Pitsford Reservoir nestles in the Northampton shire countryside amongst rolling hills and fields of yellow rapeseed. On our way to the lake we passed by the village of Lamport birthplace of BB one of England’s greatest country writers.
I was fishing in the annual water industry game fishing competition with fellow employees of South West Water.
We fished the Friday practice day and Saturday match day finding the fishing challenging. Teams of buzzers proved to be an effective and enjoyable technique of constant anticipation. Trout fishing tends to bring out the snob in many and I listened as anglers condemned the fishing of boobies on sinking lines whilst extolling the virtues of fishing buzzers on a floating line. Both techniques involve fishing a virtually static fly; are the ethics so different? In both approaches the angler waits for that thrilling tug on the line.
A four hundred mile round trip was a long way for three trout but fishing is about far more than catching. Places, people and friendships count for a lot.
A bitter cold North East wind made it feel more like March than early May not a great greeting for the hundreds of swifts, swallows and Martins that twisted and turned above the cool waters.