It started with snow. Ellis and I going to the Tees in early January but leaving after a few hours as we were not sure we would be able if we stayed much longer!
Covid restrictions and walking training occupied the next few months. I was planning on walking Hadrians wall in June, so I started doing some long walks. From what I remember this didn't hugely interrupt fishing as we were largely restricted to the local area, so I could not fish the rivers anyway. I then took the old closed season mostly off and it wasn't until May that I wet a line again. Ellis and I heading to the Oaks for some Carp action, I think the Carp were still on restrictions as we didn't "bag up" like we thought we would! We did discover portrait mode on the I phone though, great for catch shots.
Later in May, I managed a pb Bream (by a single ounce), something I would break again in July.
June meant the start of the river season. The same stretches of Swale and Tees, but mother nature had played her part in the winter and the Swale at Morton was very different.
It started with a great Tees session, Perch galore, catching my first Pike whilst trotting for silver's and poaching a 4lb Chub from Ellis's swim!
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| Caught on size 18, 2lb hooklink |
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| Tees warrior at 4lb |
Poacher turned teacher, and by the end of the month I had helped Tom catch his first ever Chub.
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| Tom's first Chub |
June also saw me complete walking Hadrians wall. In five days we walked 87 miles, was quite an accomplishment and certainly felt emotional and proud on completion.
In July, another 10 ounces added to the Bream pb, would love a 6lb'er in 2022, here's hoping. I also enjoyed some surface fishing, although I never did land a Carp. Tom did though, so was great showing him a new method. Ellis and I also ventured down to the Canal, we usually just fish it in winter. 100lb net of Bream the target, I had one and Ellis caught loads of Perch, including a new pb!
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| Only 98lb short of our target! |
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| 1lb 10oz pb Perch for Ellis |
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| 4lb 13oz pb Bream |
August saw me fish the Trent, a new section of the Tees and Ellis caught a Bleak on the Severn. It was also when one of the most formidable and amazing women in my family sadly passed away. My nan aka Munchkin had battled hard, and that just does not mean when she used to take me fishing and bring me chips to my swim as I was too "busy" to go get them!!
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| Munchkin |
Plenty of Swale Chub were caught in the warmer summer months. It has to be said, I enjoy fishing for Chub, they really can be so obliging, but at times so frustrating too. Must be why I like them!!
As summer turned to Autumn, Ellis and I or just me fished the Tees. Trotting and catching all sorts was mostly the technique. The stand out being Gudgeon, as someone had commented how few had been seen recently in the Tees, after reading this, I think we caught 3 in one session!
I also did a Tom Daley impression in September and dived into the water whilst trying to help land a Tees Barbel. Water down the waders, wet all the rest of the day and the Barbel was a Pike (unlanded). Still, it was a good dive!
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| Tees Gonk |
Another pb in October, and what a fish. I had not caught a Grayling until a few years ago. I asked on Ellis's Facebook group for help to catch one. He replied, took me out on the Tees and we have been fishing together ever since. Anyway, the pb Grayling was a Swale fish, fishing on my own I was convinced it was a Chub, then when I saw it my knees were knocking till it was safely in the net. Great fish.
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| 1lb 10 - pb Grayling |
Movember saw me and the Mo fish another new venue, the Grand Union Canal at Harefield. Sadly a blank but was great to try somewhere new. Closer to home saw me catch the usual suspects on my cheesepaste - Chub and Pike of course!!
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| Cheesepaste capture, again! |
More ladies (of the stream) featured in December. Ellis and I catching some stonkers on the Tees. Fishing then faded into insignificance as good friend and master angler Giles Alcock passed away. Giles was predominantly a Predator angler and he taught me lots in this discipline. It usually involved laughter and calamity as I caught a Tees Chub on Pike gear the first time he took me fishing. I wanted to reminicise about that, and glad I could catch a Tees Chub for him on a day I went to reflect.
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| A Tees Chub by design this time Giles |
As Christmas came and went, it was soon the last few days of 2021. Ellis and I decided to fish just for Pike, something we rarely do now. We usually bring some other gear "just in case". My last fish of 2021 and turned out to be my biggest, a modest 8lb 8oz Pike to end the year, I can't grumble at that!
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| A perfect example |
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