In reply to Post #633
Well after collapsing i have been in hospital two weeks they found a big hole in both side my lungs one with a big apses i could not breath i am a lot better now and i am hoping to return to my stories god bless you all pete i really though it was my last .
Well after collapsing i have been in hospital two weeks they found a big hole in both side my lungs one with a big apses i could not breath i am a lot better now and i am hoping to return to my stories god bless you all pete i really though it was my last .
In reply to Post #633
Being a shropshire lad i was brought up to hunt and fish to harvest what was good for us i shot to eat it ts part of my heritage i have looked after a few shoots and fisheries it takes a poacher to catch one or so they say and i have caught a few.
I would like you to come with me to shoot the geese on a clear moonlight night the frost was white upon the grass as Graham and myself walked across the fields if you looked back you could see your tracks in the grass every blade was a shimmering white we we're wrapped up warm to keep the heat in i suppose we were both in our twenties, up they went in front of us we had disturbed a covey of partridge they had been sheltering under a big oak tree for warmth we never raised a gun and watched them disappear over a distant hedge, the geese would fly all night in the moonlight but we were prepared to wait it out as we knew they would come in onto the lake behind us, i had my big black lab with me his name was blaze a very strong and trusty dog we made our way to a distant ditch which was warm and dry getting our selves comfortable to wait it out. It may be midnight before they came they will be in there hundreds with Canadian and greylags and a scattering of snow geese that flew with the scenes, we had pulled a branch or two over our heads we could shoot through the openings we had left open, in the distance we could hear a dog fox calling his mate she answered his call with three sharp barks of course they will now be mating i know this big dog i have mentioned him before his name was white tip now long since gone i found him curled up behind a tree his life had gone his beautiful brown eyes had closed for ever i could of shot him many times but i let him go i had an understanding with him he was not frightened of me one bit.
My dog was shaking with with excitement we listened you could hear the geese calling in the distance blaze had heard then long before us they would take some time to reach us we loaded our guns we were using magnum loads the first geese flew over our heads we let them come in we shot the next scene taking the rear birds i saw four drop away went my dog bringing one greylag back to hand and a further three Canadian we only wanted wanted around a dozen to share with friends the next that came were greylags up went our guns they were much higher we only took two but nice birds all the same, we then settled down to wait an old tawny owl decided to land in the tree just up from where we were now he was in fine song before long what a racket he made he would soon be down the farm looking for his nightly dinner, it was a good hour before the next scene came the sky was black their must of been at least 500 birds we manage another four all Canadian, then another scene appeared we took four more all grey lags and that was that enough for one night we tied the geese together and slung them over our shoulder and made for our van across the field it was a successful night i said to graham we will have to leave some and walk back for them they were far two heavy we put the dog in the van with the birds and fetched the rest it was now one in the morning we looked back and they were still coming in, now it was time to let them rest we would not touch them for at least two weeks that was near xmas we would have more orders to fill this was many years ago we were both young and strong now there is me left as my friend Graham has passed on well theres a bit more from years ago more to follow.
Being a shropshire lad i was brought up to hunt and fish to harvest what was good for us i shot to eat it ts part of my heritage i have looked after a few shoots and fisheries it takes a poacher to catch one or so they say and i have caught a few.
I would like you to come with me to shoot the geese on a clear moonlight night the frost was white upon the grass as Graham and myself walked across the fields if you looked back you could see your tracks in the grass every blade was a shimmering white we we're wrapped up warm to keep the heat in i suppose we were both in our twenties, up they went in front of us we had disturbed a covey of partridge they had been sheltering under a big oak tree for warmth we never raised a gun and watched them disappear over a distant hedge, the geese would fly all night in the moonlight but we were prepared to wait it out as we knew they would come in onto the lake behind us, i had my big black lab with me his name was blaze a very strong and trusty dog we made our way to a distant ditch which was warm and dry getting our selves comfortable to wait it out. It may be midnight before they came they will be in there hundreds with Canadian and greylags and a scattering of snow geese that flew with the scenes, we had pulled a branch or two over our heads we could shoot through the openings we had left open, in the distance we could hear a dog fox calling his mate she answered his call with three sharp barks of course they will now be mating i know this big dog i have mentioned him before his name was white tip now long since gone i found him curled up behind a tree his life had gone his beautiful brown eyes had closed for ever i could of shot him many times but i let him go i had an understanding with him he was not frightened of me one bit.
