2010 – Mid June Blog

And They’re Off!

Well, the World Cup is underway and a new fishing season is upon us so lest you’ve forgotten what it’s all about, here are three clips portraying anglers doing what most of you have been eager to do for at least three months, probably nearer six or eight months in a lot of cases.

The first clip is a classic hand held camera job, ordinary folk getting a bit excited, swearing and generally ticking most of the boxes that will upset the barbel police.

It’s got the lot – a Shakespeare box, stray dog, wobbly camerawork, banana fingers, no unhooking mat, in fact it ticks all the wrong boxes.

Now don’t get me wrong, these guys are clearly enjoying what they’re doing. You cannot fault their enthusiasm but I’m sure you’ll have taken your own view on their care and handling procedure. In fact it could hardly be classed as ‘best practise’ when compared with, say, the Barbel Society Handling Code.

Now you can moan about it or you can do something positive. These guys are typical of hundreds, maybe thousands of river fishing enthusiasts. They don’t need criticism from me or from you, they need a bit of guidance, perhaps pointing in the right direction. Especially if they are going to stick clips like this on YouTube.

On the other hand, has any one of the three major barbel fishing organisations so far bothered to create an instructional film clip on how to care for and handle barbel – and then made it widely available to all? It’s fine and dandy making policies, writing up codes and expecting everyone to follow suit – perhaps a bit of pro-active thinking to go with the rhetoric might have a far greater influence. 

Bob’s Island, Newark Dyke

Barbel Or Bust!

And then we’ve got the next level. Credit to these guys for making a fair fist of filming and editing in a professional manner but it’s fair to say they don’t quite have the charisma of a John Wilson or a Matt Hayes but hey, none of us is perfect. I give you, Two Blokes Go Fishing…
 

And the quest for a personal worst!

Stick at it guys, you will get better…

And of course, you can see from the titles this is an ongoing mission of theirs that I’ve only scratched the surface because these guys had 22 video clips uploaded when I last looked. Check them all out here. 

Scarlet Tench Update

Scarlett: Rhett, Rhett… Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?
Rhett Butler: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.

Sorry, wrong Scarlett!

 

I’m indebted to Ray Walton for an explanation on the red-faced tench I caught recently. Ray passed on the picture to a UK Fisheries Scientist and it turns out to be nothing serious. Basically, the unusual pigmentation is nothing more sinister than blood.

Here’s the actual reply he received:

Hi Ray,

These sorts of marks are not that uncommon in Tench. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes from all over to predominately on the underside. I have seen no conclusive explanation as to the cause however.

For what its worth I think it has a variety of underlying causes but forms when the fish hemorrhages and some of the blood leaks into the surface under the skin. The skin in tench is very thick and so when the initial wound or bruise heals there is still blood under the clear skin, just like a bruise in humans. This blood does not decay as it does in our bruises because there is plenty of oxygen exchange across the skin of the tench so the blood stays bright red for a long time.

In my experience these marks can stay on tench for a significant period. In this tench I would guess the initial wounds were made by leeches.

It is not natural pigmentation and judging by the general condition of the fish it is not a serious infectious disease.

Hope this helps.

Cheers Ray. Looks like you’ve cleared up a little mystery.

Power Trip…

Sorry, I couldn’t resist sticking this in. No offense meant to a certain chairman who may think he’s being unfairly singled out but it was the Carpe Diem that grabbed my attention. Carpe Diem - which translates as, ‘Sieze The Day’.

I referred to it in a blog sometime last year in connection with Robin Williams’ use of it in the film Dead Poets Society to inspire his students. It’s also used to round off the introduction in Rob Hughes’ and Simon Crow’s book Strategic Carp Fishing …

See, just forget it and move along! No comments, please…

Especially you, Ray

Or Fred.

It’s a bit of fun so just lighten up!

An Easy Mistake To Make

I Googled David Hall Publishing the other day as I was keen to find out when Advance Pole Fishing would be on the newsagents shelves, so I quickly typed in ‘DH Publishing’, as you do.

Clicking on the top result I was rather left wondering whether old David had diversified. I know he had a flirtation with a dog magazine but the image of a rather young lady in stockings threw me completely!

Apparently it’s all to do with J Rock, or something. By heck lad, there’s whole world out there that I know nowt about whatsoever.

So, if you’re looking for the genuine, fishing version of DH Publishing, or DHP, make sure you type the company name in full. Or at least make sure you do it when the missus ain’t around or you might find yourself in a bit of unexpected trouble.

Here’s the one I think you want… 

Anyway, I needn’t have bothered checking as a pristine copy of Advanced Pole Fishing dropped through the letterbox a couple of days later containing an article I’d written.

I know…, is there any end to this man’s talents?!!!

