I'm back

One of the reasons for not posting is that my old desktop got savaged by one of those "bugs", you may know the one.
It's the one where if you contact a 'phone number within a set time they get rid of the bug for a few hundred quid!
Those of you who know me will know that I do not submit to bully boy tactics, and besides that, the old Microsoft system installed was now past it's support stage.
So, after advice I ditched the machine sold the bits on eBay and have been getting used to my laptop which I had just for holiday trips.
I also now have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 for my holidays. It saves me a bit of lugging about at airports.
It's not suitable for blogging though, not with my fat fingers anyway, it'll take me even more hours to write the following!

Canada
An anonymous poster obviously still interested in reading my stuff, advised me that nobody would be interested in my holiday.
I'll continue to blog  anyway, as usual just for me, and anybody else who may be interested especially the anonymous one.

We had 16 nights in Canada starting in Toronto for two of those nights

and then moving across country by road to Niagara Falls, where we had an overnight stay and a night time cruise into the falls.The falls are really quite stunning, even better in real life.

"American falls"

Then up to Montreal for two more nights including a  guided tour of Quebec City and the old walled town with a tour of the Notre Dame Basilica

We then flew out to an over night stay in Calgary, the birthplace of the "Mounties", on the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers, and the site of the annual stampede

Bow River

the hoodoos

We then move onto Banff  by road for three nights, a quaint and total touristy town, somewhat in contrast with the close by beautiful lakes of Moraine  and Louise

Continuing the drive through the Rockies we next stay in Kelowna on Okanagan lake, for two further nights, and where we later that night able to watch our first game of (ice )hockey.

Then onto the Coquihalla Highway to  Merrit an then to the ferry for Vancouver Island and two nights in  Victoria, for a visit to the Butchart Gardens, and later the chance of some whale watching.

We spotted two different humpback whales, but I got caught out with  insufficient time to properly focus the camera in the excitement of spotting the surfacing creatures.
What a thrill!
Anyway, another first for us, having been in Scotland and Australia at the wrong time of year!

So finally onto Vancouver for two nights.
As can be deduced we did a hell of a lot of travelling but all in all a great and enjoyable experience for us both, only let down by poor customer service in and out,by Air Canada...but that's another story,
Our next holiday is in January and it's another first for us, a 42 night ocean cruise to the Amazon and West Indies

House move
We are in no rush to move but we've put the bungalow on the market.
The idea is to move into a more urban location, perhaps Newark and it's main line rail link back to the "Big Smoke". Such a move will take almost an hours' travelling time off our current location.
We've spotted some rather nice apartments in Newark, set within recently refurbished breweries,offices and big Georgian houses, all within a spit of the mighty Trent.
So we shall see.

Fishing
Time for some trips to the Trent and Upper Witham, but first we have another short break for our wedding anniversary, and my mate Dave's (of The International Drinking Society) 75th birthday celebration in Petersfield, and our couple of extra nights stay in Emsworth.
I may well put my travel rod in the boot, as I have an invitation to fish a Stedham AC stretch of the Rother, this may be just wishful thinking on my part though, as The Boss may have other things in mind.
Late October will mean a trip on the Wye with Steve Pope, and a North Western river or two with a couple of other friends.

I'll be back!

Off again

Apologies

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, not done a great deal of fishing, been doing some house moving research and we've put our bungalow on the market.

I will have stuff to report soon as we're off to Canada for a break.

One of those days in England

One of those days in England with a sword in every pond
And birds in every garden in the land
One of those days in England when the passion never ends
A slowly moving season by the fire of my friends.

And though the time fast slips away, it's long enough to laugh and play
Around the fireside making hay, dreaming of tomorrow, you know there's no today.


I'm sure you've all suffered the session where things from the off, keep going wrong?
Well, my trip down last night into the valley was just one of those.
I decided to fish on the third lake into the wind ,which last night was quite brisk and coming from the North.
Loosing count of the times I had to re-tackle due to tangles around the rod,either on the strike or pre-cast, it became somewhat obvious to me that this session was not going to be my night.

Looking North

I struggled on with a few carp, some tiny rudd and perch. I then, on attempting to unhook a rather frisky carp of around 3lb in the landing net, the hook slipped from the carp and embedded in my thumb between the nail and the cuticle.
By the time I had quietened down the carp, the size 14 had penetrated the skin just under the cuticle. Good job it was barbless, but it was quite painful with the tugging against the hook.
Not much blood!!
After a couple of more tangles, and getting pretty cold despite a hoody and fleece, I said sod it, I'm off, and so I did.
Stopping once or twice to take photographs of the Wolds scenery, and cloud formations with my new camera.

Trout lake2

It's down there

I'm sitting here typing this wondering if I chance another trip down in the valley in an hour or so.
At least the wind is turning to the East!

Flaming June

June, gentle June, of whom the crooners croon,
Sweet month of silk, of salmon, and the swoon;
June, what a chance you had—to be your best,...........


More fishing

What a mixed week to start June, weather wise that is, wind and at times torrential rain.
So I picked Tuesday evening for my first session in the valley, and decided that with the amount of water around that lake two and  three's access could be a bit too boggy.
So back to lake one.
An evening session as usual, with the wind whipping around the tops of the surrounding trees and fallen leaf debris blowing up and down the pond until later in the session.
My testing bait of worm only over a bed of hempseed was my continuing plan.
I stuck to the plan and the lake crucian came to life, the roach and rudd were few and far between. The occasional carp intruded upon what turned out to be a crucian session.

Lake 1 a different view

A few of the net

 Thursday evening, with improved weather conditions, saw me return and I decided to test the track down to lake 3.
Access was much better than anticipated and so I settled in with similar tactics to last night.
I was very soon into the carp and landed four all around the 8lb mark,all in tip top condition, but not my quarry.
I became aware that there was a large population of rudd many of which were a better stamp of fish to the other two lakes. Still nothing really of any size, but who knows?

I'll try down there again as there are perch, that show promise, but on the evening, not a sign of roach.

lake 3  as the light fades.

A new camera

I've acquired for myself a new, well second hand Nikon 3200, all but the first photo above were taken with the two lenses an 18-55 and a 55-200.

As can be seen I'm still testing, but already I think I need another lense, and to decide whether to keep my old Finepix for the mud of fishing or help finance the new lense!