My dog was shaking with with excitement we listened you could hear the geese calling in the distance blaze had heard then long before us they would take some time to reach us we loaded our guns we were using magnum loads the first geese flew over our heads we let them come in we shot the next scene taking the rear birds i saw four drop away went my dog bringing one greylag back to hand and a further three Canadian we only wanted wanted around a dozen to share with friends the next that came were greylags up went our guns they were much higher we only took two but nice birds all the same, we then settled down to wait an old tawny owl decided to land in the tree just up from where we were now he was in fine song before long what a racket he made he would soon be down the farm looking for his nightly dinner, it was a good hour before the next scene came the sky was black their must of been at least 500 birds we manage another four all Canadian, then another scene appeared we took four more all grey lags and that was that enough for one night we tied the geese together and slung them over our shoulder and made for our van across the field it was a successful night i said to graham we will have to leave some and walk back for them they were far two heavy we put the dog in the van with the birds and fetched the rest it was now one in the morning we looked back and they were still coming in, now it was time to let them rest we would not touch them for at least two weeks that was near xmas we would have more orders to fill this was many years ago we were both young and strong now there is me left as my friend Graham has passed on well theres a bit more from years ago more to follow.
In reply to Post #635
I will be home recuperating from my illness for some time so i will be able to add to my stories. i suppose people knew me as jack the lad when i was teenager i was always out fishing or shooting or watching my beloved wild life, i poached the trout because food was not easy to get we lived on rabbit and trout with the occasional salmon if i was lucky, it kept my family in meat and all our friends, i loved trundling a worm down the brook or river this was done mostly at night when the bailiffs and keepers were tucked up in bed i would always keep an ear open if i heard a twig crack it was time to move or smell tobacco especially a pipe its surprising how many keepers smoked a pipe the smell carried on a breeze for some way.
This is the story is of such a night i always traveled alone as i was only responsible for my self i would travel by bike and hide it until i finished, this particular night i was trying a new venue i traveled light only a rod worms a a few spinners mostly devon minnows, although i had never fished this stretch before it still belonged to oid bell the keeper i was going to fish from inside a big wood i would have to stand in the water, cast out and feel for a bite i had caught about twelve trout, when i smelt tobacco smoke not taking any chances i crossed the river and lay in the undergrowth the other side, it was not long before i heard talking i recognised the one voice as the police sgt from our village looks if no ones around tonight frank i could hear them as clear as day they shone a light across the river then down the river making sure all was quite, we will have a look further down on chris jones land ill take you down in the land rover said the sgt, and away they went i never trusted old bell he was a real good keeper and had a habit of coming back when all was quite i had quite a few run ins with him but i did respect the man i wondered if to carry on so i stuck a devon minnow on and fished from the bank side i had just caught another nice fish when i hear a shout the bugger had come back don't think he had seen me or so i thought ,this was to be one hell off chase i saw the sgt ford the stream with his land rover i was way i hid the fish, i was way up the field and onto the road through the village of Condover and onto Howard joneses land there i crawled into a big pipe that went down the side of the railway line i could hear shouting in the distance so there was more than two in this chase i just lay there and hoped for the best i heard the sgt say i will bet its that bugger from bayston hill meaning me i nearly burst out laughing they moved on to my village that gave me time to slip back and collect my rod and fish i found my bike an started walking across the fields to the back way to my home i arrived home at two am i left the fish in the shed i had just got in when there was a knock on the door it was the police and old bell they were out of luck no one answered i heard the sgt say ill check him out tomorrow and he did he could not prove a thing mum said i was out down in town with friends. so here ends another story. more to come latter.
