Great stuff, Pete...Now even better with the pix

Keep 'em coming, mate.

In reply to Post #925
thanks ken that means a lot

In reply to Post #924
when will we learn the country side is a very fragile place, as a country we will have to change our ways or face a catastrophic,

Very true Pete, it seems to be disappearing at a rate of knots!

More good stuff from you mate, loving it

In reply to Post #926
well done pete excellent write up with lovely pics as well

In reply to Post #924
Now i am getting old and my old bones creak a lot all i have is my memories from long ago. Times of hard ship and lots more beside to stand upon the mountain side and walk the valleys far below to shoot the mountain hair and old foxy to, watch the buzzard soar above to see the grouse on the wing raise your gun but let him pass to live another day to see the snow drifts far above it all has made my day.
To fish the mountain streams the lakes and rivers, To catch the brown trout that swam in the mountain stream trousers rolled up to your knees then slide your hand underneath his belly and in one swift movement on the bank he went, it was all part of my life that i have loved. I have laid down in the heather and watched the fox cubs play I have watched the vixen bring them food a rabbit or a hair i have got so close i could of touched them all and they never knew i was there, i have climbed the tree to the kestrels nest and held the youngsters in my hand and stared in wander at the sight. I have poached the woods of Shropshire night and day i have watched the keeper feed the birds as i sat in his the coverts not to far away, soon he would be in the pub and i would have my way a few birds in my sack and i would be on my away no mess would i make no feathers left to give me myself away.

i would fish the old pool and hide within the reeds i have caught the Rudd and the bream i have heard old Gerry pass me by. With gun in his arm and dog behind and he never knew i was there i have sat beside the lake and watched the stars above and listened to the noises of the night i have heard the vixen, scream the bark of the dog and the screech of old olut as he searched for a vole or mouse what more could one want i have raised my gun with my torch strapped on and seen the pheasant up above i have pulled the trigger with trembling hands down he would come and flutter on the ground another for the bag a few more birds and i would be home and warm my feet by the fire and dream of things to come what a life i have had and i hope a bit more to come no more poaching like i did just my memories that i treasure from all those years long ago a bit more latter.

In reply to Post #928
Thanks rob very grateful for your remarks very much apprecated

In reply to Post #929
I have been out with my syndicate this morning we only shot until dinner time one or two of the guns have other commitments. I am very sad and shocked about a lake i fish not far from my home which has lost 800 fish through the bad weather its part of shropshire's history gone in a matter of days, the bailiff has told me all about the sad loss via pm. some of the fish were very big how on earth they will replace them i don't know but its not just this one, other lakes have been severely hit maybe some wiped out for ever i have got a feeling anglers up here will be struggling to find places to fish even the river i think will suffered



Going back lets talk about nature not only have fish suffered in this weather but it has killed many owls the barn owl is the worst hit but a few Tawney's have also succumbed to the dreadful weather we have experienced this year, the barn owl has not been able to find the voles and mice, it hunts for. They have been there but deep below the snow so the owls could not get to them very sad such a beautiful bird I wonder how many more of our native birds have perished in this weather, the lakes were frozen once again my friend tony found a fox dead in the water looks like he drowned trying to catch some water hen or duck and fell through the ice and that was his end there were marks on the ice where he had been, very sad such a noble animal should meet his end like that.
Bomere looking back from the keepers cottage which IS now flats i would fish the pool right under the keepers nose

showing the extensive work done by english nature the keepers pens were just down the bank thats where i would have a few of his birds years ago


the pool i poached years ago you can see it in the background



There were a few skeins of geese going over this morning very high going some where to feed and rest for the day they were mostly grey lags with a few Canada's flying with them, i love to watch them high above on a winters day the pools were deserted not a sign of fisherman here today although a bit of water seemed to be open at the far end of the twenty five acre lake, usually the pike fishermen are out but no one graced the banks it was a damp fogy and freezing and i for one was glad to be home i took a few photos of the wood and lakes to put up on here and i am now home in the warm i was surprised at the number of wood cock that were seen today the guns only shot a couple but it was nice to see them here. we had a good show of pheasants but lacked the guns as some had to work and could not make it so it was only the oldies that turned up but it was a good morning, it is the last shoot day next saturday and every one will turn up it will then be finished for another year how time flies it will soon be spring and the birds will sing a lovely time of year. well a bit more latter

In reply to Post #931
What a way to spend the day graham one side of the hedge me the other gun in hand ready to shoot the bolting rabbit Rodger would work the ferrets we would have netted most of the holes we could find ,but there was always a few that we missed. out from the hedge row would run the rabbit up with the gun bang and the rabbit would tumble down i have literally shot hundreds over the years we could end the day with a good many and we always made a bob or two, you would not get as much for a shot rabbit dealers liked the ferreted ones but we had a chap that would buy them shot or ferreted and always gave you the same price i think most went to france he would open his refrigerator door and there would be hundreds hung in t
learning young tom the country way of life




rodgers huge feeret run











more of rodgers ferrets







I did not like digging but i did my fare share luckily we had the collar with the transmitter and the hand held receiver which made things a lot easier to locate the ferret and rabbit she may of killed, we have dug down to the ferret more than once and after removing her have found as many as seven rabbits backed up a dead end. When i was young i would not ferret the big burries but always liked the small ones usually in a hedge row with three or four holes they were not as deep as a rule and the digging not as hard, we had no transmitters then so i used an old hob ferret with a collar and a line attached you would follow the line by digging down usually the old hob would move the little gill ferret and she would come back to the entrance she would be put back in the box. and you would proceed to dig the hob out, he would not leave the kill and would be on the rabbit when you got down to him, as i have said some times he had backed up more than one it was a great way to spend a day the difference was when i was young we had to catch to survive today its a hobby to make a bit of money

