Lock Down Dreaming

So a little inspiration during lock down.

I'm sure by now every person with an angling bone in their body has realised it only takes five minutes on YouTube to stack up a playlist of incredible content that just makes you want to book a flight, make a journey, or just fall out of you front door with a rod in hand. We all seem to be going stir crazy but rest assured, once this is over, the fishing will be phenomenal!

The amount of people literally chomping at the bit on Facebook to get out fishing is enormous. Our group chats are going off everyday with pictures of fish caught prior to COVID-19, plans ahead and where to go first?! I honestly feel our sport may see a much larger uptake following the COVD-19 pandemic. The majority of 'casual anglers' (maybe only for the short term) will 'get that trip in' they've been talking about for 'all that time.' For some they'll see what they've been missing and fingers crossed, continue their passion, reinvigorated post C-19. The likelihood is they probably wouldn't have gone fishing if the C-19 issue hadn't arrived but now more than ever, we're seeing that absence really does make the heart grow fonder.... And we're not just talking angling terms here either.

I, like many, have had the time to exhaust all the resources social media has to offer. Being furloughed does drastically help, so I thought I'd share a few exploits that I have had over the years and moving forward I'll try to keep things updated as frequently as I can. Might even get the GoPro dusted off...

The explosion of social media has stuck everything in our faces and angling has never been more accessible. Techniques used by the US and Japan have quickly found their way to UK shores and there are cults developing all over the internet. Examples such as Lure fishing for Trout, the boom of Perch fishing & Light Rock Fishing (LRF). These are a few examples of how attitudes are changing but all the above can be targeted with the same gear. Some might say Facebook has turned into a little bit of a *** measuring contest for a minority of people and has exposed many of the politics in the sport but fishing, at the end of the day, is to be enjoyed. We've all seen the keyboard warriors pipe up here and there, but there's no getting away from the fact that social media has been a great platform to shop window our sport and push angling content, bringing new techniques/methods to the masses.

However, there's always more to a fish capture than the photo taken... The people, the venue, the events leading up, the previous trip that lured you back to the very same place and many other factors That being said, I like to reference each picture as 'the tip of the iceberg.' There's always a story behind capture no matter how big or small.

The main reason I wanted to create this blog....

The DISTINCT LACK of information online for the European travelling angler!

I don't know about you but I cannot book a holiday and not pack a fishing rod. The opportunity to catch something far more exotic than the usual waspy perch down the canal I find far to tempting. Get the venue and time of year, there's always the chance for a real surprise. And all this can be done with:

• 1 x travel rod

• 1 x reel

• A pocket or small bag full of the essentials

And its always your bog standard perch kit!

Hopefully I can cover all the kit you'll need (it genuinely is LRF/Perch gear), and share the knowledge I have gained from personal experience that can be put into practice anywhere on the European coastline. You DO NOT need lots of time or lots of equipment so to make the most of your holiday and fishing opportunity.

"Before i sign off this first post"

I have a few people to thank who've inspired to me to adopt these new angling techniques and recommend taking a look at their material on both Instagram & Facebook. Namely a very close friend and predator fishing expert Ant Glascoe jr, and more recently Andy Mytton who has an excellent book on all things LRF called 'Hooked On Lure Fishing.' I'd highly recommend taking a look at what they get upto, they're far more 'qualified' than me!

Cheers