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Thursday 29 October 2015

A new spot to explore

I've always loved 'exploring'.

I grew up on a farm, and started venturing into the nearby gullies when I was young, and as I grew older, going further afield around the coast and the hills behind us.

Being amongst nature and not knowing what was around the next corner or over the next rise was about as happy as I could be. I recall often thinking I had almost reached the peak of a hill, then realising there was another above it that I couldn't see before - and then usually more after that. The wilderness felt endless.

That love of exploring hasn't changed, but if it includes fishing spots, it adds a cherry on the top these days. Bonus points, of course, if I get there via motorbike.

I wrote about a perfect morning a while ago, with these ideas in mind.

More recently, a 'tip-off' from a friend led me to a new fishing spot nearby.


First visit there, I went upstream with my fly rod - saw three trout, scared them away quite successfully.


Second visit, I had a look downstream with my spin setup, again seeing three browns, hooking and landing the third.


I've been back and explored downstream as far as I can easily go with a rod, and still have more upstream for my next visit.

This area isn't too far from a highway, but nonetheless at least ticked most of my boxes for the ideal fishing trip:
   explore a new area
   ride the motorbike (or a boat)
   have a walk
   solitude
   see some fish, ideally catch at least one
   not hear traffic while exploring