Tom Scholey, the assistant editor, hails from Sheffield and has supported my Club Match Angler Championship for a number of years – fair do’s he is only about 12 or it would have been longer

 

Anyway, Tom was an up-and-coming young gun on the match circuit before he went to work on Northern Angler with Keith Higginbottom. A great magazine but sadly it fell by the wayside – gone and sadly missed. The experience Tom gained put him in the running for a career with DHP and now he’s doing a sterling job as Assistant Editor of Advanced Pole Fishing.

Currently they’re running a series on the development of pole fishing and Tom invited me to contribute a piece. It was a fabulous opportunity to dig out some old black and white photos and reflect of some of the shining times and great memories from my days on the match circuit. You can’t beat a bit of nostalgia – especially when the profile describes me as a ‘guru’! Not sure if that’s a step forward or backwards because David Hall once told me I was a leg-end.

Diary Of A Nobody

I really like the job that Kev Green and his team at Bauer Media are doing with my new column in Improve Your Coarse Fishing, Bob Roberts’ Diary. It’s kind of a blog without all the politics and football. As far as I can I keep the two apart, featuring some of the trips you don’t get to read about on here and maybe saving some of the best photographs because I don’t care what anyone says, a good picture looks far better on the printed page than it ever possibly can on a computer screen.

Call me old fashioned but I like to see a flippant, not too serious article at the back of a magazine to contrast the consumer led fashion for instructional, venue and product led material. Hally used to do it with Snide Rumours and Dirty Lies, Tim (Paisley) did it with Black Lizard, for a while Improve had Sid Huggins, the worlds worst match angler, unfortunately he started to improve and that kind of ruined his unique selling point!

Now it’s me and it’s a great privilege.

A Tribute To King Billy

It wouldn’t be a Bobby Blog without a bit of football, would it, so here goes…

It must be practically unheard of for a player to be pushed out on loan and then achieve legendary status with the new club’s fans. Billy Sharp is Sheffield United’s enigma and a Doncaster God. You have to feel for him as he’s a lifelong fan of United but has never really delivered the goods in a Blades shirt. They know he has massive potential, a rare ‘fox in the box’ player. Gifted, committed, tenacious and bloody difficult for defenders to deal with. He’s as dangerous as sweating dynamite.

In his first spell at United he was a flop, failing to score for the first team. Packed off to Scunthorpe for £100,000 he was a sensation, scoring 53 goals in just two seasons. Realising their error, the Blades bought him back for fee of around £2m only for the goal feast to dry up again. A hat-trick home debut was followed by just five more goals in 50 appearances – not exactly what they were hoping for.

Out of favour with Blackwell and not scoring goals, no-one wanted him, especially on wages reputedly in excess of £10,000 a week, least of all Sheffield United. But little Donny Rovers stepped in to gave him a chance in the shape of a season-long loan and it was one of those strawberries and cream moments, a pairing made in heaven.

The difference between a successful Championship side and one threatened by relegation is often down to having someone who can stick the ball away. We were renowned for creating (and squandering) chances. Trading red and white stripes for red and white hoops, Billy was a sensation. Getting the kind of service he never had at Bramall Lane transformed him back into the player he was at Scunthorpe, scoring goals for fun and it was only injury and Sean O’Driscoll graciously leaving him out of games against his old side that prevented him from adding to his tally of 15 goals in 30 games for Doncaster. 

Doncaster fans even started their own ‘Billy Sharpshooter Transfer Fund’ such was their desire to have him on the books permanently. But players like this cost far more than we can realistically afford because proven strikers don’t come cheap. He has only one year left on his United contract before he can leave for free leaving Blackwell little choice but to play him or recoup some of his investment now, while he’s hot.

By the time you’re reading this he’ll probably have moved on to a bigger club than us, but in the meantime, here’s Fuzzyduck’s tribute to the man who’s fortunes we revived… 

 

Deep Joy!

I’ve just taken delivery of two new carp fishing books from Little Egret Press and I can’t wait to get stuck into them. Old (young?) Tom O’Reilly is doing a smashing job down there in darkest Cornwall, republishing classics as well as commissioning new titles.

Eenie…, meeny…, miney…, oh the hell, in no particular order, Carp For Life by Len Arbery will spark much interest. This greatly respected author opens his book with chapters on carp history and the great Redmire Pool days before looking at his life, bait theories, tackle developments and the quest for a 40 pounder.

160 pages, profusely illustrated with drawings and photography, including a 28-page colour section, I’m sure this will be a classic. Cloth bound copies cost £26.95

At the grand old age of 80, Peter Mohan needs no introduction. Founder of the CAA and BCSG and the author of several much sought after books. Carp Stories is a collection of tales, some fictional, others gathered from his vast experience of carp fishing. 200 pages long and illustrated with fine black and white drawings by Tom O’Reilly, the cloth back edition costs £23.95

Both books are available in limited edition leather bound copies at £165.

Further details can be found of these and other fine books on the Little Egret Press web site where you can also place orders on-line.

