Westies Hunting

Walking the Foster  Westies we were working our way through a field full of rushes when they pounced and chopped a half grown bunny. The Westies have been 
obviously used to hunting as they immediately grabbed the rabbit and worried it. 
Its a good job the wife was no there to see here beloved white fluffy lap dogs, 
covered in blood. 

I wonder if the ladies who adore and pamper these little dogs realise that 
lurking beneath that neatly trimmed coat lies the heart of a killer. 

Westies were originally dogs which would take on anything, up to a badger. 
Despite the in breeding and usual Kennel Club stunts the Westie has remained a 
hearty game little dog. It is now useless in rain as its coat cannot push out 
rain and many have weak jaws which mean they would never hold quarry. 

The two I have at the moment are thankfully an exception to the usual run of the 
mill. 

They love rabbiting but are incredibly stubborn and will not leave a hedge that 
they are convinced a rabbit is in; even when the rabbit has long gone.  I don't suppose these will catch on as hunting terriers ever again as there are far better breeds of terrier out there, but it was good to see them hunt and remember their origins. 

Senility at Sunny View

For a change Evan and I decided to go course fishing.  We found that Sunny Ridge Fishery was close by and that was really the main deciding factor, plus the excellent fishing shop at Exmoth had recommended it.

It was sunny when we arrived, and in March this is a good thing.  However I fancied a place over by the inflow, which was in the shade.  First mistake of the day.  Old bones need warmth.  Evan and I set up two rods float and one rod method feeder.

 Then horror of horrors I noticed that we did not have the net with us.  As we were pondering the onset of mind loss in the ol man, My float firmly went under and I hooked into a 10-14lb Carp.  Up it came through the murk and rolled on the surface,  I sent Evan to borrow a net, but this proved unnecessary as the Carp took off,  and I failed to hold her and she broke my line.

For the rest of the session we caught rudd and Dace, which was better than nothing but not the Carp we were hoping for. But there again we could not land them anyway.  Getting back to the car, there was the net on the floor.  Ahhhh!

Fishing Shops

Choice and Stress

I suppose like most red blooded men I have a deep abiding loathing for shopping, but there is one kind of shop I am happy to go to; the fishing tackle shop.  In Exmouth we have the wonderful Exmouth Bait and Tackle shop right on the strand.  The other day I called in to buy bait for Carp fishing, and ended up buying a load of other stuff I didnt know I needed till I went in.  It got me thinking: What makes a good tackle shop?

First on the list must come range of tackle available.  There is a fine line here between having a good choice for your inclination and pocket and being overwhelmed with choice to the point where it leads to anxiety. Having the choice between 4 or 5 different baits is nice having to choose between 20 that all look the same and promise the same thing (to catch the biggest carp of your life) is fraught with stress. Its one of the secrets to life too!  More choice is not always good,  learning to put self imposed limits on yourself leads to a drop in stress.

A good tackle shop must be place where you feel welcome.  A few fishing stores I have been in have been so sterile and scientific I felt embarrassed at my ignorance of the latest developments in piscian detainment and hurried out as soon as possible.  To be fair these shops are usually the factory shops of a particular fishing manufacturer and rank amateurs such as my self should not visit.  I tend to find the reception the same in Starbucks or Costa when I go in and ask for a large coffee.  There's that slight sneer in the spotty teenagers voice as he, slows his voice to speak to the old duffer, and informs me that perhaps what I wants is an Americano with milk.  We are back to more choice more stress.

The good tackle shop does the exact opposite and welcomes you in as a friend among friends and has time to discuss life the universe and everything before worrying about choice of kit.  I like this approach.  It can't be faked and those who own shops like these not only love fishing they love people.  I am sure marketing gurus have tried for years to teach sincerity but, thankfully it can't be taught and its easy to spot when its faked.  Exmouth Bait and tackle has this warth of welcome in spades and even has a resident cat, and animal about in a shop always makes me feel at home and I am much more likely to stay and peruse and find things I didn't know I needed till I saw them.  Camouflage bait buckets!  How have I ever lived without them?  Now then Real Tree, Oak Wood or Reed, more choice again.

Exe Valley Fishery

A wonderful day at the Exe Fishery. My son and I arrived by 1030 and between us we caught six really good hard fighting rainbows.

As usual at the Exe the fish were holding in the deep water at the bottom of the lake.  As it warmed up they rose in the water and a floating line with a gold head seemed to do the trick today.  We caught on Cats Whisker, and orange goldhead.

I find that a long shank hook with a tungsten bead gets the lure moving fast down through the water, the orange fritz body provides plenty of movement and sparkle, the orange marabou tail again gives plenty of movement.

We fished the lures with foot long steady pulls.  Takes were very soft and Evan and I missed a good few because of this.

  My 4 and half pound fish, Evans 3 ib fish and Evan playing him in.

Rustic Bench

After a spree of tree cutting in the garden I had a good pile of wood ready for winter. So I thought I would have a go at a rustic bench as well.  The wood was sycamore.

I started by cutting the legs and making cross pieces with them.

I split the large logs and placed them on the ground to screw the legs to the table.

The finished table:

As you can see I put the cross piece in the wrong place, but I was quite pleased with it for a first try.

Dufus or Tunnel Mole trap

I bought a new dufus trap, which has proved very effective this month. I must 
admit it appears to be lightly built but I think this means there is less 
resistance for the mole.  It will be interesting to see how long this trap lasts.

It is harder to set than a scissor trap but can catch two moles, however this is 
the trap I catch my fingers in most!

This first photo shows the trap sprung. You can see how difficult it is to see 
in the ground. So you have to mark this trap quite carefully. Though my aged 
father still managed to run over three mole traps with a tractor while cutting 
thistles. And these were marked! So possibly I will have to make large luminous flags when I trap moles for him.

The photo below shows the dufus trap lifted with its catch. 

Llyngwyn Fishing

I was Gilly for the day to Evan and Llinos when we went to Llyngwyn in Midwales
to fish.

Llyngwyn is near the town of Rhayader and is owned by Rhayader Angling
Association, tickets are available from shops in Rhayader.
The lake is a naturally spring fed water and is one of the most peaceful places
I fish. Even when the fish aren't biting you can sit back and enjoy the antics
of the Red Kites and other bird life which is in abundance there.

We took a boat out (There are three to hire) on oars or electric motors allowed. No noise to wreck to piece and quiet) moving to the bottom of the lake we
anchored half way along, tied on a green and black nomad and a orange fritz on
the other rod. No fish were showing on the surface so we started with
intermediate lines and began.

After and hour of nips and losing fish Llinos hooked into a hard fighting fish
and played it out with my Orvis Western rod. Woohoo first fish to Llinos.
An hour later Evan was in to another hard fighting fish and with a light 4
weight Snowbee Diamond he had quite a fight on his hands. We finally net a nice
pound and a half rainbow. We could not believe it wasn't a heavier fish.

 
There has to be a few perks for the Gilly apart from an excellent upper body
workout rowing. So I was allowed to have a few casts and hooked into a very nice
2 pound rainbow. Which we netted up quickly.

The beauty of Llyngwyn is you do have have to fish hard to catch. This is no
stocky bashing water. They seem to quickly adapt to feeding of the prolific
insect life. This makes buzzers a must have for fishing here.