rodgers ferrets






we have also used the ferrets for flushing rats from the bales the farmer had stacked in the big indoor sheds they would bolt from everywhere we had some friends bring a couple of terroirs along they would catch the rat then toss them up and before they hit the floor they would be dead the farmers loved this and were always grateful this is how we gained much of our fishing, but the country way of life is no longer here the rats are now shot with an air rifle and torch i have a friend well distant relation, who shoots up to two hundred plus a night and gets paid for it when i lived at craven arms a chap there had a pack of terriers he would go around the farms when it was dark he would kill large numbers the farmers welcomed him with open arms as he did a very good job . well a bit more latter

In reply to Post #932
i am very sorry something has deleted my one storey and most of my photos i have gone back to photo bucket they have all gone i had somthing called malware come up i then lost every thing help wanted pete

In reply to Post #933

In reply to Post #932
i have walked the roads and bye ways of Shropshire i have walked the tree lined lanes i have fished the streams and rivers i have watched the otter play i loved to fish the river and catch the barbel it held i suppose looking back we used to catch as many as 30 fish in a evening we usually went about five in the evening and fished until midnight or latter we fished two rods that's all you could handle, it was great fishing in the summer i have had chub to six pounds and i have hooked the occasional carp but i have managed to lose it because of the thick weed beds, but no more those days have gone you are now lucky to catch one barbel. Fish stocks are being depleted by to many predators that are now on our rivers, i have seen packs of goo-sanders fishing together the otter cormorants you name it we have got it on the severn. The days of my youth will never return we would catch huge bags of roach and dace,, the barbel had yet to arrive but they have been the main stay of our river the last few years i loved to dead bait for the pike i would always head for the deeper water where the shoals of roach were you could always catch a few pike from these spots, but no more they have gone how sad.


Things are changing from my youth the wild life is also disappearing the water vole that was so common when i was young is now very rare due to the mink but also there habitat is disappearing , when i was young the water meadows by the streams and rivers were amazed with flowers of all varieties no more all ploughed to many mouths to feed. A lot of the country side i knew when i was young has gone new houses stand where i fished and poached the wild life has gone i could walk up the road from my house and i was in the fields or clime the fence at the bottom of our garden no more its now tarmac we still have the fields and lakes and the woods i loved but a lot has now gone for housing and such.

i really wander what old SAM would say about the way its going or my grandad it is so different i am sure some people think the mink is a furry little creature which should not be killed the goo sanders are lovely to see the general public, don't care a toss about our fishing only the wild life they can see on the river bank, fish don't matter because they cant see them the likes of otters matter because they are portrayed as lovable little creatures i don't think in my time any of these animals a birds will be controlled but they should be to protect our fish stocks and our voles and birds for the future generations to come, the environment agency are doing a survey at shrewsbury i shall be very interested in there finding and what they recommend we shall see but ill bet it wont be a cull . more latter

In reply to Post #935
another carp this one had a big sore on his shoulder

In reply to Post #936
another big barbel

In reply to Post #937
I would walk the hill country and its valleys to watch the wild life so much to see i watched a goshawk for weeks up on the longmynd he took a good many rabbits and a few pheasants but he was a magnificent bird i would lie in the heather and watch him hunt he stayed for quite some time then disappeared gone to pastures new there was always something to see the common buzzard sparrow hawk kestrel then there were the hill ponies with there shaggy coats, the Hair and of course old foxy it could keep me busy for weeks i loved to be up on those hills with the wind on my face it was pure magic i would find the mountain stream fish for the small trout that inhabited the dark cold waters pick the win-berries in season what more could i ask. i would walk for miles box on my back gun in, hand and ferret the rabbits that infested the hill country we had some great days catching a couple here and a couple there we did not net the holes but shot them as they bolted for cover it was a fantastic way to spend your day.

I got to know a small lake down in the valley the farmer said it held fish and he thought they were carp he said if i wanted a go just call at the farm to let him know i was there, well we were soon beside this little lake or maybe i should call it a gem because that what it was where do you start well i float fished it with maggot sweet corn bread casters we caught some tremendous crucian carp every cast a fish all from a pound two two pounds but did the scrap every so often away the float would slide and you would be into a bigger fish we landed tench four, pounds was about the biggest, but great fishing how on earth these fish got into the lake the farmer said he had not stocked them we got broke on a number of occasions by bigger fish i presumed they were big carp the next time we went we took the carp rods i tried every thing but could only catch on maize they loved the stuff we never caught a carp over 18 pounds in all the time we fished the place they were mostly around twelve pounds plus but we did not care the fishing was free and the scenery was spectacular it had to happen over the years it had got quite well known, and now a local club controls the fishing. i have fished it since with young Andy who's in the club but its not what it was when i fished it all those years ago. the farmer died and his son took over like all farmers the revenue helps him out its becoming more difficult to find these waters but there are a few out there i have come across a few when shooting on some of the big estates, some i have fished and have had good sport. well a bit more latter

In reply to Post #938
big barbel from the severn