hand mountain bike (along with the multi

Well, I guess a lot of us have had that complaint levelled at us and in my case it was with good reason. I was out of shape, no question about it. Hardly surprising really as my only exercise these days comes from tapping a keyboard or walking to the swim from the car.Okay. I decided that I would do something about it, but how, without sacrificing my precious time off – which is my fishing time? The answer was obvious. The bike. I would go fishing on it as I used to when I was a kid. I had bought a second-hand mountain bike (along with the multi-gym and weight set) a year or so previously when I had made the fitness promise and it had sat in the shed, virtually unused, since that day.I had forgotten a lot, but not everything. The most important thing was to travel light. And I do mean light! I packed a sportsbag with the bare essentials. Telescopic rod with reel attached, folding trout landing net, a small Tupperware style tackle box, bait box and a small bottle of fizzy drink. Then I was on the bike and away. First stop was at Vince Davies tackle shop in Staines for some maggots and the essential item. The carrier bag. (The carrier bag is one of life’s greatest gifts to the angler who is travelling light). Vince was greatly amused at seeing me on a push-bike but when I told him where I was off to he became serious. He told me of several swims that had produced good fishing and of one swim in particular where “big” fish swim live. “Barbel?” I asked and he laughed. “No chance – you won’t get a barbel out of that stretch, it’s where the kids fish! But the odd carp does get up there”.Hmm. Armed with a little local information (Vince has lived near and fished this river all his life) I pedalled off to the north. What struck me first was how quickly I arrived. Not being restricted to the highways, I was able to cut across the fields on the footpaths, lifting the lightweight cycle over styles and fences and was at swim No1 within minutes of leaving the shop. I parked the bike, extended the rod and hey-presto, I was fishing. There was no cover at all and to keep out of sight of the fish meant staying low. This is where the carrier bag comes in handy. I took off my jacket, put it in the bag and there was my comfortable padded seat-cushion. This was the deep-water “big fish” swim so I gave it a fair bit of attention and some free samples. The approach worked and I soon had the float dipping on every trot down. Nothing big though, just little dace and roach. The swim was obviously regularly fished, being next to the main road it was so easily accessible. Further upstream it looked less civilised. I was in an adventurous mood so I packed up and was on the bike again in seconds. I covered a half mile of river in a couple of minutes, checking out a few swims on the way. What a great way to cover ground and explore! I found a swim that looked as though it had never seen an angler and settled in, trotting maggots down the shallow stream. Most of the stream was less than a foot deep but here I found 2ft of water and a huge shoal of little chub.Further upstream was a really wild stretch – it looked as if it had never been fished for years and there were some great barbel-type swims there. I trotted a float through and achieved what Vince said was very unlikely. I caught a barbel! Not exactly the biggest I have ever caught but I consider it a personal best as it’s the smallest I’ve ever seen!

I was now at the very top of the stretch. Looking back across the wild moor I could see why this area was unfished, it was just too long a walk for most people, including me! But on a bike it was not only practical but healthy exercise too. I am saving my next trip on the bike for Boxing Day. Hopefully it will knock off some of the excess turkey and give me a fish or two at the same time.