A former reservoir set in the middle of a small park. The lake was shaped like a shallow ‘U’, and varied from about 3′ deep right up in the to of the ‘U’ to about 11′ max by the overflow on the apposite ‘Deep Bank’
My first visit there would have been, I reckon, Boxing Day 1972. Father Christmas had excelled himself and I was equipped with a brand new ABU Mk6, a Mitchell Match, an Efgeeco seat box, landing net and handle, keepnet and some assorted terminal tackle. This was a time when it was the norm to fish a match on Boxing Day, So Dad dropped me off and I purchase a pint of mixed coloureds (40p??). All very new and strange, queuing up to draw, and I found myself on peg 21. End peg on the Deep Bank to the left of the overflow. A good draw really, but aslo 11′ deep and a bit of a parrot cage. So I set up with a nice shiny Perch bobber about 3′ deep. One of the senior anglers spotted this and tried to be helpful by switching me to a 3BBB Ultra antennae at 11′ deep. He was right of course but you now have to imagine me, with no experience whatsoever, trying to cope with a deep fixed rig in a parrot cage. I probably spent most of the match up the tree, or tangled, or hooked up on the mesh cover of the overflow. Needless to say I blanked, and off the flyer!!
I then turned up on the next 5 weekends and never managed to rise a bite, but my rigs were getting better and I was learning how to floatfish. Then, glory be, on the 7th visit, my float sailed under and I caught a small Perch. I went on to catch 6 more Perch and Roach, and I was hooked!!!!! That was that for that season, next visit would have been opening day 1973, the glorious 16th June!
26 Year ITCH 