Dylan's session was all about progression

Dylan’s second session was all about progression. He had got the hang of short pole fishing to hand on our first session, so the plan was to brush up on a couple of pole
techniques and quickly move on to rod and reel using the method feeder.

Fishing on the coaching platform near the reeds, we had carp sending up bubbles and shaking the reeds from the very start. Another lesson for me; have a ‘power’ top kit good
to go so we can alternate between silver fish and carp if the opportunity presents itself.

This wouldn’t be suitable for a complete novice but Dylan knows what he’s doing now and a carp on the margin pole is always a bit of a thrill ride! As it was, the carp he hooked on the
pole was on the silver fish rig, so the thrill didn’t last very long! He did catch a couple of bleak and small chublets on the pole – the only thing I can think of is that they got into the
lake from the River Colne during one of the winter floods.

Casting practice with the method feeder was interesting; it was eye-opening for me just how many individual steps there are in a single cast – things that we do instinctively as
experienced anglers are actually quite complex when you break them down. It’s fortunate that Dylan is such a good pupil; within half a dozen casts he was getting the timing right
and achieving good distance and accuracy. He liked how we filled the method feeder to make as attractive a package of food as possible, and he was definitely in charge of
applying the ‘secret juice’ (pineapple bait soak) before casting. As well as a load of pole-caught silver fish, Dylan finished up with a couple of good bream and his first method-
caught carp – he now knows just how hard they fight!!!

PS – I’ve heard that Dylan has just had a session with his Grandad where he caught seven carp – four on the pole and three on the method. Clearly it’s all about the quality of the
coaching! Well done Dylan, we might just have an angler for life there!

Tight Lines,

John

‍