Poppy Pointon 'chip off the block'

Well before i start my next post i must thank everyone for all the emails, comments and texts that i have received from so many friends and  blog followers.. some of the messages have been heart warming and its clear many peolpe have been through the same situation..

Walton Baliffs

Its fitting that on Wednesday i took my little daughter out poppy fishing down Dovedale, i knew that JT was down  the river with a few syndicate members showing them the ropes...
My plans were to strap Poppy in my new ruck sack and take her for a flick here and there..from my previous posts i have been desperate to catch a fish for poppy to see and this was my plan.

Daddy n Poppy on the dry

Driving down Beat 1 i saw JT in the river with Henry and Steve(Poland)... a few piss takes were shouted across the river and we all soon met up on the car park for a ice cream..
I met up with Tamer Bone who looked right in the zone, he was buzzing his head off and had been taking fish down the lower beat...always good to see...

I had a stroll with the lads and managed to put the odd spec cast as no fish were rising in the low hot conditions.. Poppy and myself went upstream and had dinner together, i had knocked us up a picnic and sat just chilling out, a special moment that we shared together, poppy asking about my dad bought back memories of our times together..I just hope that i can give poppy memories that my dad left with me...
The day had gave me two rising fish which i had pulled out from being over excited!! dry fly makes my heart pump and i can gt that sharp with my strikes i can be too quick...still i had not taken a fish for poppy but we were loving it..

The end of the day i strolled down the river with JT, Henry and Steve...
Jt Popped into the river and did what he does and hooked into a fish... he then handed the rod to poppy to catch her first ever fish...she grabbed the rod and jt guided her perfectly to land a absolute classic Dove Grayling..yes out of season but on this moment it can be forgiven as shes just like her dad lol..
Poppys face was a picture and a full clap from the crowd gave her something that will stick with her forever!! She shouted 'Daddy...a lady of the stream' !! Poppys first ever fish
Well i took the picture below and its got to be one of my best ever....do pictures speak a thousand words? this one does..

Thousand words!!!

Poppy and me were over the moon, even JT Henry and Steve were buzzing, we all went up to the walton for a pint a talk over the days fishing...
Top days and out with my little girl just makes things so much better with the loss of big Ivan xx
'All good things come to a end'

Thanks JT just what i needed bro...

Poppy first ever fish!!! priceless

Big Ivan my dad and best mate

Dad aged 58



Well it's been the most toughest weeks of my life.
I don't know where to write this but my fishing blog is where I write my true thoughts..

My dad (big Ivan) passed away on Monday at 2.55 pm, age 65, the last 18 months saw him lose his leg through diabetes and then six months later was diagnosed with cancer..
My dad was a best mate and my memories of him in my younger life are so strong..
He played for Port Vale and football was his life to the day he died, he would take me everywhere with him from a early age and soon football became my life..
One freezing winter my dad asked me if I wanted to go fishing, all the football matches were cancelled and my mum had got us a 'beginners fishing' book from the library where she worked.
My dad had never fished in his life and I can see the picture in the book now, showing a bubble float with spaced lead shots and the worm hanging just nice in the bottom..all drawn with pencil and reprinted.. My dad and me sat at home wondering how we were going to go off the book..
We went to the local fishing shop and bought all the gear needed.. Wow we had a diawa 12ft glass rod that was so heavy I could not hold it with one hand.. A basic reel loaded with 15 lb line and a bubble float that was the 'new' plastic style!! Some shots and a bait tub!! Winner!!
We decided to go and fish a local pond called the mill pond.. A small pond that was overgrown with reeds all around the edges..
I was aged 7 and was buzzin my head off and my dad was I thought!! Lol
We arrived to one of the coldest days in winter, the lake was dead and no riffle of wind..It's strange as I remember it so well but that's because this day totally chAnged my life and gave me something some never feel....."addiction to fishing"
We sat on a old wicker basket that my grandad had sourced for us, it was slanted and always collapsed to one side..
My thoughts are quite blurry from that moment but I remember I had been sitting on my dads knees freezing cold but the book had told us that if the float goes under we should 'strike' wow this word sounded amazing to me at aged 7 and my eyes were totally focussed on the hand painted orange float..
The float had not moved for hours and my dad was getting pissed off lol..towards the end I have a picture in my mind that is clear as a bell..
We were both leaning over the wall looking at our float that was 12 inches from the bank!!! The book had not told us where to cast but we were fishing this close in!!
Well the float twitched.... And twitched again!!!! My dad shouted 'strike' and I said 'no' wait for it to go under!!!! My dad shouted strike again.. I still waited and then the float never moved again........
So there we were, my dad and me driving home arguing on weather I should of 'strike' or not!! The book had told us to wait for it to go under grrrr
Looking back I think my dad was right as the float was that big the fish would not be able to pull it under lol...
Even still to this day I often day dream of this moment and now my dad had passed away it is even stronger..
My dad hated fishing but he had gave me something that became my life from a early age, something that kept me off the streets pissing about.... The anticipation of watching the float go under got a hold of me big time and made me the fishing maniac I am today..Thanks Dad x
I was in Pickering tackle shop last week and in the queue a lad turned to me and said ' on the fly youth?' I turned and said yes holding some feathers... He said ' soon be time for watching that float go under, nothing like it youth' ... I knew exactly what he meant and just nodded my head and drifted back into my thoughts with my dad..

