown trout were stocked by the local farmers and there was a couple of fly fishing associations on the water Shropshire fly fishers was one such club but i would worm it was in the fifties we really needed the trout for food it was full of grayling as well the lady of the river and i loved catching them on maggot i had collected from the abitor. It was about this time i met sam the keeper who showed me how to fly fish i was not that good at it but got by, sam was a wonderful teacher and naturalist and taught me many things in my early life mostly about the birds and animals He was one of the old breed they have mostly all gone now old sam was not past doing a bit of poaching on the river but i have told you that in my earlier stories. well a bit more latter

In reply to Post #143
Fishing was not the same years ago as it is today how can i explain when i first started carp fishing i suppose i was eight years old the country side then was different than today i fished from an orchard and in season was full of apples every where you looked was a blaze of colour from the wild flowers the smell was overpowering the hedge rows were full of honeysuckle as boys we were allowed to stay at night as the owner of the lake always looked after the youngsters we very rarely paid for the fishing i think when i first started it was chuck and chance it as we did not know that much about carp fishing but we soon learned. I remember casting with a float to the bubbles we could see coming to the surface i used a big lob and fished the float just over depth if i remember right i had the tank aerial rod then i would watch the float move as the fish brushed against the line then watch as the float lifted in the water then move across the water and disappear oh the excitement of it all you would play the fish to the side we had no landing nets then but got into the water and lifted it out i cant tell you how us young lads felt as we stared at this beautiful fish it was not big by today's standards only about three pounds but it was all muscle and to us youngsters it was huge.

We were lucky to have this small lake we would cycle there it was about six miles from our homes we would Tie our rods to the cross bar of our bikes then bag on back which held sandwiches pop and odds and ends of tackle if we did not spend the night there we would be back before bed time it was the best time of our young lives we would fish day in day out especially in the holidays just up the road from the lake was another lovely water it was in the grounds of a private school and was full of tench and Rudd myself and a friend called Ray fished it well poached it just in front of the lake was the cricket ground so you could watch the cricket match and fish at the same time we would float fish we caught Tench after Tench not big but a beautiful green colour thinking back they were stunted but we did not care they were fish we also caught the Rudd they also were not that big we fished that lake for years and never got discovered i some times wander if it is still there as i have not been there since the middle fifties it was a beautiful lake covered in Lillie's all different colours the world was our oyster some how the pace of life was a lot slower in those days i suppose they had not got much to worrry about as the war had ended. well thats it for now more latter

In reply to Post #144
People in those days were very modest although hard up you never saw any greed or any thing like that if your neighbour had got to much lets say tea they would share it with you as with all food stuff when you had the pig killed as most people in the war years and after owned one they would all turn up to give a hand to scrape the hairs off and salt the different cuts of pork some would be shared out between the neighbors and your selves the main cuts were salted and hung on the hooks up by the ceiling it amazed me over a period of time it would go black mainly caused by the fire you kept in night and day as it was the only source of heat i remember them cutting big slices of bacon from the fl itches then the would fry it on the old stove it was a range that was all part of the fire we had a big hook hanging in the fire place we would hang the kettle on it to boil, things were so different then i have seen the fat soak the big hunks of bread from the bacon but it never seemed to do a anyone any harm you never had it rammed down your throat it was harmful and would give you a heart attack people would eat most things i know they would eat the perch i caught if i took them home but most of the time i just returned them they were to lovely to kill pike was another fish they eat i always thought it tasted a bit muddy but they would eat it with a big plate of potatoes and peas i suppose it filled there belly up. Eel was another fish they loved i have seen it hanging in the kitchen and watched how it was skinned out then they rubbed with salt all over it, they would cut it into chunks and dip it in home made batter and fried it in the pan i must admit i quite liked it myself.

I loved the woods and would walk miles to me the woods were beautiful.. i soon learned the ways of the animals and the birds and spent hours climbing the trees to birds nests it is surprising how many pools i found deep in the woods some were not much bigger than a puddle but they held fish mostly small roach or Rudd how they were stocked god knows as they were miles from any where unless the odd water fowl had transferred the eggs from its legs into the pool. i would always have a go and fish these small pools it was usually a fish a cast as they were small stunted fish and short of food, but size never really bothered us it was about being out catching fish i would kill and take some home to mount on my flight to spin for the trout or pike or perch what ever came my way you can tell they were not very big roach, more like an over grown minnow but they certainly did the job i think the biggest pike i had in my young years was only seven pounds it took a live Rudd i was trying to land but to us kids it was enormous the owner of the lake wanted to kill it but i would not let him it was released back into the pool after he had took some photos on an old wooden camera god that was a few years ago well that's it for today as i am taking my mate graham to hospital to sort his eyes out as he has been experiencing a few problems as of late.. so a bit more tomorrow if i am not fishing.

In reply to Post #145
Although we fished we had other hobbies as we lived in a railway town lots of the lads would go train spotting you could buy a book from the paper shop it gave the different classes of engines also giving its name and number you would just tick it off, but Ray and i were not that interested in that we would rather be fishing or out with our catapults trying to get a rabbit or two although i say it myself i was not a bad shot i would save the lead seals from the pigeon crates they would come in there thousands every Saturday i would go, up and collect the seals then melt them down i made ledgers and ammo for my catapult there were thousands of rabbits in the late forties early fifties we would walk the fields looking in patches of nettles the rabbits would be cutched down thinking they were safe from any predator in went the lead slug pull the elastic back bang you would here the thud as it found its target ray and i got quite successful doing this and would walk miles bringing home a few rabbits every time we went what we did not want went to the shop owned by j-p wood in latter years they were renowned for there chickens and had a big factory thier chickens went country wide but alas now long gone sad really as they employed lots from the country side and surrounding area.

