Fishing Frenzy

When I was a teenager, getting replacement fishing tackle wasn't easily done. I grew up in a Surrey village, and the high street did not boast a shop specialising in fishing supplies. There was a mini department store which had a miniscule sports section which had a tray containing a small selection of floats, hooks and the occasional rod and reel, but that was about it. There was nowhere to find live bait from, and my parents drew a very strong line at attempting to grow my own maggots and my dad wasn't amused at the garden being dug up in a search for worms.

In fact, if ever I wanted to buy replacement tackle to go angling with, I had to journey into Guildford which was a half hour bus ride each way (and expensive to a boy on little pocket money who wasn't permitted a paper round) go to the field sports shop on the high street. Now, there was the bonus that you could purchase a few pints of live-bait while there to take angling when I got home, and there was the chance of getting back some of the outlay by trading a few handfuls to friends at the waterside who all suffered the identical problem. But of course, even with an early start, it would be very doubtful that it would be possible to get down to the fishery much before the early afternoon, which meant that daylight would be limited and you very often just ended up throwing the precious bait into the water as you went home. The consequences of them dying and stinking out the downstairs would have been severe.

It would have been fabulous growing up where I live these days. Here, there are a number of good retailers for fishing tackle close by, certainly only a short bike ride, there are lots of canals and lakes to go to and for an special day out, the River Severn is local enough to get to in a pretty short time with the bonus that if you set up at the right place you can be angling and watch the steam trains on the Severn Valley Railway screaming up and down the line between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster.

But even if I was still in Cranleigh, the internet would mean that I could buy any fishing tackle I desired and have it delivered, and I have discovered a website that will deliver all manner of live-bait including maggots in what I would hope would be very reliable packaging. I cannot imagine the Royal Mail being too chuffed at bags of maggots bursting and emptying all over the insides of mailbags and people's letters! So feeling good about one's fishing tackle before going out for a day's fishing would be easy and anybody would feel like a proper fisherman under those circumstances.

This is all to the good. I feel pleased that when I do begin angling again in the next few weeks, I will be able to get everything I need with little hardship from a local retailer which was not an option I had as a teenager, but if I was at that age again, it's excellent to know that if I wanted, I could now find all the fishing tackle I could not have then. Anything that makes access to the things you enjoy simpler has to be a good thing.

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