Warwickshire Avon - Cadets and Caduceators

Work slowly easing up, the last DFM (Design for Manufacture) ticked off on all the components I own, just the dotting of i's and crossing of t's left, which to be fair can be a laborious affair. 

3 years of full on work coming to fruition thankfully, although when the parts start to come off tool can be the fun part, but it will be nice to see the next round of prototypes and eventually cars rolling down the production line. 

Still I will worry about that when they do, which at the moment could be later than expected as Chongqing in China where one of my suppliers resides, are on enforced Government shutdown at the moment. 

A heatwave (43 degrees) meant factories were ordered to close to allow the grid to cope with the extra demand for air-conditioning, fans and the overly stocked beer fridges. 

Bugger !!! 

I've already been told of the next project I'll be working on, which is back to what I like best. Conceptual and Concept work, and it sounds right up my street too, no rest for the wicked. Cannot complain though, as it will see me to retirement at this rate. (I wish !!!)

Now 11 year old Sam is 7 years in to his fishing and he likes nothing than going back to basics with his fishing.

In-fact a whip is very much in his angling armoury because what kids doesn't like catching fish, sometimes its all about the bass, all about the bass !! 

....sorry bites.

He is a dab hand at chucking a lure, can bully a chub from a snag, holds the Newey roach bream hybrid record, can stalk fish off the top with bread and more recently confident in unhooking and handling fish himself. 

That has taken some time to be fair because he doesn't like "pooping rudd" "they are disgusting" and after feeling the spikey dorsal of a perch once, he is very wary of those too.  

So he was well chuffed to win the Cadence Cadets competition where I entered the out of focus gonk picture that still brings a smile to my face every time I see it.  Who doesn't love a gudgeon, one of the most characterful of all our coarse species. 

So when his prize of a CP10 4.7M elasticated starter Pole turned up this week he wanted to go to where he caught that gudgeon and that was the "brook brook". His cap is still en route sadly but still won't stop Sam getting a few bites now will it. 

"Daddy it has elastic on the end !!"

The fishing to be honest was tougher than expected, but still enough bites to keep Sam entertained. Not unexpected though bright sun and a gin clear river. 

Bleak, small dace, tiny chub and the odd small perch were hardly tackle testers but the best was yet to come. Sam did moan a bit about the weight of it but to be honest the cheapo Drennan Acolyte whip is amazing considering the quality of it and the fact it is feather light. 

That would have struggled with this 2lb 2oz perch though, where it pulled the elastic quite far out the end of the pole. Sam doing a sterling job of playing it and I did the honours for him and landed it. He's not seen a proper perch and was amazed at the scale of it. 

I was well chuffed for him as he really was shocked an impressed on what he just caught. He didn't want to hold it mind you, cannot blame him though, a serious impressive looking predator.

Another hour the same again, small bait fish and the odd perch mixed in with them but this fish was the highlight and we will both remember this session in years to come.

'The biggest fish of all' they certainly are when they reach this statue !!!