I will be home recuperating from my illness for some time so i will be able to add to my stories. i suppose people knew me as jack the lad when i was teenager i was always out fishing or shooting or watching my beloved wild life, i poached the trout because food was not easy to get we lived on rabbit and trout with the occasional salmon if i was lucky, it kept my family in meat and all our friends, i loved trundling a worm down the brook or river this was done mostly at night when the bailiffs and keepers were tucked up in bed i would always keep an ear open if i heard a twig crack it was time to move or smell tobacco especially a pipe its surprising how many keepers smoked a pipe the smell carried on a breeze for some way.
This is the story is of such a night i always traveled alone as i was only responsible for my self i would travel by bike and hide it until i finished, this particular night i was trying a new venue i traveled light only a rod worms a a few spinners mostly devon minnows, although i had never fished this stretch before it still belonged to oid bell the keeper i was going to fish from inside a big wood i would have to stand in the water, cast out and feel for a bite i had caught about twelve trout, when i smelt tobacco smoke not taking any chances i crossed the river and lay in the undergrowth the other side, it was not long before i heard talking i recognised the one voice as the police sgt from our village looks if no ones around tonight frank i could hear them as clear as day they shone a light across the river then down the river making sure all was quite, we will have a look further down on chris jones land ill take you down in the land rover said the sgt, and away they went i never trusted old bell he was a real good keeper and had a habit of coming back when all was quite i had quite a few run ins with him but i did respect the man i wondered if to carry on so i stuck a devon minnow on and fished from the bank side i had just caught another nice fish when i hear a shout the bugger had come back don't think he had seen me or so i thought ,this was to be one hell off chase i saw the sgt ford the stream with his land rover i was way i hid the fish, i was way up the field and onto the road through the village of Condover and onto Howard joneses land there i crawled into a big pipe that went down the side of the railway line i could hear shouting in the distance so there was more than two in this chase i just lay there and hoped for the best i heard the sgt say i will bet its that bugger from bayston hill meaning me i nearly burst out laughing they moved on to my village that gave me time to slip back and collect my rod and fish i found my bike an started walking across the fields to the back way to my home i arrived home at two am i left the fish in the shed i had just got in when there was a knock on the door it was the police and old bell they were out of luck no one answered i heard the sgt say ill check him out tomorrow and he did he could not prove a thing mum said i was out down in town with friends. so here ends another story. more to come latter.
In reply to Post #636
Glad to have you back, Pete, and equally glad to hear you are on the mend. Must have been a bit scary for you though. Keep the stories coming. They are a beath of fresh country air in this over hyped carp world.
Glad to have you back, Pete, and equally glad to hear you are on the mend. Must have been a bit scary for you though. Keep the stories coming. They are a beath of fresh country air in this over hyped carp world.
In reply to Post #637
Thanks ken apprecated
Thanks ken apprecated
In reply to Post #638
Glad to your ok pete
On looking around my loft for the Xmas bits,bobs,just had to get my dads rods out for a look.......Wallis super wizard(whole cane,split cane,agatine rings) and Avon royal supreme centre pin .....I remember sitting with him in the mid 50s on the lea and Thames ,great times,
Glad to your ok pete
On looking around my loft for the Xmas bits,bobs,just had to get my dads rods out for a look.......Wallis super wizard(whole cane,split cane,agatine rings) and Avon royal supreme centre pin .....I remember sitting with him in the mid 50s on the lea and Thames ,great times,
In reply to Post #639
Just ordered a pin not used one for years i can remember wallis super wizard lovely rod i hope i will survive feel a lot today thanks appreciated
Just ordered a pin not used one for years i can remember wallis super wizard lovely rod i hope i will survive feel a lot today thanks appreciated
In reply to Post #636
I was encouraged from a young age to go fishing although when my Granddad died i was really lost and taught myself it was hard going, i was completely obsessed and even played truant from school to be on the bank but in the end i got caught and faced the dreaded cane which i had three time on both hands god did it sting i would not cry to give the head master satisfaction it slowed me down for some time after, about six miles from my home lived a mr evans he was nice old boy and a friend of the family come on up you can fish my lake anytime, he said to my father its alright Bert no harm will come to them and i must say it did not we would cycle up i loved night fishing we would lye on a plastic sack covering our selves over with a big army coat we would watch the stars shooting across the sky what a beautiful sight.