I was quite a keen footballer too, I played lads n dads where my dad would come and watch me, he used to egg me on to kick the best player and I would often run upto a player and kick him off the ball..I was the only player to ever get sent off in under 10s !! But I blame my dad for that..
One game I had been strolling around the pitch day dreaming with my hands on my hips!! My dad would go berserk with me for not trying and I remember walking off the pitch and him shouting in front of everyone.... Glen!!! ' JUST FISH' !! Lol
My dad took it very serious but I had fishing on my mind....
I went into all sorts of fishing and found my place on the rivers...
I did go and play football at a non league standard for years but always had fishing eating away at me..
Well my first ever fish caught was on holiday and was in the company of my dad so I was over the moon!! The mullet in Majorca don't fuck around twitching the float and I just shot under!! The electric bolts of running mullet was just a true buzz and another amazing memory of being with my dad!!


Dad with me in Majorca ltd

My dad used to play football until in his 50s and we finally got the dream to play in the same Sunday team together, the crack we had was untrue, my mates loved him and he would always start trouble on the football field mouthing off at the other team.. Now I know where it comes from in me!!
One time it caused a massive brawl with 22 men fighting on the football field, we would all get a kicking but my dad would stand there laughing about it after as we were nursing our black eyes!!

My dad was far to old to play in the later days and we would 'draft' big Ivan in if we were short..
One occasion I rang him early and begging him to come as we were short, he said only if we had a good side out..
We all sat getting ready in the changing room and my good friend tex had brought a supposedly cracking new player in.. The new lad turned around and asked if anyone has any spare boots? My dad asked him his boot size and he said 'medium' !!! My dads face was a absolute picture...class

The memories of my big Ivan are huge and he taught me in life to take no shit off the so called 'blaggers' in life, I have seen many over the years and fly fishing seems to attract them..
The ltdffa is full to the brim of 'anglers' and something jt and myself are proud of...

My memories of my dad are sweet, my sister Natalie sat by my side as we we watched him slip away earlier week.. I used to ask him until the end how he was feeling? He would just say 'never mind me how are you? '
And that says it all for us...

I have one message for you dad.. Yes I should of 'striked' when you said... But could never admit it..

We will miss you Dad
Love always

Natalie and Glen
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Dad aged 20


Glen aged 5



Glen dad Nat mum

Post 4 Wye just bowls me over!!

Well sitting at home now and just coming down off my day with jt on the first day of the trout season on the holy Wye..
I did the live posts and they all loom sound on my blog..
It's good to do the Live posts but nothing better than getting home and thinking back on the days events..
Today had it all but the Wye has never failed to give me a buzz and I always drive home with a new tail to tell..
Jt and myself had decided the plan for the day.. We would walk the river and look for rises picking them out as we went along hoping for a nice flush of large dark olives
Around 11 we took a stroll through the town and this being some great fun if quiet can always fill your day with some electric action.. We were not to be let down.....
I took the first fish of the day with a absolute class looking wild rainbow pushing the 5lb mark.. We were site fishing the bigger fish as they were very willing to take the dry fished correctly as we did not want to hammer the section so early in the season..
We saw the Wye man himself RW and was so nice to see him since last year when I 'fished the spinner' with him in one of my most memorable days on the Wye...he was on his bike and making his way down to the lathkill all loaded up and buzzing..



Jt took a few nice fish in town then he just kicked into his level of fishing and caught the two biggest fish we saw all day!!!


Now this is the biggest fish I have ever seen to come out of the Wye !!! Omg




A huge brown of pure beauty that took jt all around the show!!!
His hand is still shaking now lol



Manc lad and a Stoke lad ltdffa




True wild rainbow classy fish


Well we moved out of the town and fished our way around the pumping station... This is where are real deal dry fly started to come on.. There was no real hatch going off but the fish were willing to take a well placed dun.. We had 1lbers smashing the jt olive!! A pure joy to see after such a long break away..
We were not going to get into just hammering pools so we decided to find a rise then both have goes at the riser.. This was great fun and a superb way to fish if your out with a fishing partner..
We did hit a pod of rising fish that turned out to be grayling so we moved on sharp..
We meet up with my friend Jan Hobat (river keeper), a good chat was had and he did take the piss that NASA had contacted him saying there was two flashing orange beacons in bakwell with bending rods!!!
Today I was using my iPhone 4 and had downloaded skype, this was used to Live video chat to woody in his shop!!! We even got jt to hook a rising fish while he was watching!! Mad technology!!
When we first logged onto video chat jt and myself were amazed to see Woody sitting in his front of his computer wanking his cock off at the fastest rate I have ever seen, looking at a 1980s razzle mag...
He soon realised we were watching and got into normal
chat..lol

Well my time come at the end of the day... We were fishing 'man from boys' pool and one fish was Head and tailing in a channel with at least 5 different paces of current!! Now these are what I love and after 5 mins hard graft I hooked a 10 inch wild rainbow in the hardest conditions I will find on the Wye.. a size 24 did the trick.and I was over the moon.. Jt knows a hard pool and said 'that's a string in your bow lad'
So I was buzzing my head off yet again

The Wye today had it all for us early season... Ldo fishing and midge fishing in short patches

A true great day out with a top lad on a class river


Winner
Nice one
Ltd
Glen

Live post 3 Wye

Fishing middle beat and taking fish to the dun, bits of hatches but nothing much.. The fish are rising in places but are willing to smash a dun..
Quality
Saw RW on his bike going to lathkill dream water
Hope he has his tie on under all that clobber!!


'living the dream'

Post 2 Wye

Just had early session, no


hatches yet of now, speculative fishing





'living the dream'

Live post 1 Wye

Just arrive at grouse and claret
Two orange hats and no tie!!

Bad start



'living the dream'