The Tring Anglers Junior Session  - 16^th August 2008

 Wilstone  –  Aylesbury Arm of Grand Union Canal

Free fishing, free bait, free BBQ and optional raffle for the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home.

I can honestly say that I have taken 45 friends fishing.  I never thought it could happen.  I have tried many times before to get a lot of friends together on a day out fishing.  Until this week it had been a maximum of 23 and I have never been favoured with good weather for the event before.  If I remember correctly, last year it rained from set up to take down and it dampened the enthusiasm of the 10 who took part.

This time it seemed to stimulate all young and old into having a go, many signing the EA licence form just so they could take part for the day.

Copious supplies of maggot and pinkie were supplied by Neil at Amersham Angling Centre along with a wish for good weather and a good turnout.  He could never guess the outcome.

I have been saying that I have done this and I have done that and that is not strictly true.  I organise the event and that involves getting a lot of things to happen with many people to form a happy and relaxing atmosphere.

I started setting things up at 11.00am at which point I was joined by Tony Bradbury and his wife Rosemary.  They form the backbone of the operation and kick me into touch from time to time.  Tony helped me get the gazebo set up and then moved on to set up 35 whips and rigs.

The chef for the day was our PRO Dick Pilkinton, with the assistance of Sheila his wife, who between them prepared and cooked sausages, burgers and chicken with a wide array of salad, bread rolls and sauces.

By midday the BBQ was up and running and the helpers were fed breakfast - bacon and egg - it has become a tradition.

Half past twelve and the first of our friends started to arrive and take their positions on the canal.  Tony Beadle, the club Treasurer, popped down with a raffle prize, but, secretly I think he wanted to see exactly what we spend our budget on.  I had a surprise for him as none of this came from the budget, but from money I had raised from running raffles during the previous ten sessions.  The budget, in my eyes, is for necessary equipment such as rods, whips and rigs and anything else needed.

A continuous stream of friends arrived and soon the stretch of canal that I closed for the session, was full to capacity.  The next section down Gudgeon Stream, started to fill with participants and, yes, that filled quickly and we moved on down to the Puttenham stretch.

Out of the 45 who attended the session, 44 caught fish.  Carol and Jared, mother and son, were having a mini match with each bettering their personal best in amount of fish caught.  Two of our regulars are more senior than the most and have a distinct difference.  They are both Parkinsons sufferers and are really enjoying this year as they have taken up coarse fishing and are getting very good at it and have met many friends all with the same interest.  Out of the 45 participants, 15 were totally new to us and this is what the sessions are all about, introducing new people to angling.

The raffle had donations from many of the participants and club members and I made up the difference with a few bits of tackle.

We raised £116 for the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home from the raffle and predict another £50 in the donation buckets.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who took part and the assistance I was given by my fellow officers from our small friendly angling club.

Dave Burton

Juniors Secretary

The Tring Anglers