One thing i did not understand was these gentlemen that walked around the lake night and day with a rod in their hand and wearing a big hat there was one chap that shared information with us his name was peter finch he taught us quite a lot and i will always be indebted to him but others would tell you nothing i knew Raymond and myself would catch in the end we were mostly self taught i had no one to turn to as my mentor and granddad died in 1947 it was a very sad time in my life as we were very close, but we must keep on trying well thats what i told Ray little did i know it would come by pure luck, at the bottom end of the lake was a big weed bed i would throw pieces of bread into the weed and watch the carp take it. I only had the tank aerial rods and a couple of old wooden centre pins i would pull the line from the reel and coil it behind me put a piece of crust on a big black eel hook cut a bank stick out of the hedge to put the rod on i would give it the big chuck and out it would fly out landing amongst the weeds i could not believe i would catch on this method but i did i watched this one fish bow waved towards the bread and it was gone in a instant my line flew from my pin i lifted the rod and he was on it took around twenty minutes to extract him from the weed one angler came running with a net and we landed a superb common of ten pounds this angler told me that it was a good fish for this era i never saw him again in all the years i fished there. Mr Evans came out carrying big bottles of ginger beer for myself and Ray good lads congratulatoins was in order but i never thought like that it was only a fish to me i also learned a lot from mr crabtree goes fishing, i did not realise in a few years i would meet my boy hood hero Dick walker and strike up a friendship until he died in the eighties. well there a bit more lots to come latter.
I was encouraged from a young age to go fishing although when my Granddad died i was really lost and taught myself it was hard going, i was completely obsessed and even played truant from school to be on the bank but in the end i got caught and faced the dreaded cane which i had three time on both hands god did it sting i would not cry to give the head master satisfaction it slowed me down for some time after, about six miles from my home lived a mr evans he was nice old boy and a friend of the family come on up you can fish my lake anytime, he said to my father its alright Bert no harm will come to them and i must say it did not we would cycle up i loved night fishing we would lye on a plastic sack covering our selves over with a big army coat we would watch the stars shooting across the sky what a beautiful sight.
One thing i did not understand was these gentlemen that walked around the lake night and day with a rod in their hand and wearing a big hat there was one chap that shared information with us his name was peter finch he taught us quite a lot and i will always be indebted to him but others would tell you nothing i knew Raymond and myself would catch in the end we were mostly self taught i had no one to turn to as my mentor and granddad died in 1947 it was a very sad time in my life as we were very close, but we must keep on trying well thats what i told Ray little did i know it would come by pure luck, at the bottom end of the lake was a big weed bed i would throw pieces of bread into the weed and watch the carp take it. I only had the tank aerial rods and a couple of old wooden centre pins i would pull the line from the reel and coil it behind me put a piece of crust on a big black eel hook cut a bank stick out of the hedge to put the rod on i would give it the big chuck and out it would fly out landing amongst the weeds i could not believe i would catch on this method but i did i watched this one fish bow waved towards the bread and it was gone in a instant my line flew from my pin i lifted the rod and he was on it took around twenty minutes to extract him from the weed one angler came running with a net and we landed a superb common of ten pounds this angler told me that it was a good fish for this era i never saw him again in all the years i fished there. Mr Evans came out carrying big bottles of ginger beer for myself and Ray good lads congratulatoins was in order but i never thought like that it was only a fish to me i also learned a lot from mr crabtree goes fishing, i did not realise in a few years i would meet my boy hood hero Dick walker and strike up a friendship until he died in the eighties. well there a bit more lots to come latter.