Just up the fields two rivers joined the onny and i think the other one was the perry it was quite deep where they met we would ledger a worm from under the bridge the amount of trout we had from that spot it was productive i have caught as many as sixteen in a couple of hours the ground we fished from would be ablaze of colour in the daffodil season it was covered with the flowers we would pick bunches and sell them to woods for sixpence a bunch it was all part of the old hall but the problem was old price the farmer would let his bull loose hoping to keep people and poachers away there was also big signs saying keep out private property i must admit i did not like that bull he was a nasty thing and had chased us before most kept away from him, he even had a go at old price and he was the owner he put him in hospital not a very nice animal i thought he was mental, he chased ray and myself one day we went over the fence the bull just plowed straight through we were in the river and swam to the other side he stood watching pawing the ground head down i did not know if to laugh or cry not Raymond out came the catapult in went a stone before i could stop him bang i heard the thud he hit him in the testicles he roared in rage and took straight into the river i was gone we got up the nearest tree he knew we were there, we did not come down from that tree untill he got bored and moved away i never went near him again and if fishing we always made sure he was not out but they were good days althought we did not have much we were happy and content. well a bit more latter

In reply to Post #146
I soon learned to look after myself when we moved to craven arms i was a stranger and i got picked on by the other lads i would have none of it and would fight they soon learned to leave me alone i can well remember this one lad his name was barker he was determined he was going to give me a hiding and would pick on me at school so i said meet me down the fields at dinner time and he did i think all the school was there i got the first one in and that was that he soon shut up and i never had any more trouble from him but i soon started to get a reputation as some one not to tangle with but it suited me in fact i made many friends over the next few months it was all part of growing up.

I would cycle over to walcott lakes they were strictly private in those days rods strapped to the cross bar i would leave my bike hiding it in the undergrowth and clime over the hedge it was quite heavily keeper ed but it did not stop, me fishing it there was some good tench and roach in the water i have told you all about the shoot days there were hundreds of ducks on the two lakes the pheasants were every where i would watch where the duck and pheasants fell and would have a few away but i loved the fishing and caught some half decent roach i think the biggest tench was no more than three pounds i would float fish and hide in the big reed beds they were great days i was fishing this one day, and every thing went solid then started to move away i caught sight of this fish it was a very big pike, which had taken the roach that i had hooked i never stood a chance and he soon broke my line i stood there shaking what a monster but all the times i fished there i never saw another pike it was quite away from our house i would think about eight miles or so but we cycled every where in those days there was a river just up the road and i would have a look on the way home it was full with trout and decided i would have a go for them.

So i arrived on this river one early morning and proceeded to walk the bank and spin for the residents it was good fishing there were signs every where saying private fishing if caught you will be prosecuted but it did not stop me i would be there for first light and be away about eight thirty the trout were no more than a pound but made good eating i had a saddle bag on my bike and would wrap the fish in paper and carry them home in the saddle bag i have caught 20 odd fish in the few hours fishing there, the little river was called the the river clun it was baliffed and all the trout fishing was let i had some great mornings out over the years fishing this little river and my parents and neighbors were always gratfull for the trout i think i fed every one living in newington terrace in those early days and would catch fish to order . well a bit more latter

In reply to Post #147
In those days i would cycle the eight miles to ludlow and fish on the river Team most of the river was private in those days but i caught some good gray-ling and trout from just below ludlow but after you had been fishing all day it was very tiring cycling back to craven arms i found another lake at a place called clungunford it belonged to squire Rock in the early fifties it was strictly private but i would cycle from the arms hide my bike and hide in the big reed beds i also did a fair amount of spinning but all i caught was small pike stunted fish no more than a pound in weight i remember catching a perch but other than that it was full of roach all stunted but to us youngsters it was exiting fishing there were a couple of keepers i have watched as they walked around the pool feeding the ducks i would not make a noise siting still until they left the pool as i have said before you had little chance to fish any where unless you poached the estates and then you were taking a chance if caught they would throw the book at you this one day i thought i would ask the squire for permission i knocked on the big house door, and when he appeared asked whether i could fish the lake he went bright red and started raising his voice saying he would set the dogs on any one fishing on his property actually he was not very nice but years latter he did give me permission to fish the lake he had certainly mellowed over the years.

I was told about another lake or pool in the woods up on Brandon hill above clungunford i went to school with a lad called Thomas his father had a farm above clungunford they had some big shoots up on Brandon but we managed to find this pool after a fair walk we only had one rod apiece it was a beautiful pool it was in the middle of the woods but the one side was all grass and it had been cut very short so some one was looking after it it also had a boat house at the one end and an island in the middle at times you could hear dogs barking in the distance i never really felt safe fishing there, but we did have a go float fishing with bread for bait we caught a fish a cast they were Rudd nice fish from half a pound to a pound joining this pool was another with a ditch between it was no more than a puddle but very clear we saw two big carp in that puddle they must have made there way in when it flooded we tried to wade in and catch them but it was very boggy but they looked good fish i fished it a few times but all we caught was Rudd i was always on edge and never really liked the place there was somthing about it. I suppose the year would have been around 1952 thats fifty nine years ago wheres it all gone i don't think there was many rivers and lakes i did not fish most were private i wonder to this day about that pool in the woods is it still there i am now to old to find out .
We did find another pool deep in the woods boat house and all but i have told you all about graham and myself fishing there in my earlier stories. well thats it for now more latter.