The tale started a couple of weeks ago. Roger who helps us in the shop told me that he had seen mullet in a pool by Appledore which looked very catchable. The pool is linked to the River Torridge by a pipe which runs under the Tarka Line. When Reg Talbot visited, we went along and found the pool which was about 3" deep and saw fish in it that made bow waves, appearing to be large, but were only 2" long. Maybe Roger saw them at high tide whan the river could flow in, but it didn't look so good that day. If we had set a float up for fishing, the bottom end would have stuck in the mud.
Anyway, I related this tale to Brian, a regular visitor to the shop who told me that the place to go was Bude where they move up the river there as the tide comes in. So when Chris, my brother-in-law (an enthusiastic new angler) visited for a couple of days with my sister, I suggested we should try there.
I checked the tide times, so off we went and found the place that Brian had told us about. Another angler was there who told us that he had caught a mullet, but the tide was going out and we had missed the fish. I had looked up the wrong day!!!!! How embarrassing!!!
Anyway, we planned to be there for an hour so we sat on the lock at the end of the canal where it runs into the sea. We hadn't got a day ticket but thought that we would just dabble until the ladies returned. I saw a fish move in the canal so dropped a piece of flake by a buddleia which was quickly taken and into was into a good carp. Now, it was the main holiday period, and I was using light tackle so couldn't get the fish in and quickly drew a crowd of nearly 100 people on both sides of the canal, standing on the lock gates, all keen to see the fish, and as I hadn't got a ticket, I was trying to keep a low profile which doubled up on the embarrasment from earlier. I eventually got a double figure carp in to the bank without a net so unhooked it without lifting it from the water.
Sandy is also pictured having fallen backwards skimming stones and fell into a boat, so she joined in the mayhem on a thoroughly enjoyable day, so I thought I would put a picture of that in to make me look better.