Warwickshire Avon – Elips and Eleutherophobia

Like many of us busy Dads with young kids my life’s diary is generally dictated to me, no harm in that, that’s what I signed up to after all, but unless there is some freedom in one’s life to do what ‘you’ want to do, life can get on top of you very quickly.

If you think about it, deprivation of freedom is a type of criminal punishment, ok I know its compulsory isolation of the criminal from society but unless you sort your work-life balance out you might as well be watching your back when picking up the soap.

The problem is the work-life balance is not a one-size fits all type of deal, so you have to find what “size” fits you best on any given day. In order to find balance in your everyday life, your best bet is not to focus on what worked yesterday, but rather what will work today. When there is a sense of routine, organization, and consistency in your life, balance just happens naturally. A great deal of learning how to balance your life and work lies within knowing how to prioritise, delegate, and create efficiency wherever possible.

Sounds easy doesn’t it….

Thing is I’ve heard the saying ‘choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life’ but modern life generally dictates that is unlikely to happen, well not if you have many dependents like I and many have. At the end of the day for me it’s what is needed in my pocket at the end of the month that puts pay to that. I've experience and skills that people want to pay pretty well for, and change and uncertainty for someone who likes some planning in his life, would be difficult to throw that completely out the window and change what I do, what I earn.

What has worked for me working in the automotive industry all my working life is the lunchtime finish on a Friday. As the kids are back at school now me and her indoors generally have a lunch out, meet for a swim at her gym, or we go separate ways and I go fishing and she meets up with friends.

The real secret behind balancing work and life is having the freedom to run your own life. I welcome the increase in flexible working, with employers letting colleagues do their work whenever, wherever and, sometimes, however they want. Being trusted with the freedom to do your job in your own way is, in itself, good for an individual's confidence and well-being.

So I find myself on the banks of the Warwickshire Avon when most people are still at work.

You see as a contracting jobber and an early starter I burned through my hours last week pretty quickly because two unplanned and impromptu meetings took place, both around the clay model I’m providing feasibility on. One was with the MD, so no chance I could get out of it.

So a quick chat with the client, yeap, a couple of hours time in lieu.

It’s 2017 remember, flexibility in the work place, especially as for many both parents work, surely must be a given.

This fishing lark for me gives me something that I dictate in my life, and I’ve said before it’s what keeps me sane I’m sure, well that and a dram from time to time.

So this after work midweek session I planned to do what I don’t usually and that is to sit behind ones rods in to dusk.

Oily Elips hardened hookbaits on one rod with a matching paste wrap and the other, a krill wafter with a PVA bag of freebies.

Having not had ones string pulled properly for a long time, I was hoping for a Barbel. They are here in numbers but as it sees some pressure, from time to time they can just switch and for the uninitiated you’d might not ever fish the stretch again.

So the session….

Well I had the pick of the swims so I settled in one that recently had some reeds removed, the flow looked great the colour a little better too, weirdly levels looked more or less the same.

Within 5 minutes of one of the baits being out the rod tops starts to bang and a Barbel is on. It was giving a good account for itself too, giving a couple of powerful runs.Rested in the net it was a fish with a lovely colour, probably because it's been so clear of late.I noticed a little damage to the fish, otter, cormorant, keepnet, who knows but one of his Whiskers was visibly marked too.

Not the biggest at an oz under 6 lb, but a lovely proud fish all the same.

Martin had turned up not long after and he settled in the swim down from me, oddly he was geared up for carp having spotted one here the other day. So small boilies were swapped for ones twice the size, PVA freebies and some hand fed ones too. After a natter and a catch up with an hour to go before dusk the wind really started to pick up and my rods were bouncing all over the shop, the rain came down too, not exactly pleasant.  A couple of small chub, but no more Barbel but then headed in to dusk, Martin's upstream rod starts to get some attention and he is eventually in to a fish.

"Mick, I've got one"

I was on landing net duties and the fish was giving a good account for itself, at first I thought it was a decent eel the way it was going but after it was persuaded away from the reeds it's flanks and mouth were visible, yeap, the intended target a carp.

In cracking condition too, a lovely common.

8lb 4oz, not the giants that we know are in the Warwickshire Avon but heck, it's a river carp after all, and the first one on the bloggers challenge board.

There is probably a small head of carp here because another challenge competitor has had one down this neck of the woods too.

When this is a bit more colour, I'm on it.