Well, it wasn’t the pike fishing on the Thames it was supposed to be – but this bunch of fishermen already had their fish passes stamped and their tackle waiting by the front door, so there was no question about it: fishing was to be done. And where better for a last minute change of plan than the SavaCentre stretch of the Wandle in Merton?
So, to a chorus of ‘What are you doing?, ‘There’s nothing in there’ and ‘Do you eat them?’, maggots were drowned, fluff was chucked, and plenty of fish were caught.
Jim celebrated his recent conversion to trotting with a mixed bag of Wandle roach, chub & dace, and Adrian’chublet’ G-H didn’t disappoint either.
It was good to see some new faces along, namely Waldo and Steve. Waldo managed the best roach of the day, and on a fly too (though he did hedge his bets somewhat with a nymph that bore more than a passing resemblance to a maggot).
The best chub of the day went to Greg, again on a fly, just as the cold was seriously starting to bite.
At this point the William Morris beckoned for some warming pints and obligatory fishing chat. The Wandle had once again proved what a fun river it can be to fish, whatever the method. Mental note to all selves involved – let’s do this more often!
