• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Getting up.

Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi men,

For years me and Sue got up and made it to the river for first light , if not earlier !. Then as we started to fish how we like , very mobile , sight fishing where possible , getting older :D we were getting to the venues later . Other than securing a swim you particularly want !, do you rush around ???.

Up today at 4am , walk my sons dog , pack car , feed horses , stop for McDonalds , drive nearly 2 hours , fishing around 9 am !.


Hatter
 
I'm just going to bed after fishing through the night! Starting again at lunchtime.
 
As I get older and after a long week at work I find it harder to get up early come a day off, but that suits barbel fishing to me as its usually an midweek after work till after dark thing or a fri/sat morning all niter, but actually turfing myself out of bed is the hard part, my main love pike fishing come weekend I used to like been set up for first light and it usually involves a fair drive to venue that gets harder now, luckily I've found a very good water were mornings aren't very productive and afternoon and last thing is the hot time so suits me, the motivations still their just that work tires my body out more come day off
 
Just had 3 days fishing at Treaddur Bay, first time ever at sea fishing, was like a kid at Chrimbo, couldn,t sleep. I was chomping at the bit at 4.45 am. Was given some excellent advice from members on here ( you know who you are :) ) about what times to fish regarding tide times, etc. But it didn,t matter, just wanted to be by the water no matter what. As it happened, we didn,t catch owt for a few hours till the tide started to come in, but hey, who cares, just being there was enough. We did eventually catch, Ballon, and cuckoo wrasse. Nothing big, but just getting the string pulled was bliss. Regarding time, i made my mate take his watch off, as he,s a bit regimental, and sets times for everything. When we left the sea, he couldn,t believe we had been fishing for 8 hours. :eek:

Time and Tide wait for no man. :):):)
 
I'm never in a rush anymore I feel more relaxed just taking my time and enjoying what I'm doing rather than setting time tables.
 
Clive Shipman said:
I'm never in a rush anymore I feel more relaxed just taking my time and enjoying what I'm doing rather than setting time tables.
Click to expand...

Time tables,targets, very hard to keep to when you have just done a 12 hour night shift !!
Enjoyment for this 56 year old is what it is about for me now,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
Try 60 to 80 hour weeks 12 hour days and nights it probably explains why I've been 3 times since opening day.
 
Clive Shipman said:
I'm never in a rush anymore I feel more relaxed just taking my time and enjoying what I'm doing rather than setting time tables.
Click to expand...

Thats the advantage with some club river fisheries over commercials/dayticket, not having to rush for that fav. swim,..it's all about taking my time and chilling out nowadays, still seem to catch without the hassel.:)
 
Clive Shipman said:
Try 60 to 80 hour weeks 12 hour days and nights it probably explains why I've been 3 times since opening day.
Click to expand...

Spent 21 years working like that Clive. Thankfully changed jobs eight years ago to a 37.5 hour week and much better employer.
 
I can often start with quite reasonable plans for a days fishing with commencement times that are bordering on socially acceptable. But I find my worst enemy is my mind which finds it amusing to constantly throw out the "what if" question. If I am intending to fish the Wye which is a good 90 minute drive, the WI's are focused around traffic and then swim availability. It is possible to manage the travel question reasonably well simply by listening to the radio reports. Swim availability is different. Part of the problem is that even before I have arrived at the river, I have visualised everything-swim, tactics, fish caught, Kelly Brook by my side filling my feeder. So dealing with variations to the already predetermined day becomes riddled with anxiety and stress. This then leads to counter offensive tactics to mitigate the risk of those variations occurring.

The more elaborate tactics would involve positioning CCTV cameras around the desired swims with an alarm system that responds to an approaching angler. If I am 90 minutes away then there would be little I could do directly to prevent the trespasser from stealing my swim and hence part of my life force. But the addition of a trip wire that when broken would fire a poison dart into the neck of the angler neatly deals with that. The poison simply paralyses the angler for at least 90 minutes. Perfect.

But that's all a bit of a fag and also expensive and possibly illegal so what actually happens is that I adjust my start time. There is a direct correlation between the various time adjustments made and the anxiety caused by WI questions. So I typically end up going to bed the night before, then not sleeping through a weird combination of anxiety and excitement, which causes more stress because of the not sleeping and knowing there is a long day ahead, and then worrying about where I will have a poo if I don't manage one before I leave, which causes more stress and fear which in turn quite rapidly deals with the poo situation.

And then I need to check and double check I have all the tackle and bait I need for the day ahead. And the anxiety cycle starts all over again.

I do love fishing though, so relaxing.
 
Yep, I think my generation are quite used to working those hours Clive. I can remember Ted Heath's 'three day week' master plan :rolleyes: We did the allowed three days per week, but then cheated by following that with three twelve hour nights at another factory in the same week, with an hour traveling time at each end. Worked in a pub where the average was eighty four hours a week (the joys of being barman, cellar man and toilet cleaner and general dogs body :D). I worked in factories when it was quite usual to finish a nine hour day, then have the boss ask you to carry on and work the night to get the product out...twenty three hours straight at times :D

I now have a new cocker spaniel puppy...so after five years of retirement, I am back to getting up at five thirty ish, and no chance of fishing for some time :eek: Life's a bitch :D:D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Superb Howard thats exactly how I seem to feel pre-session,sometimes not only concocting a plan B but also C and D.However much we stress over the situation I think its all worth in the end though else why would we do it to ourselves :eek:
 
Brolly? Nah in the boot. T shirt? Yeah it's summer. Bog roll? Already been. Coffee? Brewed at 4am all gone by10. Bites? None. Dodgy belly? Thank god for M&S garage hand towel. M&S hand towel? Not enough.

Spot on Howard.
 
As I was reading your post Howard, I was thinking to myself : "and I thought fishing was supposed to be relaxing", and then I saw your last line. Made me chuckle. You've got the barbel bug bad my friend.

Nick C
 
Very good Howard. Also got a cocker last year Dave which curtailed my fishing I some times wonder if it were possible to add a pause button to my life God knows I need it.
 
Clive Shipman said:
Very good Howard. Also got a cocker last year Dave which curtailed my fishing I some times wonder if it were possible to add a pause button to my life God knows I need it.
Click to expand...

We have just got a wocker to go with 3 collies...I thought dogs were that 'pause' ... they certainly help me in that way....fishing and dogs a great way to relax, unless your Howard of course :)
 
i,ve just got a bedlington terrier and she goes everywhere with me, she just potters about on the bank then sneeks up, gets the line snagged on her collar resulting in a very good imitation of a barbel bite and me grabbing for the rod.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top