Huddersfield Town – Funnier Even Than Tonio

If there’s a funnier football site than the one below, anywhere in the world, please send me the link. I reckon it’s one of THE most hilarious sites on the web, full stop – ignoring Tonio’s site, that is. Click the image and immerse yourself in the surreal world of a long-suffering Terriers fan…

Leopards Don’t Change Their Spots

Don’t you just love those Leeds fans. They’ve scrambled up into the Championship by the skin of their teeth and already they’re back to their old habits on the Championship Forums. Sadly they cannot even grasp their own pomposity or the bare faced irony. Take the views of one fan called NeiLEEDS talking down to a Barnsley fan as an example…

21.17: Post by NeiLEEDS: ‘We have HISTORY with Man United and Chelsea. You have NO HISTORY with us.’ 

21.23: Post by BarnsleytilIdie: We had this arrogance last time you were here… just before you went down!

22.03: Post by the same NeiLEEDS: ‘No Leeds fan has come on here giving it large.’

Err, not since your previous post, I guess. Ehough to leave you speechless, eh? 

Mentioning HISTORY, surely we must qualify as having HISTORY with Leeds – crikey, half their fans live in Doncaster Post Code districts for a start!

Few would disagree that Chelsea, Liverpool and Sunderland have HISTORY with Leeds because they each beat Leeds at Wembley. Same goes for Arsenal because they had two cracks at beating them at Wembley but sadly failed on each occasion (a matching set of failures in the League and FA Cups). Unfortunately Doncaster tend not to bother too much with those competitions, preferring to bow out gracefully in the early stages, however we did beat Leeds fair and square at Wembley on the only occasion we’ve ever been near the place. Proper party poopers we were.

If you look into the modern history of Leeds United you’ll find it’s there, and will be for all time:

Date: 25th May, 2008

Venue: Wembley Stadium

Result: Leeds United 0 - Doncaster Rovers 1 (Hayter).

That’s how HISTORY works. It’s an indisputable fact. Surely?

In the same way they gloat over the giant killing League One minnows beating scummy* European giants at Old Trafford back in January, we too took pride in beating a club that believes itself to be far superior than it actually is.

(Scummers* = a derogatory term frequently used by Leeds Untied fans to describe their adopted ‘rivals’, Manchester United)

We have other history, too. Leeds United’s most capped player, Billy Bremner became our manager. Twice. That’s history. As did the other fellow in the picture (above right), who appears to be preventing a gust of wind from blowing Bremner away, Dave McKay.

We even hoped that another local born chap was going to step into Bremner’s old role recently but he didn’t. So the only connection we can actually make with Keegan and Bremner is this one…

Another Donny KO of Leeds at Wembley !

On reflection I prefer the stability Sean O’Driscoll has brought to the job but what a couple of exciting seasons we’d have had with Keegan in charge. We’d have ridden the roller coaster, scored a million goals, got promoted and then he’d have thrown in the towel just when it looked like we were going to change the world. Perhaps it was a blessing, but what fun we’d have had…

Don’t know about him but there would have been a lot of folk in Donny who would have ‘loved it’.

Hot Shoe Shuffling Leaves Me With Cold Feet

Have you noticed that ‘street dance’ is suddenly the new rock and roll? What’s that all about? Every other act on Britain’s Got Talent appears to be a street dance troupe, but am I alone in thinking that street dance is done in the street, not in a theatre? Once indoors it becomes theatre dance, surely?

Mind you, the sole crumb of comfort comes in seeing the judges so out of their depth. Honestly it’s cringe worthy listening to their comments – talk about clueless! Unfortunately when something becomes fashionable there’s no stopping it, is there? Even Sadlers Wells has gone looking for street cred with it’s ‘Insane In The Brain’  show, a street dance version of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

My guess is street dance will be next years loon pants, tank tops and Bay City Rollers all wrapped up in a neat package. Yes it’s clever but when you’ve seen one act you’ve seen the lot.

Perhaps the BGT hopefuls might take a look at this and give up…

 

I blame Michael Flattley. And I guess this is not a good time to admit that I once went to watch Wayne Sleep dance at the London Paladium…!

Okay, much fishing to attend to now, but let’s not go forgetting Bob The Fish. Bet you didn’t realise BTF had his own Facebook page, did you? Check this out…!

Bob the Fish pictures from all over the world, conventions, group shots, you name it!

Talk about ‘The Man, The Myth, The Legend’ – how can I possibly compete with that!!!!!

Okay folks, have a great start to the season, I sincerely hope you have a good one.

Tight lines!

PS: Lest we forget…

 

Who’s next, I wonder, Ledley King…?

As for the, errr, soccer  match against the USA (who…?) 

At least we’ve discovered the new Gary Sprake…!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Ummm, sorry boss, got a fly in me eye…!”

Bring back Calamity James?