In reply to Post #641
In reply to Post #641
Thanks
In reply to Post #641
Thanks
In reply to Post #641
In reply to Post #641
THANKS
In reply to Post #641
THANKS
In reply to Post #641
My old mate the bailiff Rodger has been in touch he was worried he had not seen me this season well i suppose he had not owing to me being in hospital a couple of times he tried to ring but there was no reply he has sent some lovely photos of one a big barbel. And one of a big catch of chub, i will post them latter i am sure you will be interested i am really fed up as i have to rest until after christmas maybe more thats not me i am used to going down the woods and such or fishing the river like Rodger and friends the wife won't take her eye off me incase i have gone there is a little lake not far from my house i have watched the the perch taking the Rudd some over 4oz quite a mouthfull they are big fish i can't wait to have a go at them. I will give them a big mouth full of worms i can't understand why no one fishes for them i have watched them tearing through the shoal of Rudd
right in front of were i was standing, they are big and i cannot wait to have ago but that will have to wait until i feel better.
This is a storey from long ago about my family and others who did not have much money it was around eight years after the war and every one struggled to get enough money to keep the families going, i suppose this is what made me a poacher. It wast fast coming towards Christmas eve , The farmer up the road had a big pen of cockerels they were nearly ready for market, so they would be killed within the next few days. A friend called ray said he would help me we went very quietly not a noise did we make. they were all in this hen house i went in like lighting and grabbed two they were big birds we put them in the bag they were around eight pounds a piece we took them down the fields it was pitch black we did managed to kill and feather them i hoped they would think a fox had been in the pen at there time i did not know they had a couple of men guarding the birds we were lucky as if we had gone latter we could have been caught they were in the pub before their shift i it was three days before christmas should we have another couple pete said ray we could i suppose so the next night just on dark we had another it all went well we killed and feathered them and away home we went i gave ray two give one to your neighbour ray. They killed those birds next day they asked if we would help ray and and i feathered the birds i felt rather bad he gave us another bird each and five bob no one missed the other birds as he had far to many. well there is another story more latter.
My old mate the bailiff Rodger has been in touch he was worried he had not seen me this season well i suppose he had not owing to me being in hospital a couple of times he tried to ring but there was no reply he has sent some lovely photos of one a big barbel. And one of a big catch of chub, i will post them latter i am sure you will be interested i am really fed up as i have to rest until after christmas maybe more thats not me i am used to going down the woods and such or fishing the river like Rodger and friends the wife won't take her eye off me incase i have gone there is a little lake not far from my house i have watched the the perch taking the Rudd some over 4oz quite a mouthfull they are big fish i can't wait to have a go at them. I will give them a big mouth full of worms i can't understand why no one fishes for them i have watched them tearing through the shoal of Rudd
right in front of were i was standing, they are big and i cannot wait to have ago but that will have to wait until i feel better.
This is a storey from long ago about my family and others who did not have much money it was around eight years after the war and every one struggled to get enough money to keep the families going, i suppose this is what made me a poacher. It wast fast coming towards Christmas eve , The farmer up the road had a big pen of cockerels they were nearly ready for market, so they would be killed within the next few days. A friend called ray said he would help me we went very quietly not a noise did we make. they were all in this hen house i went in like lighting and grabbed two they were big birds we put them in the bag they were around eight pounds a piece we took them down the fields it was pitch black we did managed to kill and feather them i hoped they would think a fox had been in the pen at there time i did not know they had a couple of men guarding the birds we were lucky as if we had gone latter we could have been caught they were in the pub before their shift i it was three days before christmas should we have another couple pete said ray we could i suppose so the next night just on dark we had another it all went well we killed and feathered them and away home we went i gave ray two give one to your neighbour ray. They killed those birds next day they asked if we would help ray and and i feathered the birds i felt rather bad he gave us another bird each and five bob no one missed the other birds as he had far to many. well there is another story more latter.
In reply to Post #644
Brilliant stuff Pete.....when I`m out night walking in the woods with my lil cocker your experiences are always in my mind especially when I`m near a stream or river...
glad your feeling a little better....
glad your feeling a little better....
In reply to Post #646
Thanks wandle very much appreciated
Thanks wandle very much appreciated
In reply to Post #647
I promised to put these photos up they were caught by my dear friend Rodger he has not been a well chap he is also bailiff he is one of the best waggler fisherman i have ever seen. more of the same latter
I promised to put these photos up they were caught by my dear friend Rodger he has not been a well chap he is also bailiff he is one of the best waggler fisherman i have ever seen. more of the same latter